Your Apple Watch is getting a big new update with WatchOS 8, adding new workout options, messaging tools and some hints of what to expect …
Your Apple Watch is getting a big new update with WatchOS 8, adding new workout options, messaging tools and some hints of what to expect ahead of the Apple Watch Series 7. The free download is available for all Apple Watch owners using the Series 3 or later and arrived alongside iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. To download the update, first make sure your iPhone is running iOS 15. As long as your watch has at least 50% battery, go to Settings and select Software Update. If less, leave the Apple Watch on its charger and wait for the update to download. Once you have the update, here are some of the best features to explore. The new Portraits watch face can use any portrait mode photo taken on the iPhone. First, open the Watch app on the iPhone and then navigate to the Face Gallery. Find the Portraits watch face and tap Add to find portrait photos you want to display on the watch. Rather than displaying a static image, the watch uses segmentation data from the photo to separate the foreground from the background. This means the time appears just behind the head of your subject and if you raise your wrist or fidget with the Digital Crown, the subject pops in and out, too. I’ve found it works best with photos that have a lot of distance between the foreground and background, plus ample headroom above your subject so you can really see the effect. Some complications are also supported, so you can put elements like battery level or heart rate on the watch face as well. Also new in the watch faces tab is a World Time option. You can see the time around the world across all 24 timezones straight from your wrist. Apple announced AssistiveTouch in May along with a range of accessibility features for the iPhone and iPad. It lets people who have the use of only one arm control the Apple Watch by movement in the hand and wrist, like pinching or clenching actions. The watch detects these motions so you don’t need to be able to touch the screen to interact with the watch.
