watchOS 5 for Apple Watch now available with Podcasts and Walkie-Talkie apps, much more

Zac Hall | Sep 17 2018 - 10:06 am PT

The major watchOS 5 software update for Apple Watch is now available. watchOS 5 runs on Apple Watch Series 1 and later; the original Apple Watch is not supported. Read on to see what’s new in watchOS 5:

watchOS 5 brings Apple’s Podcasts app to the watch for the first time, improves the Siri watch face and brings new element and Breathe watch faces, a new Walkie-Talkie app for watch-to-watch communication, and much more.

Full release notes and key features from watchOS 5 for Apple Watch below:

Sports on Siri, new Podcasts app, and Control Center in apps:

Rearrangeable Control Center:

Shared web pages load:

Complications on more faces:

New Walkie-Talkie app:

Six new watch faces:

New running features:

Raise-to-speak Siri:

And more:

watchOS 5 brings you new ways to be more active, stay connected, and monitor your health with your Apple Watch including Activity competitions, automatic workout detection, Yoga and Hiking workouts, Podcasts, Walkie-Talkie, new watch faces, an updated Siri watch face, and enhancements to notifications and the Heart Rate app.

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website:

https://support.apple.com/HT201222

Activity

Challenge any of your Activity sharing friends to a one-on-one, seven-day competition
Earn points by filling your Activity rings, one point for every percent added to the rings each day
View active competitions in the sharing tab of the Activity app
Receive intelligent and personalized notifications throughout the competitions
Earn awards at the end of the competition, and view in the redesigned Awards tab in the Activity app on iPhone

Workout

Automatic workout detection sends alerts to start the Workout app for many workouts, giving you retroactive credit for exercise already started, and end alerts reminding you to end your workout
Yoga and Hiking workout types for accurate tracking of relevant metrics
Set target pace during outdoor run workouts and receive alerts if you fall behind or move ahead of that target pace
Track cadence, or steps per minute, as you run and see average cadence in running Workout summaries
Rolling mile (or km) metric for running workouts measures pace for the immediately preceding mile (or km)

Apple Podcasts

Sync subscribed shows on Apple Podcasts to Apple Watch for local playback with Bluetooth headphones
New episodes are automatically refreshed as they are added to subscribed shows
Stream any available episode or show on Apple Podcasts with Siri when connected to Wi-Fi or cellular
New Podcasts complication for watch faces

Walkie-Talkie

Invite friends with Apple Watch to communicate with Walkie-Talkie
Press to talk and release to listen
Supports one-to-one interactions between Apple Watch users
Special sounds and haptics distinguish Walkie-Talkie from other notifications on Apple Watch
Set your availability for Walkie-Talkie
Walkie-Talkie works through Wi-Fi or cellular on Apple Watch or with paired iPhone

Watch Faces

Breathe face with three animation styles to choose from: Classic, Calm, and Focus
Three new motion faces—Fire & Water, Vapor, and Liquid Metal—that animate when you raise your wrist or tap the display
Display curated moments from your photo library using the Memories option on the Photos watch face
New complications for Podcasts and Walkie-Talkie

Siri

Updated Siri watch face intelligently surfaces predictive and proactive Shortcuts based on routines and inputs like location and time of day
Integration with Maps on the Siri watch face shows turn-by-turn directions and estimated arrival times to your next calendar event location
Heart Rate measurements surfaced on the Siri watch face including resting rate, walking average, and recovery rate
Live sports scores and upcoming games for your favorite teams in the TV app appear on the Siri watch face
Support for third-party app shortcuts on the Siri watch face
Access to Siri with Raise to Speak, by raising your wrist to your mouth and speaking your request into the watch (Series 3 and later)
Support for customized voice commands for Siri Shortcuts that are created and managed on iPhone

Notifications

Notifications from the same app are automatically grouped together to help you manage your notifications
Ability to modify notifications preferences for an app by swiping left on an app notification in Notification Center
New Deliver Quietly option silently sends notifications directly to Notification Center without interrupting you
Turn off Do Not Disturb after a set time, location or calendar event

Heart Rate

Option to be notified if your heart rate falls below a specified threshold while you appeared to be inactive for a 10-minute period
Heart Rate measurements including resting rate, walking average, and recovery rate shown on the Siri watch face

Other features and improvements

View website content optimized for Apple Watch when receiving links in Mail or Messages
Add cities to Weather app on Apple Watch
See new metrics like UV Index, wind speed, and air quality index in supported regions in Weather app
Add new stocks to track in the Stocks app on Apple Watch
Customize arrangement of Control Center icons
Choose Wi-Fi networks in Settings app and enter password if prompted
Answer FaceTime video calls as audio on Apple Watch
Option to install software updates overnight
Add cities to World Clock app on Apple Watch
Use redesigned categories to scroll through and choose emoji in Mail and Messages
Adds support for system language in Hindi