Apple just unveiled WatchOS 10, its next major operating system update for the Apple Watch. The announcement came Monday during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. As with previous updates, health, fitness, and personalization are among the main themes of WatchOS 10.
Apple is updating the Apple Watch software with new widgets and redesigned apps to show more information at a glance. The widgets will be able to surface contextual information throughout the day, such as medication reminders or calendar alerts, similar to how they work on the iPhone. This should make it easier to get information without having to launch a full app.
The Apple Watch will also get two new watch faces: one themed with a color palette and another featuring Peanuts characters Snoopy and Woodstock.
The new Palette watch face in WatchOS 10
There will also be more metrics and training views for cycling, including the ability to show extra stats when connected to other Bluetooth-enabled bike sensors. Apple is adding new benefits for hikers, too, like the ability for the Compass app to show the area you last had cellular reception and more details about the topography of hiking trails.
Health is also a focus of WatchOS 10. Apple is adding new mood logging features to the Mindfulness app, which you can access on both your watch and phone. Apple also says you’ll be able to take standardized assessments often used in clinics to understand more about how you’re feeling.
Apps in WatchOS 10 have a new look.
Apple is also using the Apple Watch to help users monitor eye health by reporting a new type of health measurement for the watch. The Apple Watch’s ambient light sensor can be used to measure the amount of time spent in daylight in WatchOS 10, which the company is positioning as a way to maintain eye health and potentially prevent nearsightedness or nearsightedness caused by physical changes in the eye.
Software updates like these are vital because they bring significant new features to Apple’s smartwatch that expand its functionality without requiring new hardware. Last year in WatchOS 9, for example, Apple introduced new running metrics, the ability to track specific sleep stages, and low-power mode. These additions have helped the Apple Watch catch up with other sleep-tracking wearables and dedicated running watches.
With WatchOS 10, Apple is also the latest smartwatch maker to focus more on mental well-being. Fitbit, for example, has added sensors to its Sense smartwatches that can look for signs of stress throughout the day. Watch maker Citizen launched a new smartwatch this year that can assess your levels of fatigue and alertness. The new Mindfulness features in WatchOS 10 suggest that Apple is also thinking more deeply about the correlation between physical and mental well-being.
Apple typically previews new software for major products like the Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, and Mac at its annual conference before debuting them in the fall.
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The Apple Watch is the world’s most popular smartwatch with 26% of the global market in the first quarter of 2023, according to Counterpoint Research. In recent years, Apple has introduced new features and hardware meant to make its watch more competitive with dedicated running watches from companies like Garmin. Last year, for example, it debuted the Apple Watch Ultra, its first rugged watch designed with athletes and adventurers in mind. The hiking and cycling updates seem to fit that theme perfectly.
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