We all know that at WWDC, the iPhone is usually the star of the show, stealing the spotlight from every other product.
However, this year, Apple announced several new features for the Apple Watch with watchOS 11. Some of them are small additions, but they’ll make a big difference in how you use your watch every day.
As usual, most of these new features focus on health, sports, and fitness, aiming to help you maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. This year is no exception.
Below, I’ll break down the 5 most exciting new features coming to the Apple Watch this fall. Let’s check them out.
1. A New Vitals App to Track Health Metrics
First, the Apple Watch will introduce a new Vitals app that tracks important health metrics such as heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, sleep duration, and blood oxygen levels (if supported by your watch).
If two of these metrics fall outside their normal range (seen above, center), the watch will prompt you to check your vitals and provide context for these changes (seen above, right).
2. Optimize Your Workouts With Training Load
Another exciting addition is the “Training Load” feature, which is especially useful for athletes or anyone who trains regularly.
This feature monitors the strain on your body during workouts by combining data like heart rate, pace, and elevation with your height and weight to give an estimated training effort score on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being hardest).
The Training Load data is based on comparing your 7-day training load to your 28-day training load.
Once your watch starts collecting data, it classifies your training load into five categories: Well Below, Below, Steady, Above, and Well Above.
In the example below, the white line represents your 28-day training load, while the blue line with the dots shows your 7-day load compared to it.
You can access Training Load in either the Vitals section on your watch’s Activity app or the Fitness app on your iPhone.
3. Better Support During Pregnancy
For those who are pregnant, watchOS 11 adds a valuable new feature to the Cycle Tracking app.
They can log pregnancy symptoms, track physical and mental health, and display gestational stages.
Additionally, the watch will encourage pregnant users to check their high heart rate notifications, which typically increase during pregnancy.
Also: 5 iPadOS 18 Features to Get Excited About—Yet the iPad Isn’t Ready to Replace Your Computer
4. Pause Your Rings Activities
One feature in watchOS 11 that I’m particularly excited about is the ability to pause activity rings.
Those constant reminders to close your rings can be frustrating, especially when you’re not in the mood or dealing with life’s challenges.
Previously, the only way to get a break from these reminders was to remove the watch, which could disrupt your streak and cause you to lose the rewards you’ve earned.
With the new update, you can pause your activity rings for a day, week, month, or even longer, up to 90 days until you’re ready to resume them.
5. Automatic Nap Detection
Lastly, there’s a new feature that seems like it should have been part of watchOS all along: nap tracking. You can’t track your sleep data unless you’re in sleep mode or during your bed time routine.
This feature will be handy for recording naps taken during the day, such as a Sunday afternoon nap after lunch. There’s no longer a need to use a third-party sleep tracker app for that.
Although Apple didn’t specifically mention this feature for watchOS 11, it was spotted in the beta version, so hopefully, it will make it to the public release.
Let me know in the comments what watchOS 11 features you’re most excited about.
