Apple released watchOS 10, a milestone update bringing a new visual language to apps to see more information at a glance, a new Smart Stack to show relevant widgets right when they’re needed, and delightful new watch faces.
Bluetooth connectivity for power meters, speed sensors, and cadence sensors arrive for cyclists, unlocking new metrics and Workout Views, and cycling workouts will automatically show up as a Live Activity on iPhone and utilize the full screen.
Additionally, new Compass Waypoints and Maps capabilities can further help during outdoor adventures.
The Mindfulness app offers new tools to support mental health with state of mind logging, and Apple Watch also introduces the ability to measure time spent in daylight using the ambient light sensor.
New Watch Faces
- The beloved comic strip Peanuts comes to life on Apple Watch with the Snoopy watch face featuring Snoopy and Woodstock. The characters 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.
- The Palette face depicts time in a wide variety of colors using three distinct overlapping layers, and as the time changes, the colors on the display also shift.
- Solar Analog depicts time on a luminous dial while using light and shadow to reflect the position of the sun throughout the day.
- The Nike Globe face lights up the lines on the globe with each passing second.
- Modular Ultra takes advantage of the large display of Apple Watch Ultra, using the outermost edge to present real-time data, including seconds, altitude, or depth. It offers the most complications of any Apple Watch face to customize for sports, outdoor adventures, and ocean and water activities. The ambient light sensor on Apple Watch Ultra now automatically activates Night Mode on this watch face and the Wayfinder face in the dark.
Additional watchOS 10 Updates
- Ultra Wideband brings deeper integration between Apple Watch and HomePod. When an Apple Watch user gets within 4 meters of a HomePod playing audio, Apple Watch will launch Now Playing to control the media.
- When a paired Apple Watch is in range of its companion iPhone, offline maps provide access to turn-by-turn navigation, estimated time of arrival, places in Maps, and more while away from Wi-Fi or cellular services.
- Users can now initiate playback of a FaceTime video message and view it directly on Apple Watch. Additionally, Group FaceTime audio is now supported on Apple Watch.
- The Medications app can send follow-up reminders if a medication hasn’t been logged 30 minutes after the scheduled time.
- Apple Fitness+ introduces Custom Plans, a new way to receive a custom workout or meditation schedule based on day, duration, workout type, and more; as well as Stacks, which allows users to select multiple workouts and meditations to do seamlessly back to back.
- In updates later this year, media suggestions will appear at the top of the Smart Stack if nothing is playing on a nearby HomePod, NameDrop allows users to easily exchange contact information by bringing Apple Watch close to someone else’s iPhone or Apple Watch, and Audio Focus gives users the ability to prioritize the volume of the music or the trainers’ voices in Apple Fitness+.
