Rumor: Apple Watch 2 to feature Wi-Fi chipset, front-facing camera for FaceTime, etc.

The rumor mill will always be alive, vibrant and speculating.

And it has plenty to say about the next generation of the Apple Watch.

Sources have supplied details as to the Apple Watch 2, including a front-facing video camera for FaceTime chats and a wireless chipset that will make the watch capable of standing on its own.

As of now, the Apple Watch needs to be synced with your iPhone for almost all of its functions, save for activity-tracking and listening to music you’ve stored locally on the device. This may be changed via a Wi-Fi chipset in the Apple Watch 2 that will allow the devices to use Wi-Fi networks to transmit data as needed without an iPhone in Bluetooth range.

This means more value for your money in the long run, although the next generation Apple Watch probably won’t arrive until sometime in 2016.

The rumor mill is also stating that Apple is looking to expand its watch lineup for the next version as well as support a Find My Watch feature that will use the purported Wi-Fi chipset for exactly that function. The watch’s battery life is expected to remain the same in the second-gen watch, so you can expect to charge it nightly.

Apple is also planning to add a camera to the top bezel of the watch, so you can make and receive FaceTime video calls without your iPhone, but it’s unclear if that camera would also support photography. The watch currently functions as a remote for your iPhone camera, but can’t take its own photos.

The company is also looking into ways to expand the Apple Watch lineup with new models in the US$1,000-US$10,000 range, made from materials that aren’t quite as high-end as the rose gold in the Watch Edition but are a little fancier than stainless steel.

As always, let us know what you think in the comments and we’ll have additional news as they become available.

Via Macworld and 9to5Mac