Apple has today announced a big new update to its Sports app, bringing improvements to app across the iPhone and Apple Watch.
The Apple Sports app has been around for a while now but while its functionality has been limited when compared to third-party apps already available in the App Store, Apple continues to add new features. Today's news includes an update that will see real-time scores, stats, and more added to the iPhone's Lock Screen when iOS 18 ships next month.
Apple confirmed that a similar feature will also be available to Apple Watch owners running watchOS 11, with Live Activities available for all teams and leagues currently available within the Sports app.
It's game time
Apple announced the upgrades via a press release, pointing out that the new features will be available for the new NFL and college football seasons.
"New updates for NFL and college football games include enhancements to play-by-play, offering quick access to scoring drives presented alongside the view of every game play," Apple explains. "Additionally, a new dynamic drive tracker lets fans visualize where the ball is on the field at any time."
A further update, coming later this year, will introduce a new drop-down navigation for the main scorecard views, "making it even faster to switch between My Leagues, My Teams, and users’ feeds for favorited leagues." A new search feature will also make it easier to find matches, too.
Finally, Apple also confirmed that more leagues will be added to the Sports app in due course including the Champions League and Europa League. Both will be added in time for the league phases of those competitions in September.
