WWDC 2022: watchOS 9 launched with enhanced health tracking & new watch faces

Apple has unveiled an array of interesting features for its Apple Watch Series. To begin with, the tech behemoth introduced its watchOS 9 at the keynote address at the WWDC 2022. The new operating system for Apple Watch will make it one of the most advanced wearable technologies in the world.

WatchOS 9 comes with features that will allow users to track their health and fitness in the most efficient way. Among the most notable additions is the ability to track arterial fibrillation (AFib) and sleep. Apple has also launched the Medications App via watchOS 9.

Gamut Of Features For Fitness Enthusiasts

The new watchOS 9 will let users track and monitor the state of their arterial fibrillation for a specific period using the AFib History feature. They can now share a PDF of their AFib report with doctors. This is considered to be one of the biggest additions to the watchOS.

New Watch Faces
Apple has introduced four new watch faces Playtime, updated Lunar, Astronomy and Metropolitan. Besides, the new OS has introduced new features for workouts and heart rate zones. Users will now be able to set alerts according to their workout schedules. The new multi-sport workout feature detects when the user finishes one leg of racing or transitioning to the next sport.

Sleep Stages
The Sleep Stages make it easier to track sleep on the Apple Watch. According to Apple, the new feature will allow users to track REM, Core and Deep sleep stages.

Medications App
This App will let users track their medications, vitamins, and supplements discreetly from their wrists. Users will also be able to use their iPhone cameras to scan labels of their medications and include the data to the preloaded app on the Apple Watch. Apple has assured that health data is encrypted on-device and will not be shared without the user’s explicit permission.

Reminders App
The App lets users add or edit key details such as date, time, location, tags and notes. Besides, the new calendar App will also let users create new events directly from the Watch.

As of now, the watchOS 9 has been released for developers. However, a public beta of watchOS 9 is expected to arrive in July. The new watchOS will come with a free software update for the Apple Watch Series 4 and later that is paired with iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (2020) or devices running on iOS 16. The watchOS 9 will get six new keyboard languages and a Family Setup to let children control home devices.