Apple introduced watchOS 11 as a new version of the operating system that governs its smartwatch, the Apple Watch. We don’t see any “revolution”, but we do see improvements in all sections, especially tracking health and sports activities, connectivity and personalization.

Apple kicked off its global developer conference in style, and as expected, the first thing to do was to catch up with the tech phenomenon of the moment, artificial intelligence. The central part of WWDC 2024 is of course dedicated to the presentation of new versions of operating systems, and the Cupertino company also announced those corresponding to its mobile phones, computers or tablets.

Apple watchOS 11

Without being as important as iOS or macOS, Apple also pampers software for a segment that has dominated sales practically since the launch of the first Apple Watch. The system for wearables doesn’t need as much change as the system for mobile phones, but we see it every year interesting news like the ones we’ll round up for this watchOS 11.

Health and sports activities are the most performed tasks on smartwatches and bracelets, and Apple has improved features such as sleep trackingwhich will now provide more information and detect changes in patterns by analyzing key metrics such as heart rate, breathing rate, wrist temperature, sleep duration and blood oxygen.

Another news comes from Cycle tracking app which now supports additional pregnancy information and allows users to record symptoms and receive heart rate alerts, mental health scores and other important metrics.

App for exercise now has a training load feature, a new piece of information that can measure and estimate how your workouts tire your body to help you improve your physical activity. In addition to the automatic estimate, you can manually adjust the estimate to account for other factors such as stress or pain.

Apple also manufactures activity circles, allowing users to take a day off without losing their activities. In addition, watchOS 11 lets you set custom activity goals for each day of the week and determine what appears on the app’s main tab Fitness iPhones.

Other changes in watchOS 11 include apps Apple Fitness+ remodeled; more information in Smart Stack; redesigned Photos watch face; improved exercise recording function; improvements to double-tap gestures, including support for third-party apps or translator features.

watchOS 11: availability and compatibility

A preview version of the operating system is now available to developers, and the public beta will launch in July 2024. The final version will be available next fall for all Apple Watch users from Series 6 and later. Apple has stopped supporting new versions for Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5.

watchOS 11 will also be compatible with the second-generation Apple Watch SE and later and the original Apple Watch Ultra and later. It will also be pre-installed on the new generation Apple Watch Series 10. More information | Manzana