At the ongoing WWDC event in San Jose, Apple took wraps off its latest version of watchOS i.e., watchOS 6. Apple has made changes to watchOS and also introduced new features to health and fitness, new dynamic watch faces, native App Store support and more. These new software features will be available in September 2019 for Apple Watch Series 1 or later.
New Cycle tracking app, Noise app, and new Trends tab
watchOS 6 brings a new Cycle tracking app for women which allows logging important information related to them. This feature is available on the Health app on iPhone running the latest iOS 13. Alongside the new Cycle tracking app, Apple is also introducing a new Noise app which when placed at an optimal position on the wrist, will help users understand the sound levels in environments and will send a notification to the user if the decibel level reaches 90 decibels.
The Activity App has also got a new addition called ‘Trends’ which will give users a long-term view of their activity behavior to help them understand their progress. The new ‘Trends’ tab at a glance, will show whether the trends are up or down for active calories, exercise minutes, walking pace and others. Additionally, it also offers coaching to help users rejuvenate and get back on track if there is a downward trend relative to the last 365 days.
App Store on watchOS and apps
Apple is bringing its App Store for the first time directly to Apple Watch. With the introduction of the App Store on watchOS, users can easily install third-party apps, search for apps using Siri and developers can also build independent apps.
New watch faces, audio API, new Calculator app
watchOS 6 introduces dynamic new watch faces like Modular Compact, Solar Dial, California, Gradient and Numerals faces. Alongside the new watch faces, watchOS 6 includes new developer tools like audio API to stream music, radio, and podcasts.
The Voice Memos app and a new Calculator app which are popular on the iOS platform is making its way to watchOS 6 now and will be available on the Apple Watch.
Other new features include new Audiobooks app, full webpage results by Siri search queries, expansion of Apple GymKit compatibility and new privacy features.
watchOS 6 Availability
New software features will be available in September 2019 for Apple Watch Series 1 or later paired with iPhone 6s or later running iOS 13 or later. The developer preview of watchOS 6 is available to Apple Developer Program members at developer.apple.com starting today.
Commenting on this, Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer said:
Apple Watch has become an indispensable part of our customers’ everyday lives, from helping users stay connected to the people and information they care about, to inspiring them to live a better and more active day. watchOS 6 extends our commitment to helping users better manage their health and fitness with powerful and personal new tools.