At WWDC 2023, Apple announced its next generation of operating systems, which includes iOS 17, iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. In addition to this, the company also introduced watchOS 10, which is the successor to watchOS 9 that was announced at WWDC 2022 last year. The watchOS 10 brings a host to features to Apple’s smartwatches. The list includes a new design, new faces, new health tracking features among others.
Apart from this, the company has also updated its Mindfulness app to offer additional tools to support mental health.
“watchOS 10 is a major milestone and an energizing new approach for Apple Watch, introducing a fresh new design for quickly viewing information, delightful new watch faces, new features for cyclists and hikers, and important tools for health,” Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of Technology said on the occasion.
What’s new in watchOS 10?
New design
Apple has made major changes to the overall interface of watchOS 10, which is in line with the reports this year. Apple says that all the apps in watchOS 10, including Weather, Stocks, Home, Maps, Messages, World Clock, and others, now utilize more of the Apple Watch display for more glanceable information.
As a major design update, Apple has introduced a new element called Smart Stack in watchOS 10, which contains widgets that display timely information that adapts to a user’s context and can be revealed with a simple turn of the Digital Crown from any watch face. “For example, at the beginning of the day, Weather will show the forecast, or, when traveling, the Smart Stack will show boarding passes from Wallet. Calendar and Reminders will reshuffle to the top to display upcoming meetings or tasks, and apps that are running, such as Podcasts, will also move up so they are readily available,” Apple explained.
Additionally, the company said that as a part of the design changes, it is making Control Center accessible using the side button. Users will be able to revert any app to its original place by double-clicking the Digital Crown.
New watch faces
watchOS 10 introduces two new watch faces to Apple Watch — Palette and Snoopy. The Palette face depicts time in a wide variety of colors using three distinct overlapping layers. As the time changes, the colors on the display also shift.
The Snoopy watch face is a part of the famous comic strip Peanuts. In this watch face, the characters will interact and play with the watch hands, react to the weather conditions in the area, or even get active when the user does a workout.
New health features
watchOS 10 also brings a host of new health features to the Apple Watch. Here are the top features:
— watchOS 10 introduces new metrics and views for cycling. The company says when a cycling workout is started from Apple Watch in watchOS 10, it will automatically show up as a Live Activity on iPhone and, when tapped, it will utilise the full screen.
— The company has optimised Workout Views, such as Heart Rate Zones, Elevation, Race Route, Custom Workouts, and a new Cycling Speed view, for the display size of iPhone, which can be mounted to a bike for convenient, easy viewing during a ride.
— With watchOS 10, Apple Watch can automatically connect to Bluetooth-enabled cycling accessories, such as power meters, speed sensors, and cadence sensors. This will enable new metrics, including cycling power (watts) and cadence (RPM), and additional Workout Views, including Power Zones.
— Also, Bluetooth connection is supported for Indoor and Outdoor cycling workouts.
— The company says that new algorithms combining sensor data from Apple Watch and connected power meters can estimate Functional Threshold Power (FTP), which is the highest level of cycling intensity that a rider can theoretically maintain for an hour. Using FTP, Apple Watch calculates personalised Power Zones, used to easily see the current zone and track how long is spent in each.
— With watchOS 10, the Compass app can automatically generate two new waypoints — a Last Cellular Connection Waypoint will estimate the last place with cellular reception, which may be useful for checking messages or making a call, and a Last Emergency Call Waypoint, which will estimate where on the route their device had the last connection to any available carrier’s network so that an emergency call can be made.
— watchOS 10 also includes a new Elevation view, which uses altimeter data, offering a three-dimensional view of saved waypoints.
— As a part of the improvements to the Mindfulness app in watchOS 10, users will now be able to discreetly log their momentary emotions and daily moods. Users will also be able to turn the Digital Crown to scroll through engaging, multidimensional shapes to choose how they are feeling, select what is having the biggest impact on them, and describe their feelings.
— For vision health, watchOS 10 introduces the ability to measure time spent in daylight using the ambient light sensor. Users can view this information in the Health app on iPhone or iPad.
— The company has also introduced a new Screen Distance feature that uses the same TrueDepth camera that powers Face ID in iPad and iPhone to encourage users to move their device farther away after holding it closer than 12 inches for an extended period of time.
Additional features
— NameDrop will enable users to easily share contact information by bringing Apple Watch close to someone else’s iPhone. Apple Watch users can also use NameDrop by tapping the Share button in My Card in the Contacts app, or by tapping the My Card watch face complication, and then bringing Apple Watch face to face with someone else’s Apple Watch.
— Offline maps on iPhone will provide access to turn-by-turn navigation, estimated time of arrival, places in Maps, and more while away from Wi-Fi or cellular services. These features can also be used on a paired Apple Watch that is in range of its companion iPhone.
— Users can now initiate playback of a FaceTime video message and view it directly on Apple Watch.
— Group FaceTime audio is now supported on Apple Watch.
— The Medications app can now send follow-up reminders if a medication hasn’t been logged 30 minutes after the scheduled time.
watchOS 10 availability
Apple says that the watchOS 10 will be available this fall as a free software update for Apple Watch Series 4 or later paired with iPhone Xs or later, running iOS 17.