The next-gen smartwatch platform will finally allow you to take rest days.
Apple just announced watchOS 11, the latest version of its smartwatch platform, at WWDC 2024. Developers can start experimenting with it today, while a public beta will arrive next month. As in previous years, a final public release is expected this fall alongside the new Apple Watches.
As always, each version of watchOS comes with new health features. This year, we’re getting a training mode that uses personal data and metrics to understand how the intensity and duration of workouts affect your body over time. You can also include an “effort rating” for workouts. This mode provides insights into whether you should push harder or perhaps take a step back. And yes, that includes rest days.
People who have been longing for rest days on the Apple Watch will be pleased to know that getting sick or injured will no longer break streaks. Specifically, you can now pause Activity Rings. You’ll also be able to adjust your Activity Ring goals based on the day of the week.
There will also be a new Vitals app that gives you a glimpse of “important health metrics,” and new cycle tracking features for pregnancy, which can show you gestational age. The app will also highlight when certain metrics, like heart rate, are outside your typical range.
With watchOS 11, Live Activities will also come to the Apple Watch. Additionally, there will be new safety features, so if you go for late-night runs, your friends can keep track of you. For workouts, this will happen automatically. This is similar to the safety features introduced on the Pixel Watch 2 last year.
Last year, Apple introduced the smart stack as part of a major update that put widgets front and center. watchOS 11 will build on this, surfacing translation or weather widgets when it thinks you need them.
Surprisingly, there weren’t many new watchfaces this year. Instead, Apple emphasized a newly redesigned Photos watchface.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, and there have been rumors that Apple might go all out on a special “X” version like it did for the iPhone. That said, software updates aren’t always indicative of what hardware changes may be in store. For instance, Apple billed last year’s watchOS 10 as a “milestone” update after it revamped the UI to focus more on widgets, but it had little impact on the Series 9’s actual hardware.
By Andrej Kovacevic
Updated on 10th June 2024