Apple rolls out watchOS 9: 5 big new features for Watch users

Four new Watch faces

watchOS 9 brings four new faces to Apple Watch. There’s Lunar, which depicts the relationship between the Gregorian calendar and lunar calendar. There’s Playtime, which has been created in collaboration with artist Joi Fulton. Users also get Metropolitan, a classic, type-driven watch face where the style changes as the Digital Crown is turned. And lastly, the Astronomy watch face which has been completely remastered and features a new star map and current cloud data. For the first time, any Apple Watch user running watchOS 9 — even those without a Nike model — will be able to access all the Nike watch faces, including the fresh colours coming to the Bounce face.

New features in the Workouts app

The Workout app has been updated to provide richer metrics for measuring performance, as well as new training experiences to help users reach their fitness goals. One can use the Digital Crown to rotate between Workout Views, so users can see important metrics for different training styles. Heart Rate Zones, utilising personalised Health data, can be used to monitor the intensity of a workout. For interval training, the Workout app introduces Custom Workouts, which can be used to create a structured workout that includes work and recovery intervals. New alerts, including pace, power, heart rate, and cadence, can be added to guide users throughout their workout.
For triathletes and duathletes, the Workout app now supports a new Multisport workout type that automatically switches between any sequence of swimming, biking, and running workouts, using motion sensors to recognise movement patterns. watchOS 9 brings more data and features to help track how efficiently users run. New running form metrics, including Stride Length, Ground Contact Time, and Vertical Oscillation, can all be added as metrics on Workout Views.

Better sleep tracking

Sleep tracking in watchOS 9 provides even more insights with the introduction of sleep stages. Using signals from the accelerometer and heart rate sensor, Apple Watch can estimate when users are in REM, Core, or Deep sleep, and when they are awake. Users will see sleep stage data on Apple Watch in the Sleep app and can view more detailed information, like time asleep, alongside additional metrics, like heart rate and respiratory rate, in sleep comparison charts in the Health app on iPhone.

All-new Medications feature

The new Medications feature on Apple Watch and iPhone helps users manage and track their medications, vitamins, and supplements, allowing them to create a medications list, set up schedules and reminders, and view information on their medications in the Health app. The Medications app on Apple Watch makes it easy for users to conveniently and discreetly track medications anytime, anywhere. Custom schedules can be created for each medication, whether it needs to be taken multiple times a day, once a week, or as needed, and users can set up reminders to help keep them on track.

Low power mode comes to Apple Watch

Low Power Modeextends battery life on Apple devices and is now available for Apple Watch as well. Users can maintain core Apple Watch features like Activity tracking and Fall Detection, while disabling or limiting select sensors and features like background heart rate monitoring and the Always-On display.