During its WWDC presentation, Apple announced a whole bunch of improvements to Apple Watch via watchOS 8, and in doing so the company has finally added one of the most ridiculous missing features to its smartwatch – one that’ll help a great deal in the kitchen.
It almost seems absurd to be writing about this in 2021, and particularly for a smartwatch line that can track if you have heart arrhythmia, but Apple is finally bringing multiple timers to the Apple Watch with watchOS 8.
You read that right – until now it was simply impossible to set more than one timer on the Apple Watch (it’s a problem that also plagued the original Apple HomePod, which seems even more ridiculous for a home assistant).
This has always been a major issue for a whole host of reasons. If you were cooking a complicated meal that required multiple timers for different facets, then you were simply out of luck. Similarly, if you wanted to set an overall workout timer with smaller countdowns within it, then you had better get used to counting manually in your head.
To make up for lost time, Apple has gone a step further by letting users add labels to each timer via Siri, making it easier than ever to keep track of everything that’s going on.
In fact, it seems as though WWDC 2021 was a moment for Apple to fix some head scratching omissions across the board. For instance, the ability to freely place widgets on your iPad home screen is finally a thing, courtesy of iPadOS 15.
Still, the ability to set multiple timers isn’t the only feature coming to Apple Watch, as the latest software update will bring huge changes to fitness, mindfulness and the photos watch face. One massive change for instance is the inclusion of respiratory tracking whilst wearing the Apple Watch to bed. Changes in your nightlight breathing can be a huge indicator of general health, and so it’s great to see features like these and more make their way to Apple Watch.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve burnt something in the kitchen because I’ve been basing almost every aspect of a recipe around one single timer. It’s usually for this reason why I also keep a Wear OS watch nearby for good measure, but Apple’s finally had enough of its own folly and it’s great to see incremental (but essential) updates like this taking place across the board on Apple’s devices.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.