Skip to main content

watchOS 7

New features include sleep tracking, new work outs, hand washing detection, and more

See All Stories
watchOS 7

During the WWDC 2020 presentation, Apple unveiled watchOS 7 for Apple Watch. In watchOS 7, Apple is adding a number of new features.

watchOS 7 features

#gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

watchOS 7 offers updates to faces for more personalization and faster access to your favorite apps. The ultraprecise Chronograph Pro includes a tachymeter to calculate speed based on time traveled over a fixed distance, the Photos face offers color filters, and the bold X-Large face now has an option to add a rich complication to your screen. The Chronograph Pro face features an integrated tachymeter.

Developers can now offer more than one complication per app on a watch face. For example, Glow Baby can display multiple complications that help parents track bottle-feeding, breastfeeding, pumping statistics, and nap times, while Dawn Patrol can show tide, wind speed, and water temperature from a favorite surf spot.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us all the benefits of washing our hands. Washing hands for at least 20 seconds can help prevent the spread of illness. Apple Watch uses motion sensors, microphone, and on-device machine learning to automatically detect handwashing motions and sounds. It then starts a 20-second timer, and if the person finishes early, watchOS 7 will prompt to keep washing. Apple Watch can also conveniently remind the user to wash their hands when they return home.

“We’re energized by the positive impact Apple Watch is having on our customers and are excited to deliver meaningful new tools that support their health, fitness, and wellness,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “watchOS 7 brings sleep tracking, automatic handwashing detection, and new workout types together with a whole new way to discover and use watch faces, helping our users stay healthy, active, and connected.”

With watchOS 7, Apple Watch now offers workout tracking for  Dance, Functional Strength Training, Core Training, and Cooldown. With iOS 14, there is a redesigned Activity app on iPhone, now called Fitness, which provides a streamlined view of workout data.

watchOS 7 also adds sleep tracking to the Apple Watch. Through the detection of micro-movements from the Apple Watch’s accelerometer, which signals sleep, Apple Watch intelligently captures when the user is sleeping and how much sleep they get each night. In the morning, the user will see a visualization of their previous night’s sleep, including periods of wake and sleep. They will also see a chart showing their weekly sleep trend.

watchOS 7 release date

watchOS 7 was released on September 16th, 2020 for Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch Series 3, Apple Watch Series 4, or Apple Watch Series 5 paired with iPhone 6s or later running iOS 14 or later.

Continue reading for the latest information about the upcoming Apple Watch update.

 

Here are all the countries that now support ECG app on Apple Watch with watchOS 7.6

Apple Watch ECG – AliveCor Patent health

Apple earlier today released watchOS 7.6 for Apple Watch users, which brings some bug fixes and also enables the ECG app in more regions. According to Apple, both ECG and irregular heart rate notifications are now available in 30 additional countries. Read on as we detail which countries have received the update.

Expand Expanding Close

watchOS 7.4 beta 3 with iPhone mask unlock feature for Apple Watch now available

Update March 5, 2021: watchOS 7.4 beta 3 is also now available to public beta users as well.

The third developer beta version of the upcoming watchOS 7.4 software update for Apple Watch is now available. iPhone users will especially appreciate this update as it allows the Apple Watch to replace Face ID and a passcode when wearing a facial covering.

Expand Expanding Close

Apple releases watchOS 7.4 public beta with new ‘Apple Watch Unlock’ feature for iPhone Face ID

At first, it appeared the iOS 14.5 public beta arrived without the watchOS 7.4 this afternoon. However, the latest watchOS beta is now available, it’s just slightly hidden as it only shows up after first upgrading to iOS 14.5. watchOS 7.4 brings the handy Apple Watch Unlock feature for iPhone when wearing a mask.

Expand Expanding Close

Gallery: Here’s a first look at the new watchOS 7.3 ‘Unity’ watch face

Apple today launched watchOS 7.3 RC to developers, which enables ECG and irregular heart rhythm notifications in more countries, guided audio walking workouts for Apple Fitness+ subscribers, and also a new watch face called “Unity.” As watchOS 7.3 is not yet available to the public, read on for a first look at this new watch face created by Apple.

Expand Expanding Close

watchOS 7.3 RC released to developers with new unity watch face, Time to Walk feature, ECG in more countries

Apple Watch ECG – AliveCor Patent health

Apple has been testing watchOS 7.3 and other software updates since December last year, and now it seems the company is ready to release them to the public. Following the release of iOS 14.4 RC, Apple has just released watchOS 7.3 RC to developers — which brings a new watch face and also enables ECG in Japan and three other countries.

Expand Expanding Close

How to change your Apple Watch move, exercise, and stand goals with watchOS 7

apple watch rings

One of the changes in watchOS 7 that went under the radar is support for changing your Apple Watch activity rings. While Apple has long allowed you to customize your red move goal, only this year did it add support for changing the green exercise ring and blue stand ring. Here’s how it works and how to set it up on your new Apple Watch.

Expand Expanding Close

watchOS 7 recap review: Thoughtful upgrades make Apple Watch better [Video]

Apple Fitness+

Apple Watch hardware has improved at a steady clip over the years, but the software has also received marked improvements with each new iteration of watchOS. The latest version, watchOS 7, brings big improvements in three key new areas: new watch faces features, fleshed-out fitness enhancements, and the Sleep app. After using watchOS 7 daily for the past few months, and with the recent launch of Apple Fitness+ capping off the release, here’s my final recap review of watchOS 7.

Expand Expanding Close