At Apple’s World Wide Developer’s Conference, the company announced watchOS 5, the latest software for the Apple Watch. The software release focuses on two areas: staying active, and staying better connected.
Activity Competitions allows Apple Watch users to challenge a friend (also wearing an Apple Watch) to a seven-day competition in which you earn points based on the percentage of Activity rings that you close. During the competition, alerts will notify you if you’re falling ahead or falling behind your competitor.
Apple is also introducing a very helpful feature, dubbed Automatic Workout Detection. As the name implies, watchOS 5 will allow your Apple Watch to automatically detect when a user starts exercising and will start a workout and log your activity automatically. Previously, a user had to manually start a workout on the watch, adding friction to the logging of workout data. Apple also added the ability to log yoga sessions or a hiking trip.
In a move welcomed by those who enjoy podcasts on the go, Apple is enabling podcast playback on Apple Watch with watchOS 5.
In addition to the numerous improvements to Apple’s workout suite, watchOS 5 will also feature several new ways to communicate. The new “walkie-talkie” app is a simple new way to communicate: just press to talk, let go to listen. Notifications from third-party apps will now be able to offer more powerful quick actions, such as checking in for a flight directly from a check-in notification.
You can see the full list of new improvements and changes featured in watchOS by reading Apple’s press release here.
