One of the more novel yet exciting announcements Apple had was the ability to switch watchfaces just by swiping on the display. Users can also now add complications to the Photo, Motion or Timelapse watch faces. Even though the device has only been out for a year, the Apple Watch’s app cloud has become iconic – the face of the smartwatch – just as the iPhone’s grid of apps has. There’s still no Apple Watch keyboard (which is a good thing), but instead of selecting a pre-written reply or dictating a voice response, you’ll be able to scrawl letters on the screen, which the watch will then turn into text. This feature is quite similar to what was recently announced for Android Wear.
Advertisement
One of the issues with the Watch is that apps can be slow to load and, once loaded, slow to update. By pressing and holding on the side button, users can initiate a call with emergency services. This feature will work internationally.
The Apple Watch has supported Apple Pay since day one, but now third-party app developers will be able to integrate Apple Pay as a payment option in their apps, which wasn’t available before.
watchOS 3 will be available this spring as a free update to Apple Watch.
Apple announced the latest update to the watchOS with watchOS 3 at its WWDC keynote.
Cook opened his presentation at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference by addressing the tragedy. “People look at their activity rings all the time, there’s a new watchface specifically for that”, Lynch said. Apple has already had a stab at improving this in the last big update with native apps.
This update comes nearly two months after the public release of watchOS 2.2, which introduced multi-watch support for iPhone, Apple Maps improvements and other tweaks. We’ll likely find more when the developer beta is released later today. It contains a number of security and performances patches that are partly described on the Apple security log.
Cook, who has been a champion of diversity at Apple, said he believes the different backgrounds of the people who work at Apple make the company stronger. Some of the apps planning to add Siri integration include Slack, WhatsApp, Uber, Lyft, Pinterest, MapMyRun, Square, Skype, Vonage and more. Your watch can send your location and MedicalID data too.
The Apple Watch dock won’t be replacing the app screen.
Advertisement
Motivation through social engagement is an important factor in changing fitness and health behaviour, and now with watchOS 3, it’s possible to share, compare and compete with friends, family or even a personal trainer. With watchOS 3, apps launch virtually instantaneously. When you need to call 911, a long press on the Apple Watch’s side button will start a short countdown to call emergency services. There’s also a new Photos tab called ‘Memories’. So you can see at a glance how near, or far away you are from closing a ring.
