iOS 10 & WatchOS 3 launch day — the two features I’m looking forward to the most
It’s 13th September 2016 today, also known in tech circles as ‘new OS’ day (if you are using an Apple device, other than a Mac, that is). iOS 10 and WatchOS 3 are out today and they are packed with goodies the tech-obsessed have been drooling over since they were announced in June at WWDC. I have been using both, iOS 10 and WatchOS 3 since they were released in Developer Beta form in June. And, as I wait for iOS 10 and WatchOS 3 to drop for everyone else, I thought I’d look back at all that was announced and highlight my favorite features in iOS and WatchOS 3 (one for each) and how they’ll change my usage of my iPhone and Apple Watch when developers release apps taking advantage of those features.
Though I’ve been using iOS 10 and WatchOS 3 since June and have had to go back to Apple’s website to revise all the new features that were added as I’m quite accustomed to them now, there is one feature in each OS update, which, incidentally, is my favorite and which, incidentally, can’t be experienced to its full potential without developers updating their apps to support iOS 10 and bake said feature into their apps.
WatchOS 3: Workouts on steroids
When Apple announced and then subsequently, launched the Apple Watch, their marketing lacked clarity about the utility of the watch. They wanted it to be ‘your most personal device ever’ and as a result, tried to do a lot with it. That led to certain features, like workout tracking, being half-baked. Although the Apple Watch had a bevy of fitness smart on board, developers weren’t given access to any of its sensors. And Apple’s Workout app was a joke. Third-party apps weren’t even allowed to add active calories to the Move ring in the beginning. Add to that the snail-paced nature of the Apple Watch in general, the quality of workout apps was pretty bad in the beginning. That changed a bit with WatchOS 2 and third-party apps got access to activity rings and heart-rate data but that still didn’t improve the overall state of workout-tracking using the Apple Watch. One of the most popular running apps at that time, Nike+ Running — called Nike+ Run Club and quite unpopular now — didn’t even update their Apple Watch app for WatchOS 2. The developer of one the more popular workout-tracking iOS apps even told me that developing an app for the Apple Watch with all the restrictions was a pain in the a**.
That changes, big time, with WatchOS 3. Not only do instant app launches (for your favorite apps and complications) make launching apps a breeze, but Apple has also opened up access to all the sensors (GPS too, in Series 2) and the digital crown to developers. And they have upped their game with the redesigned Workout app. The app shows a lot more data now and doesn’t require constant swiping (and swearing, when said swiping fails because your fingers are sweaty) to view metrics. The companion Activity app on the iPhone shows more data for the tracked workouts too (maps, weather information, etc.). I have been using the Workout app for the last 3 months and if its speed and features are any indications, I’m mighty excited about what third-party developers of apps like iSmoothRun, Runkeeper and Strava will do.
iOS 10: All the 3D Touching
I was planning to buy an Apple Watch last September and had decided to wait and see if Apple would announce an upgrade to it in their fall event. Even though that Apple Watch upgrade didn’t come, my plans to buy one then flew out of the window the moment I laid my eyes upon the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (I did buy my Apple Watch 6 months later, in March this year). And the biggest reason I wanted the iPhone 6s was 3D Touch. The possibilities were endless and I was really excited about it till the time I used it for a couple of weeks and realized that it was just a glorified right click interaction. Developers weren’t on board as Apple didn’t showcase a lot of use cases for it and all the implementations that I saw seemed very half-hearted.
That changes (again), big time, with iOS 10. A lot of the new features announced for iOS 10 revolve around 3D Touch and the navigation system benefits tangibly by using 3D Touch now. Notifications allow you to perform actions on them (not simple actions, they open up a mini version of the app) using 3D Touch on the lock-screen and in the notification center without having to go into the app, app icons let you glance relevant information from an app using its widget without opening it by using 3D Touch, the control center supports 3D Touch now, a 3D Touch on a folder lets you jump right to the app with a notification badge and a 3D Touch in the notifications center lets you clear all notifications, a la Apple Watch. There are other implementations of 3D Touch too and I can’t wait to see how interactions with apps and notifications get supercharged using 3D Touch in the coming days.
Go ahead, download iOS 10 and WatchOS 3, and let me know what you think. I’ll be writing a lot more about them over the next few days.
Originally published at techtastic.wordpress.com on September 14, 2016.
