watchOS 9 is coming this fall, and Apple revealed the new system for Apple Watch in June. What features will we be able to enjoy? watchOS 9 is the latest version of the watchOS operating system that runs on the Apple Watch and is intended to replace watchOS 8.
watchOS 9 And Everything We Know About The New Apple Watch
Everything in the one place
It will see a public release later this year, probably in September. watchOS 9 was unveiled at the WWDC22 conference in June. The watchOS 9 update includes design improvements, new watch faces, and new apps, focusing on updated health and fitness features.
The most significant new features in watchOS 9
There are four new watch faces. Lunar shows the relationship between the Gregorian calendar and the various lunar calendars. Playtime features fun, animated, and personified digits created in collaboration with artist Joi Fulton. Metropolitan is a classic font-driven dial with a style that changes as the digital crown rotates.
Astronomy is an improved version of the original astronomical dial with a redesign, new star chart, and cloud data. Several existing watch faces also have an updated design. The Practical, Simple, and Analog Activity dials feature improved and upgraded complications. The Modular and Extra Large dials feature background color adjustments.
The Portrait dial adds a depth effect to multiple photos, including cats, dogs, and landscapes, and the Focus mode can now be assigned to a specific dial. For example, if you're in work mode, you can set a different dial than you might in personal mode.
Health still at the center of your mind
Sleep tracking in watchOS 9 now includes sleep stages and allows users to see when they are in REM, light, or deep sleep. Sleep stage data is available in the Sleep app and can be viewed in more detail in the Health app on iPhone.
The new Medications app on Apple Watch is designed to help users manage and track their medications, vitamins, and supplements. The app keeps a list of drugs, sends reminders when it's time to take them, and watches for potential drug interactions (the US only).
The data is synced with the Health app on iPhone, where users can get more information about their medications.
Much improved coaching
The Workout app has been updated to switch between workout views using the digital crown—the ability to create custom workouts that can include intervals of work and rest has been added. Heart rate zones can be designed to track workout intensity, and there are new alerts for pace, power, heart rate, and cadence that can guide the user through their workout.
Swimmers have access to a new automatic swim board detection, and efficiency can be tracked with SWOLF scores. This combines the number of strokes with the time it takes to swim the length of the pool.
For triathletes, there is a new Combination workout type that can alternate between swim, bike, and run workouts, and for runners, the Workout app offers more data. Runners can track stride length, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation, plus there are options to race with the best or last result on frequently used routes.
Apple has also added a new dynamic pacing feature, so runners can choose the distance and finish time they want to complete the run, with the watch calculating the pace needed. All users will now see cardio recovery estimates after an outdoor walking, running, or hiking workout, even if the workout is below maximum intensity.
Fitness+ workouts on watchOS display on-screen instructions and trainer instructions to help users get the most out of HIIT, cycling, rowing, and treadmill workouts. Fitness+ users who don't have an Apple TV can use AirPlay to stream workouts and meditations to compatible third-party TVs and use them without an Apple TV.
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) alerts have been updated in the ECG app, and Apple has added a new AFib History feature. AFib patients can turn on the AFib History feature to track AFib frequency to gain a deeper understanding of their heart condition, which they can also share with medical professionals.
Improvements you wouldn't expect
The Reminders app can edit key details such as date, time, location, tags, and notes. The Calendar app allows users to create new events directly from Apple Watch and provides access to List, Day, and Month views. Apple has redesigned notifications on the Apple Watch to include thin banners that are less distracting when actively using the watch.
Family Setup now supports the Home app, so kids can control smart home accessories from their wrists. Quick Actions on Apple Watch allow users to do more things with a double-press gesture, including answer/end phone calls, play/pause media, and start or pause exercises. The Apple Watch Mirroring feature helps users control Apple Watch remotely from a paired iPhone using AirPlay.
The QWERTY keyboard on Series 7 now supports additional languages, including French, German, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Developers have access to the new CallKit API, which allows them to receive calls from third-party VOIP apps on the Apple Watch.
Now developers can build support for shared lists into their apps and integrate watchOS apps with Apple TV. Currently, watchOS 9 is limited to developers, but Apple plans to release a public beta of the update this July.
New watch faces
Lunar
The Lunar Dial shows the relationship between the Gregorian and lunar calendars used in Chinese, Islamic, and Hebrew cultures. You can use up to four complications with this dial.
Playtime
Playtime is a fun, dynamic Apple Watch watch face with animated numerals, and the watch face was designed in collaboration with artist Joi Fulton. Rotating the crown changes the background of the confetti animation, and the figures react when you tap them. You can choose to have confetti or solid background, but there are no complications.
Metropolitan
The Metropolitan is a classic Apple Watch watch face that changes style when you turn the crown. The custom-designed numbers change style and weight and rotate to become pills when the wrist is tilted. Up to four complications can be added to the circular dial, and the colors can be customized.
