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Apple’s WatchOS 9 is expected to release in September, and there’s a lot of new features to be excited about. The new OS brings upgraded sleeping tracking, new watch faces and advanced tracking for runners.
This looks to be the biggest leap in running features on the Apple Watch since its launch. There are new workout views, including heart rate zone tracking and elevation, enhanced custom workouts, multisport features and more. To see these upgrades in action, watch the video above.
New workout views
The new OS lets you swap between multiple tracking views while exercising with the built-in Workout app. There are two customizable metric views. Each has space for four metrics that can be swapped out for a list of information (cadence, distance, pace, duration and more) that is most important to you on your run. Apple has introduced four new metrics with the new OS: vertical oscillation, stride length, ground contact time and power.
WatchOS 9 also adds a new heart rate zone workout view. On top, there is a color coded bar that shows your current heart rate zone — it’s like having OrangeTheory Fitness on your wrist. OrangeTheory Fitness is a workout class that projects your heart rate level on screens throughout class. Now that information is right on your wrist. Heart rate zones are automatically created using your estimated max heart rate and resting heart rate, which is saved in the Health app. You can manually set your own zones right on the watch.
