Apple releases watchOS 9 with new watch faces and health features

Apple has announced its upcoming watchOS 9 update at WWDC. Improvements to the watch faces, Workout app, sleep stages, a first-of-its-kind AFib History, and medication monitoring are all part of the latest version.

According to GSM Arena, there are four new watch faces in watchOS 9. Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and Astronomy are some of them. Existing watch faces have been updated as well; the Portraits face now shows the depth effect on photographs of cats, dogs, and landscapes, and certain classic watch faces, such as Modular, Modular Compact, and X-Large, now have changeable backdrop colours and gradients.

More information and metrics have been added to the Workout app. Custom workouts enable you to design an organised workout with customised work and rest times. It is also possible to add new warnings, such as pace, power, heart rate, and cadence.

The Exercise app now includes a new Multisport workout type for triathletes that uses motion sensors to analyse movement patterns and automatically transitions between any sequence of swimming, bike, and running workouts.

For runners, watchOS 9 now displays additional running data such as stride length, ground contact duration, and vertical oscillation to aid with performance. Those who run on a regular basis can now compete against their prior best or last time. A new pacer mode calculates the required pace for a specific distance and time target.

With the addition of sleep stages, Apple has improved sleep tracking. In the app, the Apple Watch may now display a breakdown of REM, Core, and Deep sleep.

Following that, watchOS 9 adds AFib history for people who have been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. The Apple Watch can now detect AFib by monitoring your heart rate and displaying how frequently your heart rhythm shows indicators of AFib. In the Health app, users will receive weekly notifications and a full history. It is available in PDF format, which may be shared with doctors.

Finally, watchOS 9 includes Prescriptions, which allow you to manage and track your medications and supplements, as well as set up reminders and timetables. In the United States, you will also receive notifications if there are any potentially dangerous interactions with the prescriptions you have added to the Health app, as reported by GSM Arena.

Kickboard detection and SWOLF score for swimmers, Home app integration in Family Setup, new Quick Actions, Apple Watch Mirroring for operating the watch using the iPhone's assistive functions, and redesigned alerts are among the other new features.

Later this year, watchOS 9 will be available on compatible Apple Watch models.