At its developer conference in June, Apple will show off the latest versions of its operating systems for iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac Wallet. But watchOS appears to be undergoing a functional overhaul.
While Apple plans to revamp the Apple Watch user interface with watchOS 10Mark Gorman Bloomberg Describe Changes expected in his weekly Power On newsletter. confirm itApple will return gadgets to the most popular watch in the world.
The company originally designed watchOS around four main areas, including watch faces, Glances widgets, the home screen, and frequent contacts. However, it then removed frequent widgets and contacts to emphasize notifications and multitasking capabilities. Thus, the new update will reintroduce user interface elements and make them a major component of the interface.
Not only is Apple bringing back gadgets, it’s also planning to make it a staple of the Apple Watch interface. The next watchOS 10 update will be previewed at WWDC 2023 which kicks off on June 5th.
Gurman refers to the Apple Watch’s widgets as a combination of the Glances system, which was part of the Apple Watch, and the widgets currently on the iPhone. Instead of having to open apps to get information, users will scroll through a set of widgets that display data related to the weather, the stock market, the user’s calendar, and more. The widgets will overlay any user-selected watch face on a compatible Apple Watch model.
The biggest change to the Apple Watch in 2023
A change that could come in watchOS 10 would modify the functionality of the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown. Right now, pressing the button takes you to the home screen, but Gorman says Apple may require users to press the button to open the watch widgets instead. As Gurman notes, Apple’s decision shows that the company has realized that a platform centered around iPhone apps doesn’t work well on a watch where the user wants to quickly see the latest information without having to waste time figuring out where to find it.
The Apple Watch does not have a wide range of apps compared to other Apple devices. In a legal filing from Apple in Europe, the company says the Apple Watch App Store has less than 1 million monthly visitors to that market, while 101 million iPhone users visit the App Store each month (still in this region).
According to Gorman, The watchOS 10 update will be the biggest change to the Apple Watch this yearas the Series 9 models are unlikely to get major hardware updates.