Apple’s watchOS 8 brings digital house keys, overnight respiration tracking, mindfulness features, texting tools, and more to the Apple Watch.
From digital house keys to overnight respiration tracking, lots of new features are headed to Apple Watches this fall. WatchOS 8, the next generation of Apple’s smartwatch operating system, will also deliver new workout tracking options, mindfulness features, watch faces, texting tools, and more. The Cupertino tech giant offered a first look at these new features during its Worldwide Developers Conference virtual keynote on Monday. “With watchOS 8, we’re bringing more convenient access to places users live, work, and visit with significant updates to Home and Wallet, expanding support for both physical and mental well-being, and enabling richer personal connections with the new Portraits face and updates to Messages, » Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of technology, said in a statement. When it arrives, watchOS 8 will be free to download on the Apple Watch Series 3 and later. To get the upgrade, your Apple Watch will need to be paired with an iPhone 6s or later running iOS 15. If you can’t wait that long, a public beta will be available to watchOS users next month. For now, the developer beta is only available to members of the Apple Developer Program. We will be trying out the public beta as soon as we can get our hands on it, so stay tuned. In the meantime, these are the watchOS 8 features we’re most excited for. Digital House, Car Keys Sick of fumbling with your house keys? With the updated Wallet app in watchOS 8 and a compatible HomeKit smart door lock, you may never have to again. You’ll be able to access your home by simply holding your Apple Watch near the lock. Hyatt and Disney resorts are planning to implement this feature, so guests can check in and access their rooms with their Apple Watch. Moreover, you’ll soon be able to unlock, lock, and start certain cars right from your Apple Watch via the Wallet app. BMW announced support for iPhone-based digital keys in December, and this feature will also soon be available on Apple’s Series 6 wearables. In some states (which have yet to be named), you’ll be able to add your driver’s license or state ID to Wallet, then use your digital ID when you go through select TSA checkpoints. Respiration Tracking During Sleep The Apple Watch can already track your sleep, but it will soon keep tabs on a new overnight metric: your respiration rate. Using its integrated accelerometer, the watch will measure the number of breaths you take per minute while you’re sleeping.
