WatchOS 11: Improved Smart Stack, New Training Load, and Customizable Activity Rings

Apple has previewed watchOS 11, showcasing new features for Apple Watch aimed at providing enhanced health and fitness insights, along with greater personalization and connectivity.

Health Insights with the Vitals App

The Vitals app in watchOS 11 allows users to quickly access important health metrics, including heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, sleep duration, and blood oxygen levels. The app provides notifications when multiple metrics fall outside typical ranges, offering insights into potential causes such as elevation changes, alcohol consumption, or illness.

Enhanced Support for Pregnant Users

WatchOS 11, along with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, includes additional support for pregnant users. The Cycle Tracking app will display gestational age and allow users to log symptoms commonly experienced during pregnancy. The Health app also offers reminders for mental health assessments and alerts for potential fall risks, enhancing safety and well-being during pregnancy.

Training Load and Fitness Tracking

A new training load feature provides insights into workout intensity and duration over time, helping users make informed decisions about their fitness routines. The effort rating scale, ranging from 1 to 10, aids in tracking workout difficulty. In addition, this data, combined with other metrics, allows users to compare their recent training load with their 28-day average, offering guidance on adjusting workouts for optimal results.

Customizable Activity Rings

Users can now customize Activity ring goals by the day and pause rings for specific periods without affecting award streaks. The Fitness app on iPhone also offers customizable summaries, including new metrics for various workouts. Apple enhanced its Fitness+ for improved motivation and consistency.

Improved Personalization and Convenience

The Smart Stack feature in watchOS 11 offers intelligent widget suggestions based on time, date, and location, along with new interactive widgets. The Photos watch face uses machine learning to select and recommend the best photos, enhancing the personalization of the watch face. Additional features include the Check In and Translate apps for increased connectivity and the ability to use the double tap gesture for easier interaction.

New Tools for Developers

WatchOS 11 has also introduced new APIs for developers, enabling the integration of the Smart Stack’s increased intelligence and the double tap gesture’s functionality. Developers can create interactive widgets and customize Live Activities to provide timely updates on the watch face.

Privacy and Availability

Privacy remains a priority, with health and fitness data encrypted when devices are locked and during iCloud backups. The developer beta of watchOS 11 is available now, with a public beta coming next month. Meanwhile, the official release is set this fall as a free update for Apple Watch Series 6 or later, paired with iPhone Xs or later running iOS 18.

Source: Apple Newsroom