New Watch faces
Apple will roll out four new watch faces with watchOS 9. These include Astronomy, Lunar, Playtime, and Metropolitan. The Astronomy face has been remastered and includes an accurate star field, cloud coverage that is updated hourly using weather data, and even the ability to locate the sun behind Earth. Playtime is a face designed by Joi Fulton, a Chicago-based 2D and 3D artist known for their bright, punchy colours and simple, friendly characters. This new watch face features whimsical animated numbers.
Further, older watch faces will now support rich complications, and there is a new background colour editor. Users can now add dogs and cats to the Portraits face.
Workout features coming to Apple Watch
The Workout app now includes more metrics and new ways to visualise them with Workout Views, plus training experiences like Heart Rate Zones and a new Custom Workout to help improve performance. A new multisport workout mode can automatically switch between swim, bike, and run for triathletes. There are also customisable alerts, the ability to race a previous route, and a redesigned Workout Summary.
Manage medications on the Apple Watch
One of the highlights of the watchOS 9 is the all-new Medications app. The Medications app on Apple Watch makes it easy for you to discreetly and conveniently track your medications. In the Health app, users can manage their medications list, create schedules and reminders, and learn more about their medications, including if there are interactions that could cause issues. It is, however, not clear if all the features of the Medications app will roll out to all users across the world.
Better sleep tracking
Sleep tracking is an area where the Apple Watch perhaps lagged behind competition. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Watch does a fine job of sleep tracking. However, with watchOS 9, Apple wants to fix that. One of the new feature to provide deeper insights into your sleep is Sleep Stages. Apple Watch uses signals from the accelerometer and heart rate sensor to detect when you’re awake, as well as when you’re in REM, Core, or Deep sleep. You can review detailed information, including how much time you spent in each stage and when you might have woken up.
AFib History: For cardio health monitoring
If you have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, you can now use AFib History—a first-of-its-kind feature that gives you unique insights into your AFib over the long term. watchOS 9 can estimate how frequently your heart is in AFib while wearing Apple Watch. The updated Health app will show you how your lifestyle may influence AFib and provide useful insights into behaviours that may help reduce the time you spend in this arrhythmia. The time you spend in AFib is important, as it may impact your symptoms, overall quality of life, and risk of serious complications.