Astronomy
Astronomy is an improved version of the original Astronomy dial, but it has been redesigned to include a new star map and up-to-date cloud data based on your location. You can set the Earth, Moon, or Solar System as the main view and customize the font. It supports two complications, and by rotating the digital crown, you can rewind or fast-forward to show the moon phase/planet position on a different day.
Enhancements to existing dials:
- Practical — New and updated complications.
- Simple — New and updated complications.
- Analog Activity — New and updated complications.
- Modular — Modification of the background color.
- Extra Large — Adjustment of the background color.
- Portraits — Adds a depth effect to multiple photos, including cats, dogs, and landscapes.
Sleep Tracking
In watchOS 9, Apple has significantly improved the integrated Sleep app in Apple Watch, introducing sleep stages. With Sleep Stages, Apple Watch tells you how much time you spent in REM, light, or deep sleep during the night.
That's along with the amount of time you've been awake. The Health app includes sleep comparison charts that show your heart and breathing rates to track how you're doing at night.
Medication
There's a new Medications app on Apple Watch that works alongside the Medications feature in the Health app on iPhone. On your iPhone, you can add all the medications, vitamins, and supplements you take, along with a schedule of when to take them.
From there, you can get reminders to take your medications on your Apple Watch, and you can mark when you take them to keep track of your habits.
Update Exercise
New indicators will appear if you turn the digital crown while exercising in watchOS 9. Depending on your exercise, these include activity rings, heart rate zones, power, and altitude. The heart rate zones allow you to get an idea of your exercise intensity level at a glance.
As you progress in your workout, you can move through different zones depending on your heart rate. Apple Watch automatically calculates heart rate zones based on your health data, but you can also create zones manually. You can customize your workouts with different workout and recovery intervals for different training styles.
Apple Watch will send notifications for pace, heart rate, cadence, and power, so you can track whatever metrics you need. For running workouts, Apple will give you feedback to let you know if you're on track to meet your goal. There are also new running form metrics that include stride length, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation to help you understand how efficiently you're running.
The Apple Watch can also calculate running power, a measure of effort while running. For workouts like running outdoors, there's an improved workout summary. For outdoor activities Running or Cycling, you can now choose to race against your last or best result. For triathletes, there are new multisport modes.
The Swimming Pool exercise feature supports detecting the use of a swim board as a new type of shot. Swimmers can track their SWOLF score for each set to measure efficiency.
Fitness+
Fitness+ subscribers who use AirPlay to track their workouts can now watch their results in real-time on compatible third-party TVs. Unfortunately, the service hasn't officially launched here yet. The service has also been updated with a new trainer notification feature.
Fitness+ instructors will call up intensity metrics, which will be displayed on the screen for motivation. Intensities include Light, Moderate, Heavy, and Full-on. Trainers are also offering more assistance with rowing, cycling, and treadmill workouts to help users adjust their pace and get the most out of their workouts.
ECG enhancements
The ECG app on Apple Watch can detect atrial fibrillation (AFib), an irregular heart rhythm that can indicate serious health problems. For those diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, Apple has added a new AFib History option that can track it.
With the AFib History feature, you can see an estimate of how often your heart is experiencing arrhythmia. You can also see how factors like sleep, exercise, and weight can affect AFib.
Compatibility
watchOS 9 works with Apple Watch Series 4 and later drops support for Apple Watch Series 3. See below for a complete list of compatible devices.
- Apple Watch Series 4
- Apple Watch Series 5
- Apple Watch SE
- Apple Watch Series 6
- Apple Watch Series 7
Other new features
- Focus modes can now be set to different watch faces, so you can have another watch face for each mode.
- Calendar — Events can be created directly from Apple Watch and quickly switched to specific days or weeks.
- Dock — Apps running in the background take precedence over other apps in the Dock, making it easier to return to them.
- Notifications — When actively using Apple Watch, notifications appear as unobtrusive banners. Standard full-screen notifications then appear when your wrist is slumped, and the watch is not active.
- Family settings — Kids whose parents set up Apple Watch now have access to the Podcasts app, the Home app, and various digital keys stored in the Wallet app.
- Quick Actions — With Quick Actions, you can perform a double-finger gesture, such as starting an exercise or taking a photo, depending on your app.
- CallKit — Third-party VOIP apps can now allow you to answer calls on your Apple Watch.
- Apple Watch Mirroring — The Apple Watch Mirroring accessibility feature is designed to allow control of the Apple Watch via iPhone using AirPlay. It enables assistive features such as toggle control and voice control.
- Maximum battery recalibration — According to the watchOS 9 release notes, Apple is adding a new recalibration feature to watchOS 9 for Apple Watch Series 4 and Apple Watch Series 5.
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