Apple has unveiled watchOS 7, the next-generation Apple Watch update featuring customization tools, new health and fitness features, sleep tracking, automatic handwashing detection, additional workout types including dance, and more.
For the first time, watchOS 7 offers ways to discover and share Apple Watch faces, giving users the option to share faces with friends through Messages or Mail, and discovered through the App Store or even from links through websites and social media channels.
Developers now have the ability to offer more than one complication per app on a single watch face. For example, on one watch face, Glow Baby can display multiple complications that help new parents track bottle-feeding, breastfeeding, pumping statistics, and nap times.
With watchOS 7, Apple Watch introduces sleep tracking, providing tools to help users get their desired amount of sleep, get to bed on time, and create a pre-bedtime routine to meet their sleep goals. Through the detection of micro-movements from the watch’s accelerometer, Apple Watch intelligently captures when the wearer is sleeping and how much sleep they get each night. In the morning, the wearer will see a visualization of their previous night’s sleep, including periods of wake and sleep. They will also see a chart showing their weekly sleep trend.
To help users wake up, Apple Watch offers a silent haptic alarm or gentle sounds, while the wake-up screen shows the current battery level. Depending on personal charging behavior, if the battery is too low within an hour of bedtime, Apple Watch will remind users to charge it ahead of sleep.
We’re energized by the positive impact Apple Watch is having on our customers and are excited to deliver meaningful new tools that support their health, fitness, and wellness, said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. watchOS 7 brings sleep tracking, automatic handwashing detection, and new workout types together with a whole new way to discover and use watch faces, helping our users stay healthy, active, and connected.
In light of the current global health situation, watchOS 7 adds Automatic Handwashing Detection. Apple Watch uses the motion sensors, microphone, and on-device machine learning to automatically detect handwashing motions and sounds. It then initiates a 20-second countdown timer, and if the user finishes early, they will be prompted to keep washing. Apple Watch can also conveniently remind the user to wash their hands when they return home. watchOS 7 brings four new workout types supported by heart rate and custom-built motion algorithms: Core Training, Dance, Functional Strength Training, and Cooldown.