This year’s At its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced a small but significant update to watchOS 11.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, and rumors are circulating that Apple’s wearable will get a major redesign this fall, with new health features like blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea detection. This summer’s update doesn’t include those features, but it does include a new Vitals app and a comprehensive algorithm called Training Load. These features, along with a new partnership with real-time blood glucose monitor Dexcom, make the watch a more comprehensive health monitoring device.
The new features come alongside other upgrades, including a redesigned photo watch face and an update to last year’s Smart Stack, which makes it easier to move widgets around. We’ll take a closer look at the operating system’s major new features here, and, as always, don’t forget to check out our guides to the best smartwatches and best fitness trackers.
Is your Apple Watch compatible?
watchOS 11 is compatible with Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) and later, with an iPhone XS or later running iOS 18. Not all features listed here are available on all watches.
When will watchOS 11 be available?
The developer beta is currently available to users who are enrolled in Apple’s Developer Program, and the public beta will be available soon as an optional free software update for Watch Series 6 and later users. The final version of watchOS 11 is expected to be available to all users this fall.
Key features of watchOS 11
Most of the major new features are listed here, but for a complete list, check out Apple’s guide .
Photo: Apple
New Vitals App
Heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen levels (well, maybe) are just a few of the important health features that Apple Watch now monitors. The new Vitals app in watchOS 11 lets you see these metrics at a glance in an organized dashboard. Using real data from Apple’s heart and exercise studies, the app also notifies you when these numbers fall outside of safe ranges. If your numbers get too high or low, Apple will send you a notification to help you decide if you’re sick, had a glass of wine last night, or did something unhealthy.
Because one of these behaviors (ahem) could lead to pregnancy, Apple is also introducing a new pregnancy feature in the Cycle Tracking section of the Health app. Cycle Tracking allows you to record the gestational age of the fetus as well as monitor other data points, such as heart rate, that can provide insight into the health of the expectant mother.
Photo: Apple
Training Load
Over the past few years, Apple has been loading its watches with more granular fitness features. These advanced features are meant to make the Apple Watch more competitive with Garmin’s premium outdoor sports watches. A big gap in Apple’s feature list is the lack of comprehensive algorithms like Garmin’s Body Battery or Fitbit’s Daily Readiness to help wearers understand what to do with their detailed data.
At WWDC, Apple introduced Training Load, which measures how the intensity and duration of your training affects your fitness over time.
Training Load takes into account calorie measurement data like heart rate, pace, and altitude, as well as personal data like age and weight. If you do popular cardio exercises while wearing your Apple Watch, the wearable can automatically generate an effort rating score from 1 to 10. Otherwise, you can choose a number from 1 to 10 and enter your own effort rating. Apple will then generate a 28-day Training Load score, comparing your past month’s training to the past seven days to help you see if you’re improving towards your next goal (a 5K or a marathon). You can also manually adjust this estimate to account for factors like pain or illness.
