WatchOS 11 features, the upcoming Apple Watch upgrade, is now official. During its yearly WWDC keynote event on Monday at its Apple Park facility in Cupertino, California, the company unveiled the new software.
Apple regularly upgrades the WatchOS software in the areas of connection, health, and fitness. For instance, the company added new tools and stats for cyclists to the user interface last year along with new widget updates. Prior to then, new statistics were provided for runners using WatchOS 9 in 2022.
Although the developer beta of WatchOS 11 is currently available for download, the main release is scheduled for the fall. It requires an iPhone running iOS 18 and works with all Apple Watches starting with Series 6. With WatchOS 11, Apple stopped supporting the Series 4 and 5.
One element of Apple Intelligence is the ability for an Apple Watch running WatchOS 11 to forward summarized notifications to the watch when paired with an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max.
Training load
You may now measure the intensity of your training and how it might impact your recovery using the Apple WatchOS 11 features. Known as training load, it provides an estimate of your training effort with a score ranging from 1 to 10 based on information such as your weight, height, and heart rate, pace, and elevation. In the event that the effort doesn’t match your feelings, you can also change it.
A more accurate measure of how well your body is responding to your exercise regimen is training load. When you’re preparing for a marathon or other competitive event and run the risk of overtraining or giving up too soon, this can be useful. For many cardio-based exercises, training load is provided; however, for exercises like strength training, for which an estimate is not given, you can enter an effort rating. Similar views of training load and recovery data are available from many different wearables, such as Garmin watches.
You can compare your previous seven days of effort to a weighted average of your training load over a 28-day period.
Pause your activity rings
With WatchOS 11 features, you can now stop the progress of your activity ring on the Apple Watch when you’re unwell or need to take a rest day. It will also allow you to further personalize your weekly activity goals.
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Vitals app
Another new way to monitor your health measures, such as heart rate, is via the Vitals app. It will display your vitals over time and indicate whether, according to your historical data, they are within a typical range. When measurements are outside of range, the app will notify you and send you a customized message with possible explanations.
Additional Support During Pregnancy
Pregnant customers can take advantage of enhanced support provided by watchOS 11, iOS 18, and iPadOS 18 to accommodate changes in their physical and mental health during this critical period. The Cycle Tracking app on Apple Watch displays a user’s gestational age and lets them report symptoms for common pregnancy symptoms when they log a pregnancy in the Health app on their iPhone or iPad. Given that heart rate tends to rise during pregnancy, they will also be asked to assess items like their high heart rate notification threshold.
Pregnant users of the iPhone or iPad can also opt to receive monthly reminders to complete a mental health evaluation through the Health app, as there may be an increased risk of mental health disorders like depression during and after pregnancy. Since the danger of falls increases during the third trimester of pregnancy, walking stadiness, as detected by the iPhone, can also warn users of a potential fall risk earlier.
New Double Tap features
Developers can now access Double Tap on Apple. With the help of this, you may double tap your thumb and forefinger to interact with apps. For example, you can send a message without touching the screen or skip tracks in the music app. Double Tap was limited to a few of Apple’s own apps and was only available on the Series 9 and Ultra 2. However, developers will now be able to utilize the feature. Apple demonstrated during the keynote address how you can set a timer to monitor your baby’s sleep while they are in your arms using a third-party baby tracking app.
You may now navigate through any app, such as Messages and Weather, with Double Tap without ever touching the screen.
Also: Want to know which iPhone models will get Apple’s iOS 18 (and which will not)?
Watch face customizations
The Photos watch face on WatchOS 11 has been revamped. It makes use of machine learning to intelligently select pictures that it believes would look best on a watch face. It will alter the picture by adding depth to it and offering clock options with various fonts and color schemes for the time display. With the new dynamic mode, each time you raise your wrist, a fresh image of your watch face is automatically shown.
Live Activities coming to the Apple WatchOS 11 Features
When you swipe up from the watch face or scroll with the digital crown on the Apple Watch running WatchOS 10, you’ll initially notice Smart Stack. Additional widgets, such as Live Activities at the top of the stack, are now displayed in WatchOS 11 features. For example, the score of a sporting event you’re watching will show up at the top of your stack, or the ETA will show up when you call an Uber. There are new additions to the Smart Stack, including the Shazam music app, the Photos app, and Distance. Severe weather notifications, like as thunderstorm warnings, are also visible.
Additionally, the Translate app for the Apple Watch is now available, and when you visit a place where the language is different, the widget instantly shows up in the Smart Stack. Say something into the watch to get an answer in a different language.
More WatchOS 11 features
- More pregnancy monitoring options, such as gestational age tracking, are now supported by cycle tracking.
- You may now tell friends and family when you return home following a workout by using the check-in function that is supported by the Workout app.
- For pool swims, custom workouts are now supported.
- More interactive widgets for smart home devices are supported by Apple Watch.
- All US national parks can be explored with customized walking routes and treks using Apple Maps’ offline turn-by-turn guidance feature.
- By putting the Apple Watch close to an iPhone or another watch, you can transfer and receive Apple Cash using the Tap to Cash feature.
