That’s changing with watchOS 9. The current watch faces now have a refreshed design and better interface for that larger screen of the Watch Series 7. There are also new watch faces. These include an updated Astronomy face, Lunar Calendar, Playtime, and Metropolitan. Check them out below: Notifications are also refreshed. New banner notifications pin active apps on the top of the dock for quicker access than before. The Dock has also been redesigned. Siri’s UI has been updated too.
Apple’s watchOS 9 was revealed at WWDC 2022, the company’s annual developer conference. In the autumn, Apple will release a big upgrade to the operating system that powers the Apple Watch series, which will include both new capabilities and design improvements. AFib monitoring is perhaps the most crucial of them, since it can save many lives. Everything you need to know about Apple’s new smartwatch software is right here. The Apple Watch Series 7 was released last year with a new, larger display. Unfortunately, the OS wasn’t upgraded to take use of the new display, so it didn’t make much of a difference.
Highlights
The new AFib monitoring should save lives – Apple’s watchOS 9 is official: new watch faces and arrhythmia tracking Users that are diagnosed with AFib can turn an FDA-cleared AFib History feature. This feature allows them to access important information, like an estimate of how frequently there were signs of AFib. Users will also be able to download a PDF with their AFib history to share with a doctor. Sleep tracking is also improved. The Apple Watch will be able to detect whether you are in REM, Core, or Deep sleep. Users will be able to see what their heart and sleep rate were in the Health app and compare to previous recordings.
Unfortunately, there’s no blood pressure monitoring feature yet. This one was reported to have been postponed to 2024. However, with watchOS 9 Apple is improving both the sleep and fitness tracking features. The Apple Watch will be able to keep track of Atrial Fibrillation history (AFib). Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) caused by rapid and irregular beating of the atrial chambers of the heart. This new feature is introduced to watchOS’ ECG app and will help find or track people with heart abnormalities.
