Apple has released watchOS 9, the latest version of the operating system for Apple Watch. It comes with new features designed to keep you healthier and more connected. Here’s how to install watchOS 9, followed by descriptions of its key features.
How watchOS 9 . to install
To install watchOS 9, you must have an Apple Watch Series 4 or later, along with an iPhone 8 or later or iPhone SE (2nd generation) or later with iOS 16, which was also released on Monday. After you update your iPhone to iOS 16, you can upgrade your Apple Watch.
Before installing the update, you need to place your Apple Watch on the charger. The watch must also be within range of your iPhone and connected to Wi-Fi. Then follow these steps in the Watch app on your iPhone:
Tap General.
Tap Software update. The app will search for the update online.
When the app finds the update, you’ll see a release notes screen. Under the notes, tap Download and install.
Apple
New watch faces
It wouldn’t be a watchOS update without new watch faces. This year, Apple has four new ones, including a “completely remastered” classic face. This is how Apple describes the new faces:
Moon: Shows the relationship between the Gregorian calendar and the lunar calendar, which is used in many cultures, such as Chinese, Islamic, and Hebrew.
Playtime: A dynamic piece of art unique to Apple Watch, created in collaboration with artist Joi Fulton.
Metropolitan: A classic, type-driven watch face that changes style as the Digital Crown is turned.
Astronomy: An original face that has been completely remastered and features a new star map and current cloud data.
You also get “enhanced and modernized” complications on many of Apple’s classic faces, including Utility, Simple, and Activity Analog, along with background color editing for Modular, Modular Compact, and X-Large for added personalization. And the Portraits, Focus and California faces also have some new features.
Energy saving mode
The new Low Power Mode helps extend your battery life by disabling some features, such as the always-on display (on watches that support it), heart health check, and automatic workout start. Other features, such as fall detection and activity tracking, will still work in power-saving mode. According to Apple, Low Power mode can extend battery life by as much as twice as much as normal mode.
Low Power Mode is different from the Power Reserve setting in the watchOS battery preferences. Power Reserve shuts down just about everything and only shows the clock.
Better workouts
Workout is the go-to app for fitness enthusiasts, and it gets a whole lot better in watchOS 9. The app now offers richer metrics for measuring performance, as well as new workout experiences. Users can also use the Digital Crown to switch between Workout Views.
Customized workouts and heart rate zones help athletes better track their progress, while new pace, power, heart rate and cadence alerts give you a live view of your readings. Triathletes can also use the new Multisport workout type that automatically switches between swimming, cycling and running using the Apple Watch’s sensors to recognize movement patterns.
Runners are also getting more out of watchOS 9 with new metrics on running shapes, including stride length, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation, all of which can be added to training views as metrics. Finally, swimmers can now track their efficiency with a SWOLF score – stroke count combined with the time it takes to swim one length of the pool.
Smarter sleep tracking
After bringing sleep tracking to watchOS 7, Apple improved the system in watchOS 9 with the addition of sleep stages. Like Fitbit watches, Apple will use the accelerometer and heart rate sensor to determine when you’re in REM, Core, or Deep sleep. Users can then view detailed information about the time and quality of their sleep with additional metrics, including heart rate and respiratory rate, in sleep comparison tables in the Health app.
watchOS 9 will track sleep and afib better.
Apple
AFib history
The Apple Watch was able to detect possible signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), but there was no way to see your previous readings. In watchOS 9 there is. Apple Watch users who have been diagnosed with AFib are being asked to enable the new FDA-approved AFib history feature and access important information to gain a deeper understanding of their condition. Users can also download a PDF with a detailed history of their AFib and lifestyle factors.
follow medication
Apple is bringing a new Medicines app in watchOS 9 to help users track and manage prescription medications, daily vitamins, and supplements. You can create a medication list and set schedules and reminders in the Health app. Each drug can have a custom schedule, and users can receive alerts when there are potential problems with two or more drugs used together.