watchOS 8 just got more interesting, thanks to updates to Wallet and the Home app, allowing you to unlock your car and get into your home or hotel room more easily. There are also innovations for photos, such as a new face for portraits and easier photo sharing. But new features have also been added that are good for body and mind, while you can stay in touch better via Messages. In this round-up, we've rounded up our favorite watchOS 8 features.
- #1 Access anywhere with your Apple Watch
- # 2 Enhanced HomeKit features
- #3 Find devices and objects
- #4 New watch faces
- #5 Do more with Photos
- #6 Multiple Timers
- #7 Mindfulness
- #8 New workouts
- #9 Breathing rate while sleeping
- #10 Contact list
- #11 Improved always-on
- #12 Control with arm gestures
- More features in watchOS 8
- More about watchOS 8
#1 Access anywhere with your Apple Watch
If you have Apple Pay, you may already be used to it: you can leave the house with only your iPhone in your pocket. With the Apple Watch, paying in the store is often even easier. Apple also wants to offer this same convenience for door locks and access systems. You can then open your front door or hotel room with your Apple Watch, which is handy! However, whether this succeeds depends on the number of participants. If you have your own front door, you can choose a door lock that supports this function, but in a hotel and at business premises you are dependent on the owner or manager. If the big hotel chains pick it up, it could go fast… but only for Apple users. You don't have to think about anything when you leave the house: your Apple Watch is enough.
Apple will also enable credentials in the Wallet app, but we actually think the iPhone is a more suitable device for this. In addition, it will only be available in a limited number of US states, so it's not playing with us yet.
#2 Improved HomeKit Features
You usually have the iPhone to hand when you're sitting on the couch, but wouldn't it be handy if you could also arrange many more things on the Apple Watch? Which can. The Home app in watchOS 8 has become much more practical. You have faster access to the accessories and scenes you need at any given time. You can also control accessories per room, use the Intercom function to sound a public message throughout the house or see who is at the door directly on your wrist. For the latter, you do need a HomeKit camera.
#3 Searching for devices and objects
For Apple, it's one of the many features that óók are still nice to mention, but we think it's a very useful addition: the search of devices and objects on your Apple Watch. This way you can find not only your iPhone, but also your iPad, Mac, AirTag and even your bicycle.
#4 New watch faces
We look forward to this every six months: would new dials have been added? Apple has unveiled one: Portraits. In addition, another World Timer watch face has surfaced. It shows you the time zones in 24 cities worldwide. Handy if you go on holiday (again) or have a lot to do with people in other countries for work.
According to Apple, the photo watch face is the most used on the Apple Watch. Often these will be photos of people you hold dear. In watchOS 8, they look even better with the Portraits watch face. In doing so, the background is blurred, so that you get a layered effect. The feature automatically detects faces and crops the photo to look nice on the watch face.
#5 Doing more with Photos
Want to watch photos on the Apple Watch? It may sound cumbersome, but it's doable. The app has now been redesigned and offers you new ways to browse collections. You can now also see Memories and Featured Photos on your Apple Watch, and if you come across something fun enough to show others, you can share them from the Apple Watch via Messages and Mail. There is a new pane for this. The photo collection ‘On this day’ gives you a glimpse into the past.
#6 Multiple timers
Small but nice: this function is oh so handy. You can now set multiple timers (!) on the Apple Watch. Perfect while cooking, or if you're working on several jobs at the same time. Siri lets you label them, for example ‘Kitchen Timer’ or ‘Washing machine’ so you know what alarm it is.
#7 Mindfulness
Until now, the Breathing app was very simple: you could do guided breathing exercises with it, but not much more. In watchOS 8 it will be different: there are more functions and the app has been given a different name: Mindfulness app. People are increasingly realizing that it is important to take a step back on a regular basis and the Apple Watch will help you with that. there are improved breathing sessions and you can now start a one minute reflection session. You will then be presented with a positive thought, which you will think about for a minute while watching an animation with spots. This makes the app a lot more useful.
#8 New workouts: Tai Chi and Pilates
Let's continue on the subject of body and mind: with the Workout app on the Apple Watch. He has received two new workouts, namely Tai Chi and Pilates. Special algorithms have been made for it, so that your heart rate and movement are correctly estimated. Tai Chi is more than two thousand years old and can be considered as meditation while moving. And with Pilates you can work on a stronger core and improve your core, balance and flexibility in exercises that build up to increasingly challenging performance.
#9 Respiratory rate while sleeping
A small but nice improvement is that your respiratory rate is measured while sleeping. The Apple Watch already helps you with a regular sleep routine and keeps track of how long you sleep, what your heart rate is and whether the oxygen level in your blood is sufficient. In watchOS 8, the number of breaths per minute is added. The Apple Watch uses the built-in accelerometer for this. You can then find them in the Health app.
#10 Contacts list on the Apple Watch
This app has been on the iPhone since the very beginning, but is now also coming to the Apple Watch. You can even add, edit and share contact information. In addition, new tools have been added to the Messages app to make it easier for you to keep in touch with others. You can edit dictated text afterwards and you can even send people a gif. The Apple Watch is less suitable for handwritten texts, because the Dutch language is not yet supported. If you often write in English, you can now also write, dictate and combine emoji in one message. If you want.
#11 Improved always-on
Another welcome addition is that more watchOS 8 apps support the always-on screen, including Maps, Mindfulness, Phone, Podcasts, Stopwatch, Timers, and Voice Memos. It has now also become easier for third-party developers to offer it, thanks to the always-on API.
In watchOS 7 you saw the app in a dimmed form, with the time over it. This has been improved in watchOS 8: you now see a dimmed version of the app, which is immediately interactive when you tap it. Developers can also ensure that less important information is dimmed extra. And bright colors can also be dimmed extra when the screen is inactive.
Always-on in watchOS 7 (left) and watchOS 8 (right).
#12 Control Apple Watch with arm gestures
This is super cool, even if few people will use it: you can now control your Apple Watch with hand movements. As a result, you only need one arm, namely the arm on which you also wear the Apple Watch. Hand gestures let you open apps and tap items. The motion sensors in Apple Watch register your movements so you can take calls, control a cursor, and open an action menu for Notification Center, Control Center, and more. Unbelievable!
This feature was previously announced and you can read more about it in the article below.
More Features in watchOS 8
There are many more features in watchOS 8. For example, you can use the Focus function to concentrate better. You will also find this on most other devices. Apple Watch automatically looks at the Focus on iOS settings and filters notifications from people and apps based on your habits. Machine learning is used for this.
Apple has also redesigned the Music app, allowing you to share songs, albums, and playlists via Messages and Mail. From now on you will find all music and radio stations in one place. The Weather app in watchOS 8 also shows emergency alerts and warns of dangerous weather conditions. You can see the precipitation for the next few hours. There is much more to discover in the beta.
More about watchOS 8
watchOS 8 is the major update for the Apple Watch from 2021. Do you want to know if your Apple Watch is suitable? That's easy to determine: if you have an Apple Watch Series 3, you can update this fall. No models will be dropped this year, so if you have watchOS 7 installed now, you can also update to watchOS 8 when the official version is available. We expect watchOS 8 during September/October 2021. Find out what else was announced at the keynote in our WWDC 2021 recap!