by Juli Clover
Apple today released the fourth beta of watchOS 11 to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to give the new features a try ahead of when the software launches this fall. The fourth beta comes two weeks after the third beta.
watchOS 11 can be downloaded after signing up on Apple's beta software website and upgrading your iPhone to the public beta version of iOS 18. You'll need to open up the Watch app on iPhone, go to General, select Software Update, and choose the watchOS 11 Public Beta option under Beta Updates.
With watchOS 11, Apple added a new Vitals app that can be used to give you a daily overview of your health metrics, letting you know if anything is out of the ordinary. It compares information collected at night like heart rate, sleep, respiratory rate, and oxygen level to your levels over the previous weeks.
Smart Stack has new widgets like Translate and Shazam, plus it's smarter because it is able to suggest widgets based on time, date, location, and daily routine. Interactive widgets let you access app features from the Smart Stack, and it also supports Live Activities.
Training Load is a new way of measuring how the intensity and duration of workouts impact the body over time, with Apple providing an effort level for cardio-based workouts to help you know when to rest and when to push harder.
You can now customize your Activity Ring requirements for different days of the week, and Apple added support for rest days. Taking a break from activity will no longer ruin a streak because you can pause for a day, a week, a month, or more.
Other new features include more workout types, Check In for Messages, a revamped Photos watch face, improvements to Double Tap, and more, with additional information available in our watchOS 11 roundup.
Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater
[ 15 comments ]
Popular Stories
iPhone 16 Launch Is Just One Month Out – Here's Everything We Know
Saturday August 10, 2024 5:00 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series in the fall, and a possible September 10 announcement date has been floated this year, which means we are just one month away from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design...
The iPhone 16 is Getting a New Button: Here's What It Can Do
Tuesday August 13, 2024 4:01 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Multiple rumors have suggested that the iPhone 16 models are going to have an all-new button that's designed to make it easier to capture photos when the devices are held in landscape mode. Apple calls the button the Capture Button internally, and it is going to be one of the most advanced buttons that's been introduced to date with support for multiple gestures and the ability to respond to ...
Read Full Article • 176 comments
All Four iPhone 16 Pro Colors Revealed in New Image
Friday August 16, 2024 4:14 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Leaker Sonny Dickson is back today with a new dummy unit image showing all four iPhone 16 Pro color variants, including the rose gold or "bronze" unit that replaces Blue Titanium in the existing iPhone 15 Pro models. The iPhone 16 Pro models are expected to come in black, white or silver, gray or "Natural Titanium," and a rose or rose gold color replacing Blue Titanium, according to Apple...
Read Full Article • 171 comments
When Is the iPhone 16 Coming Out?
Wednesday August 14, 2024 6:20 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone 16 series is expected to debut in September 2024. This release follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. While the exact date has yet to be officially confirmed, the day of Tuesday, September 10 has been rumored as a possible announcement date, and September has traditionally been the month when Apple unveils its latest smartphone innovations. ...
Read Full Article
Everything New in iOS 18.1 Beta 2 and iOS 18 Beta 6
Monday August 12, 2024 2:32 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is beta testing iOS 18 and the first update to iOS 18 concurrently, and we got the second betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 today alongside the sixth betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia 15. Many of the changes in iOS 18.1 are focused on bringing the .1 betas in line with the standard betas, which recently received updates to Photos and Safari, while...
Read Full Article • 77 comments
Apple Aiming to Launch Tabletop Robotic Home Device as Soon as 2026 With Pricing Around $1,000
Wednesday August 14, 2024 11:30 am PDT by Eric Slivka
Apple is moving forward with its project to develop a tabletop robotic device, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The device would feature a large iPad-like display mounted on a "thin robotic arm" that would allow the display to tilt and up and down and rotate a full 360º, and it would serve as a "smart home command center," a...
Read Full Article • 209 comments
10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17
Thursday August 8, 2024 4:40 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different – already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
Read Full Article • 164 comments
Top Rated Comments
msackey
3 days ago at 01:40 pm
I get the reason why vitals uses night time data, so it has a baseline to check against. But it seems really restrictive and like it COULD use daily data instead. They just don’t want to do that. Now I’m not complaining too much, I have an Apple Watch Ultra 2 that lasts like 3 days so I can wear it. But my last watch was a series 6 and my wife has an SE, there is no way we could have worn those watches at night without a charge before bed. So I feel bad for anyone that doesn’t have a new watch. It wont go well for them to use this feature.
I also hate wearing my watch while I sleep. I have tried and I can manage it for a couple of days, but inevitably I find it irritates my wrist.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alwaysfindsaway
3 days ago at 10:27 am
I get the reason why vitals uses night time data, so it has a baseline to check against. But it seems really restrictive and like it COULD use daily data instead. They just don’t want to do that. Now I’m not complaining too much, I have an Apple Watch Ultra 2 that lasts like 3 days so I can wear it. But my last watch was a series 6 and my wife has an SE, there is no way we could have worn those watches at night without a charge before bed. So I feel bad for anyone that doesn’t have a new watch. It wont go well for them to use this feature.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ctrlos
3 days ago at 10:28 am
I assume the ‘smart’ stack is still limited to 3 widgets? They all share an underlying codebase; why not allow us to set 2x2 iOS Widgets as fullscreen faces to swipe between instead?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments
