There’s been a plethora of juicy update news coming out of Apple’s WWDC 2016 event and, on the wearable front, the major announcement centred around watchOS 3. Coming this fall for Watch wearers, the OS upgrade brings with it a whole host of new features.
Here are the 5 most significant changes…
1 – Instant Performance
Not only will it be easier for Apple Watch users to tap straight into their favourite apps and screens using the new Dock – launched with a press of the side button – but apps will now launch up to seven times faster than they currently do with watchOS 2.
It’s all down to the updated operating system making better use of the smartwatch’s RAM storing info on favourite apps in the memory, allowing for quicker background processing.
2 – Fitness and health
Paying homage to the social models that have made platforms like RunKeeper, Endomondo, Jawbone and the like so successful, watchOS 3 will offer wearers the chanc to share, compare and compete their activity stats with their friends, family or even personal trainers.
The gamified fitness features will be baked right into the improved Messages app, making it as simple as sending a text to compare your performance with your peers.
There’s also a new Breathe app that “encourages users to take moments in their day to do short deep breathing sessions.”
3 – Revamped messaging
Making messaging from your wrist a natural fit is a struggle for all smartwatch manufacturers but Apple already does it better than most. And things are about to get a whole lot easier thanks to quicker Smart Replies and a new scribble feature that lets you write words on the display and see your handwriting converted to text.
4 – SOS mode
GPS locators and panic buttons are proving ever more popular and Apple has responded with an emergency feature of its own with watchOS 3.
SOS is designed for people in “critical situations” to initiate a call with emergency services through their iPhone or while on Wi-Fi, or ping a message to their emergency contact just by holding the Watch’s side button.
5 – Extra dev privileges
Apple has opened up a lot more doors for developers to explore, meaning we should see much more intuitive and useful Apple Watch apps arrive with watchOS 3.
Developers can now access to Apple Pay so wearers will be able to purchase things using Apple's platform within apps; fitness apps can now run in the background during your workout meaning more useful stats; and devs can also now sync up their link their apps to CloudKit and Game and make use of the speaker and the Crown and Touch controls.
