WatchOS 11 will help you train for a marathon and notify you if your vitals aren’t in your normal range. Here are the most exciting additions in Apple’s next major smartwatch software release.
As expected, Apple announced the next version of its smartwatch operating system at WWDC today. WatchOS 11 will go beyond the stats and figure out how tough or easy your workout was as you train for your next big event, offer new ways to check your vitals, and offer assistance in picking a picture and making your watch face personal.
Apple’s latest update to its smartwatch operating system will launch as a free update this fall for the Apple Watch Series 6 and later paired with an iPhone XS or later running iOS 18. We will try out the public beta for watchOS 11 as soon as it launches next month, but in the meantime, here are the most exciting new features announced at the company’s developer conference. 1. Training Mode
The Apple Watch will currently monitor and track a variety of criteria while you work out. Training Mode goes a step further by interpreting this data and gauging your level of effort and amount of strain. The idea is to help you build strength or endurance over time if you’re working your way toward a big event like a marathon, while also warning you if you’re pushing too hard and in danger of burning out.
The Watch will automatically rate the effort of popular cardio workouts on a scale from one to 10, based on your age, height, and weight, alongside gathered data like elevation changes and heart rate. After the workout, you can adjust this number if you think you exerted more or less effort than your watch is giving you credit for, and you can manually insert a number if you’re doing a workout where an automatic estimate is not provided.
Your Apple Watch will graph this information over time and show if you’re holding steady, making progress, or under or overexerting yourself. The graph will compare your results over the last seven days with a longer 28-day period.2. Customizable Activity Rings
If you need a day off, you can customize your goals on watchOS 11 accordingly.