To take advantage of its size and location on your wrist, Apple Watch was designed with its own unique operating system — watchOS. Now we’re already refining it. With watchOS 2, there are more faces to choose from. Faster, more powerful apps. Enhanced communication options. And innovative new ways to make your Apple Watch your own.
Coming This FallYour interaction with Apple Watch starts with the watch face. So we wanted watchOS 2 to give you even more ways to make your watch face look and work exactly as you like.
Time-Lapse. Choose from a selection of dazzling time-lapse videos shot over 24 hours in iconic locations around the world.
Photo. Pick a special image from the Photos app on your watch and set it as your watch face. Because sometimes it’s nice to visit your favourite picture again and again.
Photo Album. Every time you raise your wrist, a different image from your Favorites, or any photo album you select, will appear on your watch face.
Complications are important pieces of information you can see right on your watch face, like your Activity rings or upcoming Calendar events. And now with watchOS 2, data from App Store apps can be complications, too. So you can easily check your United flight times or keep an eye on your VW e-Golf’s battery charge. It’s just one more way to personalize your Apple Watch.
With Time Travel, a new feature in watchOS 2, you can turn the Digital Crown to see what’s happening — and what’s already happened — yesterday, today and tomorrow. Time Travel is particularly handy on watch faces with complications. You can see what the weather will be like for your lunch date tomorrow. Check your schedule for later today. Or go back in time to catch up on news headlines you may have missed. A press of the Digital Crown gets you back to the current time.
Now you can use your watch even when you’re done wearing it for the day. Just place it on its side and connect the charger. Apple Watch will automatically go into Nightstand mode, a digital display that illuminates whenever you touch the screen, the Digital Crown or the side button. Nightstand mode even changes how the watch buttons function. When an alarm sounds, you press the side button to turn it off, or the Digital Crown to snooze.
watchOS 2 makes the experience of using Apple Watch apps richer and more engaging. Apps load faster, do more and employ hardware features that make Apple Watch unique.
With watchOS 2, many apps are native apps, which means they run entirely on your Apple Watch. So they load more quickly and have even greater capabilities.
Apple Watch apps have more possibilities with watchOS 2. Apps can now take advantage of features like the Taptic Engine, Digital Crown, accelerometer, heart rate sensor, speaker and microphone. For example, the Ping app uses the accelerometer to measure the speed of your golf swing. Strava uses the heart rate sensor to gather and display data during workouts. And Insteon lets you use the Digital Crown to control your house lights.
Apple Watch gives you revolutionary new ways to keep in touch, express yourself and manage your time. watchOS 2 deepens those capabilities, so you have interactions that are familiar, but with even more choices.
Apple Watch already lets you receive email on your wrist. With watchOS 2, you can respond, too. Just tap Reply at the bottom of a message. Then dictate a response, send an emoji or choose from a list of relevant, preset replies.
The Friends feature on Apple Watch helps you keep your inner circle close. watchOS 2 lets you add multiple Friends screens, each of which can hold up to 12 contacts. And you can add a friend from your contacts directly on your watch. You can also use the Apple Watch app on your iPhone to organize your friends into groups you name yourself.
Digital Touch lets you draw and send sketches to other Apple Watch wearers. And now you can express yourself in multiple colours on the same canvas, so you can get more creative with your digital art.
When it comes to directions, Maps shows you the best route from your current location. watchOS 2 adds Transit, so you can combine more kinds of transportation in a single trip. In select cities around the world, you’ll see detailed maps and accurate train, subway and bus schedules. And you’ll get walking directions to and from your stop. So you’ll know when to leave, and how long it will take to get where you’re going.
With watchOS 2, Siri is an even more versatile personal assistant. Now you can use your voice to do things like start a specific workout, check your Glances, get transit information, look up a word in the dictionary and calculate a tip.