WWDC 2024 doubled down on the most immediate trend in today's technology announcements and events: the rise of AI. The bulk of the AI improvements came to macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, but watchOS received numerous changes as well. During the presentation, Apple also showed off a few AI and machine learning features that will make their way to Apple Watch users thanks to watchOS 11.
WatchOS 11 Starting with, the new Translate app on watchOS 11 can now translate languages directly from your wrist, removing the need to pull out your iPhone. The app can also recognize when you're traveling to a new country and can determine the local language, displaying a relevant widget in the Smart Stack when applicable. It supports 20 languages.
It supports the new Smart Stack feature that shows different widgets depending on the time, day, location, and other elements of your daily habits.
Also new is Rich content when sending to a recommended AI voice feature. This will examine “thousands of photos” in your library, and using machine learning, assess them in terms of composition, aesthetics and facial expressions to present you the best images. The algorithm will identify the best framing and highlight that. Users can also change the watch face image by themselves in Dynamic mode.
For those interested in additional watchOS 11 features, here are some key highlights:
- Vitals App: Provides deeper insights into crucial health metrics such as sleep duration, temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate, and more.
- Health App: Enhanced support for pregnant users, offering detailed information like gestational age and high heart rate notifications.
- Training Load Feature: Displays the intensity and duration of workouts and their impact on your health.
- Customizable Activity Rings: Allows for better tracking by customizing metrics, setting rest days, or pausing activities when injured.
- Check-In: Available directly from the watch for convenience.
- Double Tap Gesture: This can be used to scroll through any app.
- Apple Maps: Offers hiking trails for all US national parks.
- Tap to Cash: Enables sending money via NFC using your Apple Cash balance.
watchOS 11 will be released in a stable build this fall, supporting Apple Watch Series 6 and newer, including the Apple Watch Ultra and Ultra 2, and Apple Watch SE (2022) and newer.