Last year’s WWDC brought major updates to the Apple Watch’s hardware, including the introduction of the extra-durable Apple Watch Ultra. This year, it’s software. During today’s WWDC keynote, Apple revealed that 2023 will bring similarly major updates to the wearable’s software when watchOS 10 arrives in the fall.
The Apple Watch has always offered several highly-configurable watch faces for those wanting to stay on top of upcoming appointments, the weather, missed messages, and their level of physical activity, all without having to reach for their iPhones. With watchOS 10, Apple is going to make it even easier for Apple Watch users to quickly access information besides what time it is.
Widgets are coming to watchOS 10, but instead of cluttering up the home screen as enlarged complications where users may have pictures of family or even a pet, they will be available through a Smart Stack that’s accessible by simply turning the Digital Crown while on the home screen, which previously did nothing. Using machine learning, the most relevant widgets will come up first in the Smart Stack, such as a running countdown timer, or an impending calendar appointment.
The widgets stack will also feature shortcuts for commonly used complications that some users already regularly use on the home screen, like timers, the stopwatch, and music playback controls. The idea seems to be to help declutter the Apple Watch’s home screen, which will undoubtedly also serve to improve battery life.
Apple has found a lucrative niche with positioning its devices as ways to improve a user’s health, with the Apple Watch leading the way. So it comes as no surprise that watchOS 10 will introduce several fitness and health tracking improvements including the ability to sync its Cycling app to Bluetooth biking sensors while the cyclist sees real-time information about their power output and heart rate. The Apple Watch’s Hiking app is getting updates for its compass and map features, showing the last known location the device had cellular connectivity, or areas where the SOS emergency rescue feature can be used.
To date Apple’s devices have focused on tracking a user’s physical health, but with watchOS 10 and iOS 17, a new Mindfulness app is being introduced to help track a user’s mental health. There are no sensors that can automatically detect a user’s mood or feelings, so the Mindfulness app will do so using manual feedback from the user, having them answer specific questions using sliders hat emphasize how they’re feeling and the strength of their emotions, instead of just yes or no responses.
Apple Watch users are more or less forced to rely on Apple for new watch faces, but thankfully the company throws its users a bone with every update. For watchOS 10, two new watch faces are being introduced, one called Palette which displays the time through colorful animations, and one featuring another iconic cartoon character: Snoopy with his buddy, Woodstock.
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Source: Gizmodo