Apple is reworking its watchOS fundamentally in its 10th jubilee release. No more honeycomb apps and attention to the single watch face – say hello to stacks of widgets and apps that fill the entire screen.
WatchOS 10 is available to developers today and will be in public beta in a month for everyone to try. As usual, the operating system will arrive in final form this fall, alongside the upcoming Watch Series 9.
With watchOS 10, the home screen is now the so-called Smart Stack, a carousel of widgets that give visible information and move from one to another with the digital crown.
Apple is also making changes to the physical controls: a press on the side button opens the Control Center at any time, a double press on the Digital Crown takes you back to your recent apps.
The new smart battery
With the new update, apps will use more screen space, showing you more information.
Apps make better use of screen space
Of course, there are some new watch faces. The palette represents the weather in a variety of colors and changes as the day progresses. There is also a unique Snoopy and Woodstock watch face.
The new Palette watch face
The Apple Watch Ultra is becoming increasingly competitive against Garmin watches. With watchOS 10, users will get offline maps with turn-by-turn navigation accessible from an iPhone to a paired watch.
Hikers will be able to view trails right on their wrist, including trail information like type, length, and even difficulty. Using the altimeter in the Watch Ultra, hikers will receive a 3D map of their waypoints, and the watch will automatically create a waypoint up to the last point you had cell coverage in case you need to go back and send a message.
Apple is adding new cycling features in watchOS 10. Users will have a new workout view with cycling speed, altitude, heart rate, duration and distance. This information can be doubled on the iPhone screen. The watch will also easily connect to Bluetooth bike computers.
Apple has also added Vision to the Health app. Apple Watch will measure how much time you spend in daylight using the ambient light sensor. It will also track how far you look at your phone screen using your iPhone or iPad’s depth camera. If you keep it within 30cm for an extended period of time, the watch will notify you.
Vision and cycling
Finally, mental health is a new addition to the Mindfulness app. You’ll be able to record your mood by using the Digital Crown to choose from emotions represented as abstract shapes. There are standardized quizzes to assess your risk of anxiety and depression.
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