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watchOS

218 'watchOS' stories June 2015 - August 2018
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Simple, minimalistic, small: The platform for the best smartwatch on the market

watchOS only runs on the Apple Watch and launched alongside the product back in 2015. It has seen several major revisions since its launch, such as axing glances, the friends UI, and more.

The original version of the software was very slow and relied on your iPhone for its apps. Everything presumably ran over Bluetooth, and would be unable to open any apps if your connected iPhone was out of range.

Apple quickly moved away from interaction model and pushed native applications as of watchOS 2.0, where the majority of the app’s interface and information were installed on your Apple Watch, instead of your iPhone.

watchOS 3.0 added support for background app refresh, which allowed apps to run in the background, but also enabled complications to be updated without needing to completely launch an app.

With watchOS 4.0, and the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE, Apple took this interaction model a step further. The company introduced APIs to allow applications to run completely independently of the iPhone. This meant that users were allowed to stream Apple Music, get the latest News, or take a phone call without being in the range of your iPhone. However, an iPhone is still required to setup and manage your Apple Watch.

Learn more about watchOS by reading the articles below:

Using Apple Watch running cadence and pace alerts in watchOS 5

Avatar for Zac Hall Aug 13 2018 - 12:18 pm PT
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Apple Watch is steadily evolving into a more capable sports watch, and the upcoming watchOS 5 software update continues that trend with yoga and hiking workouts, automatic workout detection, and new ways to see heart rate data. Specifically for runners is a new way to train with pace alerts and cadence — features coming to existing Apple Watches in a free software update expected in September.


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Outcast 2 adds podcast streaming and continuous playback playlists to Apple Watch

Avatar for Zac Hall Jul 9 2018 - 6:46 am PT
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Outcast for Apple Watch debuted in January and immediately became my favorite way to listen to podcasts without my iPhone. Fast-forward to June and Apple unveiled that watchOS 5 would add Apple’s Podcasts app to Apple Watch and support third-party apps much better. While it sounds like Outcast has plans for watchOS 5 (which is currently in developer beta), Outcast 2 has shipped for everyone and includes two major features: episode streaming and playlists for continuous playback.


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watchOS 5 beta now includes ‘Raise To Speak’ Siri on Apple Watch without ‘Hey Siri’

Avatar for Zac Hall Jul 2 2018 - 9:16 am PT
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‘Raise To Speak’ Siri is a new Apple Watch feature included in the watchOS 5 update that allows you to activate the voice assistant without saying ‘Hey Siri’ or pressing any buttons.

Raise to Speak was first announced at WWDC in early June, but the feature didn’t appear to work when watchOS 5 beta 1 and beta 2 were first released. That’s changed for several testers in the last few days however. Here’s how to double-check you have Raise to Speak enabled and how to try it:


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watchOS 5: Competitions, Workout detection and Siri face heart data push fitness tracking

Avatar for Zac Hall Jun 12 2018 - 9:48 am PT
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Apple Watch already excels as an advanced fitness tracker, and watchOS 5 will further push the watch into that space later this fall. Apple is adding Competition to Activity Sharing, automatic workout detection, and presenting useful heart rate data on the Siri watch face for the first time. Check out our experience so far…


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Feature Request: One new feature I’d like to see in iOS 12, macOS 10.14, watchOS 5 and tvOS 12

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo May 14 2018 - 8:22 am PT
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Ahead of WWDC, this is my top software wish-list, addressing the number one feature addition I’d like to see for each of Apple’s platforms; iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.

These are just my personal picks, choosing just one thing per OS that I think I would appreciate the most for the iOS 12, macOS 10.14, watchOS 5 and tvOS 12 cycles.


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