Latest WatchOS 4 News: Release Date & New Features Apple Watch

It is expected to launch a new watch Apple Watch this year Apple. The company is also updating its watchOS operating system software with new features for existing models Apple Watch.

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We got our first look at watchOS 4 at WWDC 2017 on June 5th. Read on to find out about all the new features.

When Apple will watchOS 4 release?

On June 5th at WWDC 2017, we watched a preview of watchOS 4. After the announcement of watchOS 4, it entered beta testing, which will last for several months. It will finally become available for everyone to download around September 2017.

However, if you signed up as a beta tester, you can download the early watchOS 4 earlier – perhaps by the end of June 2017.

Latest WatchOS 4 News: Release Date & New Features Apple Watch

What's new in watchOS 4?

Here is a summary of the new features Apple Watch that will be presented to us in the next version of the watch operating system.

Siri WatchFace

We'll start with some new watch faces. This may be a little superficial – but it really isn't. At least not exactly the first dial.

The new 'face Siri' will display information personally to you using self-learning similar to the predictive features and contact suggestions in iOS. (Which, in our experience, work pretty well for themselves, but far from perfect, although these things are constantly improving.) Does this mean that Siri on Watch will work when you are offline? Or can it be based on information available exclusively on the device?

Latest WatchOS 4 News: Release Date & New Features Apple Watch

Siri on the Watch displays information using machine learning to match your daily activities. Therefore, on the display, you will see the information and application shortcuts that are most relevant to your current needs.

You can turn the Digital Crown to scroll vertically across different notifications and apps.

Other new watch faces

Apple also released two other watch face groups. First of all, it is a kaleidoscope-shaped dial that you can rotate with the Digital Crown, creating a hypnotic effect. The visuals rotate and change shape, just like these strange toys that everyone seemed to love so much in the sixties.

Latest WatchOS 4 News: Release Date & New Features Apple Watch

There are also new watch faces featuring Disney characters, including the most popular Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, which are now available. Woody, Jessie, and Buzz Lightyear (from Toy Story) also gradually appear in Apple Watch and are now available to those with beta access iOS 11.

Latest WatchOS 4 News: Release Date & New Features Apple Watch

Visually, they seem a little more advanced than the previous ones. Mickey and Minnie were animated, but rather limited – they basically just sway back and forth in time with the clock. But the new watch faces include slightly longer animations that behave differently each time you rotate your wrist.

Apple called them 'vignettes'. For example, one of them is a character climbing from the bottom of the screen onto the watch face.

Along with Woody, Buzz, and Jesse, you'll find Bulzai, Hamm, Rex, and the aliens from Planet Pizza.

You can make the heroes appear randomly on your watch by selecting the Toy Box option in the settings.

Activity and exercise

Activities (and what we consider to be a companion app, Workout) are almost certainly the most popular apps on the watch. Therefore, we were pleased to see that Apple continues to improve and complement these applications. As elsewhere, Apple is gradually increasing the impact of personalization and machine learning.

Activity notifications are now more personalized – for example, they let you know if you're close to getting an achievement. There is also 'smart learning', which is again tailored specifically for you. It will offer monthly challenges based on your history and records.

The watch now has a lovely new vibrant animation to commemorate the filling of your Activity rings (looks nice, but might get boring after a few months …) and adjust your pool swimming workouts. Apple states that resting at one end of the pool will be automatically captured and marked as the end of one lap and the start of the other, which is useful for accurate timing.

We are very pleased to see that Apple is implementing two-way communication with equipment in the gym. (The hopeless inaccuracy of treadmill training has been annoying for a long time – and the device with the more accurate data is right there!)

Latest WatchOS 4 News: Release Date & New Features Apple Watch

You just need to click on the label NFC to connect the watch to your fitness equipment. Although, obviously, you will need to find a gym first that supports this feature. We believe it will take some time to get this system up and running outside of California.

There is a new High Intensity Interval Workout. It is a challenging and highly effective form of workout that uses your heart rate to get you to work at your best. We really enjoyed testing this workout with the Moov HR Sweat activity tracker.

Latest WatchOS 4 News: Release Date & New Features Apple Watch

Apple also realized that notifications are not that important during a workout, so Do Not Disturb is automatically activated when you start a workout. Of course, the watch will automatically turn it off after completing your workout.

Oh, and the last change to the workout interface: you can swipe left from the workout menu to access the music controls. (Why wasn't it right from the start?)

Music

The Music app on Apple Watch has been redesigned and looks much better than before. High-quality album covers have appeared – they can be scrolled with the Digital Crown.

(The Digital Crown seems to be getting a lot more useful in watchOS 4, which is great because in watchOS 3 it felt like underused control.)

The new music app also tries to anticipate your needs – you will automatically see the music and playlists that you listen to regularly added to your watch. It also includes recommended playlists from Apple, including Select Apple Music, My Favorite Tracks, and New Music. Of course, you will need an active subscription to Apple Music to view this option.

Apple Watch also supports multiple playlists for the first time.

Other changes

There's a new, redesigned Dock interface – you can vertically scroll through the latest apps with the Digital Crown. (It's a wheel again!)

There is speculation that the new News app for watchOS is based on the watchOS 4 demo, but we have no exact information. It might just be a redesign of the interface.

There is a new flashing light in the Control Center which is useful for keeping you safe in the dark.

Apple claims you will be able to observe faster application performance and better background performance.

You will also be able to pay with Apple Pay to Apple Watch through Apple Pay Cash, although this feature was originally only available to US users.

Finally, glucose monitoring will appear at Apple Watch, although there is not yet enough information about the associated equipment that is likely to be needed.

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