Apple announced watchOS 9 at WWDC 2022 on Monday, June 6. New features include a new, more efficient workout metrics system and the arrival of sleep stages. In this article, you can learn about all the new features coming to the Apple Watch operating system.
- Apple showed off some new watchOS 9 features during WWDC, beta available for developers to download today
- WatchOS 9 supports Apple Watch series 4 and more
Last year, watchOS 8 brought features like using your iPhone as a keyboard for your Watch, new features for the Apple Wallet app, and many health features. This year, the company invested more in the health features of the world’s most powerful watch.
Here are all the new features in watchOS 9 / © Apple; screenshot: kwgeek
watchOS 9: All the new features for the Apple Watch
new watch face
With the release of watchOS 9, Apple made improvements to certain watch faces, such as the Astronomy, Lunar, PlayTime, and Metropolitan watch faces. In addition, improvements have been made to the Siri interface.
Lunar watch face provides more information about the moon phases in watchOS 9 / © Apple; Screenshot: kwgeek
workout app
One of the features most used by Apple Watch users is undoubtedly the Workout app, which features a collection of workout profiles and metrics to track your performance in a more effective workout. In watchOS 9, Apple brings three new running metrics. You can now view your stride length and ground contact time, as well as heart rate zones.
Using machine learning (ML) capabilities combined with sensors in the watch, the software isolates torso motion and provides an accurate report of workout progress. It also allows for the creation of personalized workouts, letting you monitor what’s really relevant to your training.
New metrics like stride length allow you to track your workouts more transparently. /©Apple; Screenshot: kwgeek
Alerts during workouts
Another new feature is an alert function available during workouts. You can configure in advance the types of alerts you want to receive during training. So you can easily know your training goals or dangers without having to check your watch regularly.
For high-intensity workouts, we now have heart rate zones / © Apple; Screenshot: kwgeek
If you don’t have an Apple Watch, you can still use the new health features. In fact, Apple’s fitness app will roll out to all iPhone users starting with iOS 16. This is a big change for Apple users, as most features were previously only available to iPhone users. Apple Watch.
Apple WWDC 2022 / © Apple; Screenshot: kwgeek
Health App: Sleep Stages
The Health app now comes with a Sleep Stages feature, which combines watch sensors like an accelerometer and a heart rate monitor to determine your longest sleep stage. Research has been done to better understand how sleep stages affect people’s health, and now Apple wants to use this information to improve your sleep reports, too.
Sleep stages feature will make sleep reporting more accurate in the future / © Apple; Screenshot: kwgeek
More precise AFib
Apple has also improved how the Apple Watch detects atrial fibrillation — a fairly common heart rhythm disorder that increases the risk of stroke. Now watchOS will be able to detect how often a person has AFib over a period of time.
AFib patients now have a stronger ally on their wrist / © Apple; Screenshot: kwgeek
drug control
watchOS 9 will make it easier to track medication intake and send reminders for using these commonly used medications. Everything can be tracked through the Health app, even adding medications and scanning product labels using the iPhone’s camera.
In addition, you can use the Share with Family feature to help monitor your family’s health.
Medication reminders can now be accessed on people’s wrists / © Apple; Screenshot: kwgeek
private life
During the presentation, Apple executives reiterated their concern about people’s health data and ensuring it remains encrypted on devices.
Other functions
This is a first look at watchOS 9, so only a number of features have been mentioned, such as the addition of six new languages to the watchOS keyboard and the possibility to control smart devices from the watch via Home Settings.
Notifications have been tweaked to be less distracting, and in terms of accessibility, we have the new Apple Watch Mirroring feature, which will allow people with physical and motor disabilities to remotely control their Apple Watch.
watchOS 9 is expected to be officially released in September 2022 / © Apple; Screenshot: kwgeek
watchOS 9: These Apple Watch models will receive the update
If Apple keeps its historic release pattern, we can expect to see watchOS 9 next September. Here are the Apple Watches that will receive the watchOS 9 update:
Of course, Apple will preload the next Watch Series 8 with the new watchOS 9.
So what do you think of watchOS 9’s new features? Which of these new features is most relevant to you?