- WWDC 2023 - live updates
- Apple VR and the Reality Pro headset
- iOS 17
- macOS 14
- iPadOS 17
- watchOS 10
During a lengthy, pre-recorded keynote address opening up the annual WWDC developer conference -- which took place on a hot summer day under the blazing California sun -- Apple unveiled watchOS 10, its brand new wearable operating system coming to Apple Watch later this year.
Apple says the new wearable OS will feature a new layout for consuming information, new widgets, and a comprehensive overhaul of some major apps -- notably including the Weather app.
Turning the Digital Crown on Apple Watch now reveals a smart stack of widgets, and there's a new look to apps like Fitness, Maps, and more. Those widgets can also hold complications like timers and more. World Clock features new dynamic backgrounds, and the Activity app includes new corner icons and an updated trophy case. There are also some fantastic new full-screen views. Indeed, watchOS 10 promises to be a stunning redesign of Apple's wearable OS.
A completely new Interface
Apple seams to have taken a new Approach to the design of watch OS, with a new focus on what it is calling 'Smart Stack'. Accessible with the Digital Crown, it will grant you more glanceable information when you look at your wrist. This will be comprised of small, rectangular versions of your Apps and widgets, with small versions of apps like News, Weather, and Health. Tapping these will take you to the app itself, where you'll find some more new design elements.
The idea is to make these elements give you more information using more of the screen, rather than the smaller complications that Apple Watch has relied on before. Apple says that "A new Smart Stack contains widgets that display timely information that adapts to the user’s context and can be revealed with a simple turn of the Digital Crown from any watch face." So what the Watch looks like when you look down on it hasn't changed much, but the function of the watch has.
There are also new Watch faces. The Pallet face "depicts time in a wide variety of colors using three distinct overlapping layers, and as the time changes, the colors on the display also shift."
There is also a new Peanuts and Woodstock character face, and they will react to the environment around you with animations for the weather, and of them playing with the hands of the watch face.
Apple has also updated its cycling app with power zone tracking and FTP calculations. Short for Functional Threshold Performance, FTP is a key stat for cyclists and a welcome addition to the platform. Compass and Maps have also been updated to help you navigate, which will be great for Apple Watch Ultra users.
watchOS 9 on the way out
Last year's watchOS 9 update was a very quiet update, with an update to Apple's Sleep app focusing on sleep stages, some updates to the workout app, and some new faces. The biggest news in Apple Watch last year was the Apple Watch Ultra, the company's rugged, all-purpose watch for the outdoors and exploration. Boasting a massive screen and hefty design, the watch has proven immensely popular since its release.
Ahead of the WWDC 2023 event, early rumors strongly suggested that Apple would announce a major overhaul of the watchOS software. Mark Gurman, that font of information, reported in late April that a new focus on widgets would dominate the software, and would mark one of the biggest shifts in watchOS history.
This change would involve new home screens, Gurman suggested, and changes to how you interact with the watch on your wrist. The widgets would combine the old watchOS Glances with the "style of widgets that were introduced in iOS 14 on the iPhone."
What you can do with the buttons would change as well, he suggested, noting that "for the next version of watchOS, Apple may have that the Digital Crown open up widgets instead."
We're covering all the WWDC 2023 announcements live and as they happen. Don't miss all our Apple VR, iOS 17, macOS 14, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10 analysis so far.
