Apple Seeds Second Betas of watchOS 7 & tvOS 14 to Developers

Apple today seeded the second betas of watchOS 7, the newest version of the watchOS software designed to run on the Apple Watch, and tvOS 14, designed to run on fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. The second betas come two weeks after Apple released the first beta following WWDC 2020.

watchOS 7 Beta

The watchOS 7 beta can be installed on an Apple Watch with the proper configuration profile installed, via the Watch app on the device’s attached iPhone. Go to “General” -> “Software Update” to install the new software. The Watch should have at least 50% battery life, be connected to a charger, and be in the range of the iPhone.

watchOS 7 is compatible with Apple Watch Series 3, Apple Watch Series 4, or Apple Watch Series 5 paired with iPhone 6s or later running iOS 14 or later.

Watch Faces and Sharing

watchOS 7 offers users the ability to discover and share unique combinations to completely configure their watch face to suit any activity or lifestyle. Customized and personalized faces, including their complications, can be shared through Messages or Mail, and discovered through the App Store or via links through websites and social media channels.

Updated watch faces offer better personalization and improved access to favorite apps. Chronograph Pro includes a tachymeter to calculate speed based on time traveled over a fixed distance, the Photos face offers color filters, and the bold X-Large face now has an option to add a rich complication.

Developers will be able to offer more than one complication per app on a single watch face. Apple offered an example with the Glow Baby app, which can display multiple complications that help new parents track bottle-feeding, breastfeeding, pumping statistics, and nap times.

Sleep

watchOS 7 enables sleep tracking on the Apple Watch, providing tools to help users get the desired amount of sleep, get to bed on time, and create a pre-bedtime routine to meet their sleep goals. Through the detection of micro-movements from the watch’s accelerometer, which signals respiration during sleep, Apple Watch intelligently captures when the wearer is sleeping and how much sleep they get each night. Users will be able to see a visualization of their previous night’s sleep patterns.

A Wind Down feature allows Apple Watch and iPhone users to create a customized routine before bed, including setting up a specific scene in the Home app, listening to a soothing soundscape, or using a favorite meditation app.

Sleep mode enables Do Not Disturb and automatically darkens the Apple Watch screen overnight. A tap on the screen shows a low-light time display.

The Apple Watch will offer a silent haptic alarm or gentle sounds to wake users up while the wake-up screen displays the remaining battery level. If a battery doesn’t have enough power for overnight usage, the Apple Watch will remind the user to charge it before going to bed.

Automatic Handwashing Detection

Apple Watch uses the motion sensors, mic, and on-device machine learning to automatically detect handwashing motions and sounds. It then displays a 20-second countdown timer, warning you if you finish early. It can also remind a user to wash their hands when they return home.

The Health app will include information about the frequency and duration of the user’s handwashing, as well as information on the importance of handwashing, as it relates to overall health.

Workout Types and Fitness App

The workout app adds four new workout types: Core Training, Dance, Functional Strength Training, and Cooldown.

The redesigned Activity app on iPhone is now called Fitness, and offers a view of data including daily Activity, Workouts, Awards, and Activity Trends on one tab, and Activity Sharing and Activity Competitions on another.

Hearing

watchOS 7 Hearing app adds further support for hearing health with headphone audio notifications. Customers can now understand how loudly they are listening to media through their headphones using their iPhone, iPod touch, or Apple Watch, and when these levels may impact hearing over time.

Additional watchOS 7 Updates

• For optimal convenience while biking, cycling directions are available right on the wrist. Directions are large and easy to read, and Maps can direct when to dismount and walk the bike, or take the stairs to save time. The wearer can choose a route that avoids steep hills, gets to the destination the quickest, or takes the most direct path.
• Customers can now use Siri to translate many languages conveniently from the wrist, dictation is handled on device with the power of the Apple Neural Engine for faster and more reliable processing when dictating messages and more, and Apple Watch now supports Announce Messages with Siri. The Shortcuts app is also now available on Apple Watch and can be accessed as a complication.
• Developers can create graphic complications with SwiftUI, and new developer tools such as Xcode Previews make building them even easier.
• New complications for native features include: Camera Remote, Sleep, and Shortcuts.
• New Mobility Metrics available in the Health app include: low-range cardio fitness, walking speed, stair-descent speed, stair-ascent speed, six-minute walk distance, double support time, step length, and asymmetry. These metrics are important for the clinical community to monitor patients’ ability to move safely and easily as they age. Typically only measured in a lab setting, these metrics can be uniquely measured by Apple Watch and iPhone, and used by developers, such as Zimmer Biomet, a musculoskeletal healthcare company, in patient care and in management tools such as mymobility.

tvOS 14 Beta

The tvOS 14 beta is compatible with fourth and fifth-generation Apple TV models. The new beta can be downloaded to a compatible Apple TV that has the proper profile installed. The public beta is also available.

tvOS 14‌ brings a Picture in Picture mode, allowing users to watch movies or TV shows, in a small window in the corner of the screen while they do something else on the ‌Apple TV‌.

A new Home app in ‌tvOS 14 allows HomeKit-connected devices to be controlled right from the TV. HomeKit camera feeds can be viewed on the larger screen of the television or in Picture in Picture mode.

Apple Arcade now supports multiple users, allowing each tvOS user to track their individual game levels, leaderboards, and invitations. The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 and Xbox Adaptive Controllers are now supported, and ‌Apple TV‌ games can now take advantage of haptic feedback and other features built into those controllers.

Users can now manually choose a screensaver category‌, and tvOS 14‌ supports watching YouTube videos in 4K for the first time.

As usual, MacTrast and Apple both warn users to not install any betas on your daily driver Apple Watch or Apple TV, instead only install betas on a device set aside for testing purposes.