Apple WatchOS 7

The new iOS 14 was released for Apple products, swiftly following behind it was the WatchOS 7 updates for Apple Watches

 This update has some of the most intricate and detail-oriented features I have seen come for a watch update. This update will be applicable to series 3, 4, 5, SE, and 6. Let's dive into some of the elaborate features WatchOS 7 has to offer!

It seems like Apple came into the briefing room with family, safety, convenience, and customization in mind when they were bringing ideas to the table. Adding a new feature called "Family Setup", allowing you to pair your child, parent, or any family member's watch to your iPhone. Adding the Memoji feature to be used on their watch, used as stickers, or making a custom watch face to add some ease of access.

Fitness

    Fitness was a big focus on this update for Apple Watches, now allowing you to customize all of your Activity goals. Adding in stand hours and exercise minutes rather than calories to get a better goal for you to accomplish your rings successfully. Apple has also reengineered its Active Health for kids, turning the active calories into Move Minutes, being able to calculate metrics for distance and pace more suitable for a child. The family feature also added in setting your child's usage time of their watch, setting when they're in school, need to be asleep, or limit the features usable on their watch. Sharing your location through the Find My Friends app has been slowly increasing by the popular demand of parents or family members. You are not able to get notifications on when someone gets to their destination, or notification if someone is not where they are supposed to be

Family First

    Apple Pay was another addition Apple decided to throw into the watch features, giving you the option to send money through your watch more easily. Features like fall detection and emergency SOS is a safety feature Apple brought in that I think will be very helpful with the idea of "family safety". Asking the user if they would like to call emergency services when they might have taken a fall, keeping them safe when you might not be able to be there. 

Watch Faces

    Customization on the watches interface is something that Apple has been improving every year since the watch has come out. Now giving you the option to create your own watch face from scratch, adding in any minor details you might want to see on your watch. Acknowledging that only having one app on the watches face could cause complications, but calling them "powerful new complications" as something new to learn but enjoy. Being able to have quick tasks like sending a text, changing a song during a workout, or just a quick glance to see your families smiling faces with the time. Sending custom watch faces to a friend or family member is a feature that I was a bit surprised by. If customization of your watch was not enough, you can now customize other people's watches for them!

Sleep App

    The Sleep app is a new feature that came along with the update filled with an insane amount of additional features to utilize. Adding in Sleep Mode as one of the features for users, scheduling when Do Not Disturb turns on or off, providing a sleep chart for the night or for the week. Setting reminders for yourself on when you need to start winding down, and a more welcoming good morning than your average jolting, alarming sound.

Hand Washing

    It is no surprise that washing your hands while we are in a pandemic has become more important than ever. Apple, being an advocate for healthy lifestyles and better practices, created an app to make washing hands more productive. Their new addition of Hand Washing automatically detects when you begin washing, helping you go for the amount of time that is recommended by Global Health Organizations. Using motion sensors and your microphone, a 20-second timer will start when it detects you washing your hands.

These are just some of the few features that come along with the update of WatchOS7! If you want to find out more information about the most recent update, check out Apple's summary! 

As always, thank you for reading and any questions or concerns can be answered by contacting the IT Help Desk.

Stay healthy Hornets!

Dakota Taylor
Social Media Student Assistant
Web & Digital Strategies