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watchOS 10: Top Five New Features

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Alongside iOS 17, iPadOS 17, tvOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, Apple is also introducing watchOS 10, and it brings some of the biggest updates we've seen to watchOS in years. We've got five reasons why it's going to be worth installing watchOS 10 when it launches this fall.


  1. Redesigned Apps - Apple has overhauled almost all of the stock watchOS apps with a new design language that takes up more of the screen and offers more information at a glance. The Activity app, for example, has new views that show in-depth information on calories burned, workout minutes, and more. The Heart Rate app has a pulsating heart and your current BPM, and the Weather app makes it easier to see the temperature and other conditions you care about. Photos, Podcasts, News, Music, Mail, Calendar, App Store, and tons more apps got updates.
  2. Smart Stack - Widgets are a major focus in watchOS 10, with Apple offering a new "Smart Stack" of widgets that can be accessed by turning the Digital Crown. The Smart Stack displays widgets that are relevant to your day, and you can customize what's there too. The Smart Stack gives quick access to everything from Activity and Calendar to Reminders, the Music app, Shortcuts, Wallet, and Workout.
  3. Control Center - In addition to Smart Stack for quick access to the functions you need most, Apple made it easier to get to the Control Center. Just press on the Side Button to open up Control Center in an app or at the Home Screen.
  4. Watch Faces - There are two new watch faces, including Palette and Snoopy. Palette shifts through different colors throughout the day with a customizable color palette, and Snoopy features characters from the popular Peanuts cartoon like Snoopy and Woodstock. Snoopy is one of Apple's most sophisticated watch faces to date, with Snoopy and Woodstock interacting with the hands of the watch and animating in different positions based on the time of day, weather, and other factors.
  5. Mood Tracking - Both watchOS 10 and iOS 17 support a new mood tracking feature. On the Apple Watch, you can open up the Mindfulness app and choose the "State of Mind" option to log how you're feeling either at a specific moment during the day or for the overall day. You can scroll to select a mood like Pleasant, Neutral, or Unpleasant, and then you can narrow down the emotion you're feeling with Apple providing suggestions. From there, you can select what's impacting your mood, like relationship, work, community, friends, hobbies, and more. Information is aggregated in the Health app so you can see your mood over time and what influences how you feel.
There are also new Workout app features for hikers and cyclists, along with quite a few other additions. To see a full rundown of what's available in watchOS 10, we have a dedicated watchOS 10 roundup.

Article Link: watchOS 10: Top Five New Features
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2023/06/29/watchos-10-top-5-features/
Hopefully you can put some of the control center items in the swipe up menu. I swipe up and hit the find my phone button a lot. I'd hate if that is lost in this change.

I'm curious if there are any changes to the running app.

The biggest things missing for me are:

1. There is no way to put in a warmup but then tap or swipe to move to your actual run once you are warmed up. Garmin lets you skip ahead in the workout.

2. I wish there was customization of what pops up on custom run workout intervals. I'd like to see heart rate and previous interval pace.
 
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Rychiar said:
can we get some cool looking watch faces... like nice high quality digital ones with slick looking fonts... I can't believe its been this long with the same old crap
Click to expand...
+1

Finally after 10 years I can use faces without overloading them with complications, but we still have basically the same usable options as 10 years ago. Digital face always has the time/date in the upper right. Always the same font. At least give us the option to change things around in some manner.

It's the most powerful digital watch ever made but a crappy garmin or my old Pebble had more face variety. So much for being Apple's "most personal device ever."

Anyways, rant over, the new OS is great. The new scrolling app list is so much more usable than both the List and the old zooming honeycomb. Widgets solve my biggest complaint - if I start a timer, let me see it easily. Now it is just a crown scroll away.
 
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Rychiar said:
can we get some cool looking watch faces... like nice high quality digital ones with slick looking fonts... I can't believe its been this long with the same old crap
Click to expand...
Much more freedom/options, regarding watch faces, is definitely welcome.
I know we're not there yet, but opening watchOS up to allow 3rd party watch face designs could be fun. Or, it would be cool if something like Freeform allowed a controlled watch face building template/interface where users could roll their own. While very unApple, I'd be into it.
 
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You missed something in latest Changelog of Beta2 :)

New Features​

  • Optimized Charge Limit is now available on Apple Watch SE, Series 6, Series 7, and Series 8. See About Optimized Battery Charging on your Apple Watch for more information. (110117793)
Click to expand...
 
MacRumors said:
Control Center - In addition to Smart Stack for quick access to the functions you need most, Apple made it easier to get to the Control Center. Just press on the Side Button to open up Control Center in an app or at the Home Screen.
Click to expand...
For me, this isn't easier. I've always found swiping on the watch screen easier and faster than pushing buttons.
 
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I think I'm looking more forward to Watch OS than any other OSs. It looked interesting during the keynote, even though I still wish they had done something with the Rings. Hopefully it's a great update when I get it.
 
To me, it seems like Apple may be struggling to keep people interested in the watch. At this point, many of the large developers have backed out of supporting it. Due to the relatively low cost, the majority of people who want one already have one, and there isn't much more they can do to add to it (because, lets face it, it's a watch haha).

Additionally, a lot of people I've talked to at work have been turned-off to it, due to the fact that it seems marketed mostly towards health and fitness. Obviously, this isn't a bad thing, but this doesn't appeal to everyone. My wife has one, but I do not.
 
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