Apple launches new Watch for key sales season                

The Apple store on Regent Street, London. The tech giant has become the first US company to boast a market value of two trillion dollars, just two years after it became the first to reach one trillion dollars.

Apple has introduced a new Apple Watch Series 6 that monitors blood oxygen and starts at $399 (€336), kicking off a product lineup for a key shopping season that will be unlike any other due to Covid-19.

Apple is also introducing a low-cost Apple Watch SE starting at $279 that does not monitor blood oxygen saturation.

Apple was expected to update several products including iPads and headphones at an event broadcast from its California headquarters. 

Its biggest seller - the iPhone - is expected to be announced next month after executives have said its launch will be delayed by several weeks because of pandemic-related disruptions.

Apple shares have soared this year even as the virus has crippled economies around the world, thanks in large part to booming sales of work-from-home items.

Apple shares have climbed more than 50% for the year and it remains near its $2 trillion stock market valuation.

How the new products sell during the busy shopping season in many markets will largely define how well Apple performs for its entire fiscal year, which started this month.

Apple said the Series 6 watch’s new ability to monitor blood oxygen using infrared light should be used for fitness and wellness purposes. 

- Reuters