Apple recently announced its Apple Watch-related updates that will arrive as part of WatchOS 27 later this year. As a quick update, Apple has changed the name of its operating system (eg iOS, WatchOS, iPadOS, etc…) to match the next year (2027 next year, like car models). These platforms were announced today at Apple’s Annual WWDC event in San Francisco (Worldwide Developers Conference), and are immediately available in early access private beta for third-party Apple developers. Remember, this event is not (and never was) about announcing all the new Apple Watch features coming in September. On average, about 30-50% of those new features aren’t announced until Apple’s September event.
Either way, usually around mid-July we see Apple release it into public beta, where anyone can download it. Finally, in September, after Apple’s annual announcement event for new phones and watches, it will go to the state of the final release, and be available on both new devices as well. In the case of iOS, that’s iPhone 11 and up, and in the case of Apple Watch that’s Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 & Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE3. That’s a significant change to exclude the Apple Watch Ultra 1 (2022), Series 9 (2023), and SE2 (2022). [Note: Apple’s materials previously said Series 10 and higher, that’s being corrected, it should Series 9 and higher.]
With that backstory, this year was expected to be very low-key for Apple Watch-related WWDC announcements. In fact, if we look at Apple’s platform announcements as a whole, they rely heavily on the development of existing features. Most of them were performance related or privacy related. And of course, many AI-related features that don’t really work on the Apple Watch (at least at this point/time).
In this post, I will quickly cover all the new features, but I expect more details during July (or whenever the public beta is released), when we will undoubtedly get more things than Apple’s announcements in their keynote speech (usually only a few things get to the key point).
What’s New in iOS for Fitness/Sports/Health:
Now, as always with watchOS, a lot of it starts on iOS (the phone app), to support many new watch features. So, there are a few small things coming to iOS that support watchOS features. They are as follows (for Health, Fitness, and Fitness apps):
– Added irregular cycle tracking
– Added Menopause and menopause entry in the Health app
– Added Menopause and menopause education in the Health app
– Additional Fitness + exercises for perimenopause and menopause
– Added Filter by completed Fitness + functionality
– Added Support for time zone changes in Sleep
– Fast data update in Health App
– Synchronized step count in Health & Fitness apps
Here you can see new features related to irregular cycle tracking, menopause, and menopause tracking in Apple Health:
Beyond this, there is a slate of developments related to Siri on your phone, a small slider accessible from the watch. I won’t dive into all of these here, as they are more general than sports/fitness/health. However, note that the improved Siri AI will not be available in the EU at launch. When and how things look is unclear there.
What’s new in WatchOS:
Next, let’s take a look at the list of WatchOS-related features, which are coming to WatchOS27 directly.
– Workout Buddy no longer needs your phone with you (this one is huge!)
– Better battery efficiency on Apple Watch (however, this is not explained)
– A new dedicated app for Siri on the wrist
– New Dynamic app grid on watchOS (including direct Siri support)
– Added one touch for WatchOS to open Smart Stack
– Added tracking deviation alerts to WatchOS
– Improved distance accuracy during treadmill runs/walks
– More accurate tracking on Apple Watch
– Improved Wi-Fi connectivity in watchOS
– Integrated Find My app in watchOS
– The introduction of a quick extension of the application in watchOS
– Siri improvements on WatchOS (combined with tons of Siri AI improvements on iOS)
– New Smart Stack suggestions on watchOS
– Fast media/music playback on watchOS
– View card balance in Wallet on WatchOS
– Guest key on WatchOS
– Transport and ID cards in Smart Stack on WatchOS
– Redesigned settings in the Apple Watch app
– Adding Workout Buddy in Spanish
– Adding new information to Workout Buddy
– Adds a new API for Workout Zones
– Adds new Menopause API
As you can see, very small changes, mostly small improvements. Here’s a look at the Dynamic Home Grid, which acts as a memory for your recent apps on WatchOS (similar to what we’ve had on iOS for years). You will press the Digital Crown to see this, and up to 5 apps will appear.
Best of all, though, is that Workout Buddy no longer requires your phone to be with you. Until now, it required both your phone to be with you, but also to have a connection. This seems to eliminate at least the requirement for a jailbroken phone.
Similarly, Workout Buddy is now in Spanish, and adds more information. Hopefully that extra detail will come with improved accuracy of said details (it usually does things for me).
Next, there is a new dedicated Siri app, where you can revisit your conversations directly from the handset (even those started on the phone):
Similarly, there’s more information now from Siri on the wrist as well, with Apple’s updated Siri Intelligence.
And here’s an example of bike tracking deviation notifications on WatchOS27:
So much so that Apple didn’t even have a section covering WatchOS. Instead, these updates were sprinkled throughout the presentation in other places. I can’t remember the last time Apple didn’t have a section about WatchOS within the presentation…it’s been a while!
Finish:
Obviously, if you were expecting a major update to WatchOS, this is going to sound pretty disappointing. I don’t think anyone can really deny that. But at the same time, as the saying goes: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. In this case, these chickens don’t actually hatch until mid to late September, in conjunction with the new machines. That’s when we’ll find out what other new WatchOS features Apple is working on, just like we always find out about other new WatchOS features at that September event.
Likewise, the release of the Apple Watch Series 8 (2022), Apple Watch Ultra 1, and Apple Watch SE2 (also announced for 2022) will likely be unexpected, especially since Apple is actually integrating the iPhone all the way back to the iPhone 11 (2019). I would expect both of those watches to last another year, so maybe there’s something else coming later in September for WatchOS that needs more power to justify that change. Again, we’ll have to see. [Note: Apple’s materials previously said Series 10 and higher, that’s being corrected, it should Series 9 and higher.]
Otherwise, stay tuned for me to suggest new Workout Buddy offline pieces, when they go into public beta in July. I use the Apple Watch every day, and I’ll upload the beta later this evening to start seeing how those pieces work.
With that – thanks for reading!
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