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Alongside major announcements like Apple Intelligence, iOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, Apple also showcased the next iteration of watchOS at WWDC 2024. Below, we list the best watchOS 11 features that Apple plans to bring to your Apple Watch in fall 2024.
1The Vitals App
Your Apple Watch collects a wide variety of health data during sleep, such as heart rate, respiratory rate, sleep duration, blood oxygen, and more. The new Vitals app, arriving in watchOS 11, will provide a better way to take an overall look at your health.
The app provides a closer look at the metrics and will even inform you when anything is out of the typical range. When two or more metrics become outliers, you may choose to receive a notification along with a message detailing what the changes might be linked to. These include causes like an elevation change, alcohol consumption, or an illness.
2Training Load
To better help you understand how workouts are affecting your body, the new training load feature will measure the intensity and duration of activity. you’re able to see how workouts from the last seven days are affecting you, compared those from the previous 28 days.
After many workout types, you’ll be able to see the new effort rating on a scale of 1 to 10. It uses data like age, height, and weight combined with workout information like GPS, heart rate, and elevation.
You’ll be able to adjust the estimate to consider additional factors like stress or soreness. You can also manually enter a score if a workout doesn’t provide an automatic estimate. The 28-day training load takes into account the effort rating and duration of workouts.
3A Smarter Smart Stack
First introduced alongside watchOS 10 in 2023, theSmart Stack provides quick access to important information, no matter what watch face you choose. However, with watchOS 11, the feature is getting even better.
Instead of only seeing widgets you’ve selected, a widget can automatically appear in the Smart Stack based on time, location, and other factors. So before a thunderstorm, you might see a severe weather alert widget. Smart Stack widgets now also have the option to be interactive, performing actions like starting and stopping a song.
Apple is adding several new widgets, including training load, Photos, distance, and Shazam. You’ll be able to directly access three items you used most recently in an app.
The Smart Stack will also be the place to view Live Activities. It works similarly tothe Live Activities feature on your iPhoneto show consistently updated information (such as a sports score).
4Redesigned Photos Watch Face
Anyone with an Apple Watch can easily choose fromseveral great Apple Watch facesto customize the wearable device. One of the most popular watch faces, Photos, is getting some great new options with the watchOS 11 update.
While you can choose from a wide selection of photos, machine learning will help your Apple Watch recommend images based on aesthetics, composition, and facial expressions. The face will then select the best composition by optimizing the subject within the frame and creating a sense of depth.
You can then personalize the watch face with time sizes, layouts, font choices, and more. With Dynamic mode support for the Photos watch face, you can see a new image with each wrist raise.
5Customizable Activity and Fitness Rings
Your Activity rings are among the best and most popular features for Apple Watch users. They help you understand and improve your fitness level. Starting with watchOS 11, you can pause Activity rings for a day, week, month, or more without affecting award streaks.
you may even customize the Activity rings by the day of the week for an additional dose of motivation.
6Check In for Your Safety
The Check In feature, first introduced for iPhonealongside iOS 17, will make its way to your Apple Watch with the watchOS 11 update. you may use it to automatically inform a friend or family member when you arrive at a specific destination.
You can start a Check In from Messages by entering a destination or arrival time. You can also start a workout and Check In simultaneously using the Workout app.
Like previous years, watchOS 11 brings improvements in key areas to make the overall Apple Watch experience even better for almost any task. As long as you have an Apple Watch Series 6 or newer model, you’ll be able to install watchOS 11 when it arrives in fall 2024.
