Apple today unveiled watchOS 11, its upcoming major software update for the Apple Watch. The new operating system brings several new features, including new health and workout features, new Activity Rings features, and much more.
The new Vitals app allows users to quickly view several key health metrics and gain better context when it comes to their health. Apple Watch measures important health metrics during sleep: heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, sleep duration, and blood oxygen. Users can now check in on their daily health status while also exploring noteworthy metrics at a glance, easily seeing when they are out of a user’s typical range. When two or more metrics are out of their typical range, users can receive a notification, as well as a message detailing how the changes in these specific metrics may be linked to other aspects of their life, such as elevation changes, alcohol consumption, or even illness.
Activity rings are now more customizable, while the Apple Watch and the Health app on iPhone and iPad offer additional support for users who are pregnant. Check In, the Translate app, and new capabilities for the double tap gesture come to Apple Watch for added connectivity and convenience.
“watchOS is the world’s most advanced wearable operating system, supporting Apple Watch users throughout their day to stay healthy, active, and connected,” said David Clark, Apple’s senior director of watchOS Engineering. “This fall, watchOS 11 makes Apple Watch an even more essential companion by offering users additional actionable insights into their health and fitness, more personalization to fit their unique needs, and new ways to stay connected while on the go.”
watchOS 11 introduces training load, a new way to measure how the intensity and duration of workouts are impacting a user’s body over time. Training load helps users to understand the strain on their body from their workouts over the last seven days to the last 28 days.
Cycle tracking now shows estimates of gestational age, showing pregnancy across charts to review metrics like high heart rate notification thresholds.
Widgets are automatically added to the Apple Watch’s Smart Stack. The update also brings the Translate app to the Apple Watch. The app will display automatically when visiting a different country, The Weather app will appear when rain is coming. Live Activities is now available on the Apple Watch for the first time.
An improved Photos watch face gives users more control over photos and machine learning automatically crops photos.
Additional updates in watchOS 11 include:
- The Workout app offers even more workout types that can track distance using enhancements in GPS positioning, including Soccer, American Football, Australian Football, Outdoor Hockey, Lacrosse, Downhill Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Snowboarding, Golf, Outdoor Rowing, and more. Users can also see their route maps for more workout types.
- Custom Workouts can now be used for Pool Swims, allowing users to customize an interval-based workout with support for sets of work and recovery, and haptics to signal it is time to move on to the next interval. Across any Custom Workout, a new Up Next workout view can show what remains in the current interval and provide a snapshot of the upcoming interval.
- Apple Maps offers hikes for all U.S. national parks, which can be saved to Apple Watch and accessed offline with turn-by-turn guidance, even without an iPhone nearby. Users can also create their own walking routes within the Maps app on iPhone and save the route, so they can later navigate it with just their Apple Watch.
- Summarized notifications, powered by Apple Intelligence, will be forwarded from iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to Apple Watch.1
- Enhanced ticketing improves information provided to users on tickets in Apple Wallet, such as when the venue opens and when the show starts. A Live Activity will start at the event so users can see their seats and other important information at the top of the Smart Stack.
- With Tap to Cash, users will be able to send and receive Apple Cash by simply holding their Apple Watch near another Apple Watch or iPhone.
Availability
The developer beta of watchOS 11 is available to Apple Developer Program members at developer.apple.com starting today. A public beta will be available to watchOS users next month at beta.apple.com. watchOS 11 will be available this fall as a free software update for Apple Watch Series 6 or later paired with iPhone Xs or later, running iOS 18. Some features may not be available in all regions or all languages, or on all devices. Features are subject to change. For more information, visit apple.com/watchos/watchos-preview.
