watchOS 4: New Features

Apple’s watchOS 4 includes significant improvements to help Apple Watch users improve their health and make their digital lives easier. As Apple continues to push the Apple Watch primarily as a fitness device, watchOS 4 includes a variety of creature comforts to help users access timely and personalized information at a glance.

Apple’s watchOS 4 will launch alongside iOS 11 this fall. Developers can download watchOS 4 to play around with new features and prepare their apps for new software, but there is no public watchOS beta program. Apple announced watchOS 4 alongside iOS 11 at WWDC 2017. You can learn more about what’s new in iOS 11 here. If you’re new to Apple Watch, you can read our guide on which Apple Watch to buy and what Apple Watch can do.

watchOS 4: Siri Watch Face

Apple’s watchOS 4 guesses what information is most useful and presents it on the new Siri watch face. watchOS 4 pulls information from apps like calendar, maps, reminders, and event to update the Siri watch face. In the example above, the Siri watch face tells a user how long it will take to start work and what’s on the calendar.
In the example above, the Siri watch face shows what time the Sun sets and offers a shortcut to the Home app to activate the Good Night Scene for a user, possibly turning on the lights in their home.

Other New watchOS 4 Watch Faces

While the new Siri watch face focuses on helping people get things done and keeping them informed, Apple is putting a few fun watch faces in watchOS 4.

Kaleidoscope watch face takes any image and creates animated patterns using its colors. Complications such as activity progression are colored to match your custom Kaleidoscope.

Apple also includes three new watch faces featuring characters from Pixar. Toy Story franchise Animated Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear respond to touches. The trio joins Disney’s Micky Mouse and Minnie Mouse in watchOS 4.

watchOS 4 Activity App

The Activity app is perhaps the best reason to own an Apple Watch, as it can help users lose weight and stay healthy. The new Activity app offers personalized coaching and tips to help users reach their fitness goals. The video above is an example of an Event app celebration that is far more engaging than the simple notifications in watchOS 3.

The new Activity app will help users reach short-term goals by letting them know each morning what they need to do to match the previous day’s activity levels. The watchOS 4 Activity app will also tell users what to do towards the end of the day to close all activity loops. For example, the Activity app might suggest a brisk 15-minute walk to close all loops if you’re close to your goals.

watchOS 4 Workout App

Apple’s updated watchOS 4 Workout app is smarter and aimed at people who are serious about fitness. It comes with automatic sets for swimming in the pool. It will also be able to track High Intensity Interval Training workouts. The workout app will also be able to track back-to-back workouts as users switch between activities like cycling and running.

watchOS 4 Music App

Apple has completely redesigned the Music app for watchOS 4. Users can now navigate between playlists and albums using a visual interface that displays album art. The Music app on watchOS has a lot of text rather than visual information.

gym kit

Apple’s GymKit allows Apple Watches to be paired with gym equipment, including treadmills, weight machines, and indoor bikes. While Apple Watch users can record indoor workouts without syncing with machines, GymKit will help record more accurate data as machines can record metrics that the Apple Watch alone can’t. For example, a GymKit compatible bike will help record speed and distance.

Apple has announced several GymKit partners, including Life Fitness, StairMaster, and Schwinn. While most gym goers will recognize these brands, don’t get too excited just yet. There’s no word on when or where GymKit-compatible equipment will land.

Person-to-Person Apple Pay

With watchOS 4, Apple Watch users will be able to pay friends and family with the Apple Pay app. Money can be transferred instantly using the Apple Watch messages app or Siri. This will be useful for splitting bills, paying back friends or giving pocket money to kids. The transferred money can be spent instantly.

Apple Watch Health & Fitness Accessories

When Apple releases watchOS 4, third-party accessories will be able to connect to the Apple Watch. Accessories will be able to communicate with Apple Watches in real time via Bluetooth. This means that gym equipment will help athletes monitor training and performance. For example, a smart tennis racket can record how many practices a player has served in a session. watchOS 4 connects to compatible glucose monitors, allowing diabetics to monitor their glucose levels in real time.