If you’re an Apple Watch user, then you’re going to be thrilled with the latest update, WatchOS11, which has a major focus on health and fitness. The update is set to launch in the fall and will be supported by Apple Watch Series 6 and newer.
Here’s what we know about the latest Apple Watch update.
New Vitals App
The new Vitals app will take advantage of the Apple Watch’s ability to track key health metrics, including heart rate, respiratory rate, skin temperature, blood oxygen, and sleep duration, while you sleep. The app will give wearers a quick and accessible way to view these important health metrics and have a better understanding of their health baseline.
When one or more of these daily metrics are outside their typical range, the Vitals app will notify the wearer with a message detailing what the change is and how these changes can be linked to other aspects of the wearer’s life, such as illness, exercise duration and intensity, and alcohol consumption.
Training Load
The new Training Load feature is similar to what you’d see on other running watches like Garmin or Coros. It will offer Apple Watch users a way to measure the impact of the intensity and duration of their activity on their body over the last seven days, compared to the last 28 days.
For many runners, these insights are useful for helping them make informed decisions about training each day, particularly when preparing for an event, to ensure they don’t creep into overtraining.
For Apple Watch users, Training Load will be measured using a 1 to 10 range, with cardio-based workouts, such as running, using a new algorithm to generate the estimated effort. The latest algorithm will consider a number of factors, including age, height, weight, GPS, heart rate, and elevation changes. User-added effort ratings will also be considered.
Activity Rings Customization
The world of Apple Watch has one thing that Garmin, Coros, or any other brand doesn’t…and that’s the Activity Rings. Many Apple Watch fanatics ensure they close their daily Activity Rings religiously, even if they’re tired, ill, or need a day off.
In the latest OS update for Apple Watch, users will now be able to pause their Activity Rings for days when they are taking some rest, are injured, ill, or just don’t feel like it.
Additionally, users can adjust their Activity Ring goals for each day of the week so they receive the right amount of motivation at the best times.
