Finally here! Although we will all have to wait for the iPhone 12 announcement (October!), today we are getting Apple Watch Series 6 and the new iPad! Here’s the first, most exciting new feature of the Series 6 – the Blood Oxygen Sensor in detail.
The latest version of the Series 6, as many had anticipated took center stage at Apple’s September 15, 2020 event to showcase its hardware reveal. Apple dominates the smartwatch competition.
The new built-in sensor, which is the biggest addition to the latest model, is capable of measuring the color of one’s blood to determine your oxygen level, all in under 15 seconds. This is a helpful standalone feature, however its also helpful instrument for our current COVID-19 situation. The ability to bring attention and alert the wearer of any symptoms (i.e. low oxygen levels) is huge.
The watch is currently available for pre-order only and will be available for purchase on Friday, September 18, 2020 at the starting price of $399. In addition, Apple will be launching the Fitness+ subscription service, which will offer workout videos via Apple TV.
Custom personalization, Face sharing and, yes, Dance…
At WWDC 2020, a first ever Apple virtual special event, the company officially announced the next update to the Apple Watch operating system called watchOS 7, which will have many new changes including custom personalization along with health and fitness features. The update is expected to be available to the public (for free of course) later this year, most likely around September, which is when the iPhone 12 is also anticipated to be released. The WatchOS 7 update has been confirmed to be functional on the Apple Watch versions 3, 4, and 5. Which means if you have the earlier versions like Apple Watch Series 1 or 2 you will not be able to retrieve the update.
One of the features includes big new upgrades to the Workout app which is one of Apple’s most popular and most used apps on the smartwatch, according to internal analytics, presumably. Running, swimming, rowing, cycling and more are some of the current commonly used workouts that can be tracked on the Apple Watch. Now, four completely new workouts will be available – Dance, Core Training, Functional Strength Training and Cool-down which will offer custom-built motion algorithms and heart rate sensors to best track your movements.
Pre-loaded styles and intelligence can set you free
Dance is set to be added as a total body workout and will have the ability to track movements from a handful of the most popular dance styles that includes Hip Hop, Latin, Bollywood, and Cardio Dance (see video, above). Getting accurate tracking and credit for dancing previously proved challenging since dancing is not always repetitive and rarely has synchronized arm and leg movements like running and walking often do. With the newest update, Apple is using advanced censor fusion that will combine data from the heart rate sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope to get a better full body reading (movements in your arms and legs ) that will generate a more accurate ‘calories burned’ calculations for dance movements.
The OS7 will also track accurate calories for: Core Training, Functional Strength Training, & Cooldown. Core training where exercise is primarily focused on abs and back. Functional Strength Training is a workout type that helps you get stronger and move better for everyday activity. And Cool-down which can be added onto various workouts is when you want to continue with easy movements and stretches to bring heart rate and breathing back to normal.
Not bad. Sounds like very little new on paper, but if you use the workouts, like I do, these small changes represent more freedom to do what you want, and add a more natural feeling to your routine.
All your workouts can be tracked extensively with tons of precise data within the Activity App which is completely redesigned in the new update. The redesign has a new summary tab system to allows seamless switching between the Activity, Workouts, Awards and Trends views, all within one tab. The Activity App has also received a new moniker – and will be called simply: “Fitness”.
During this year’s annual WWDC event, held for the first time as a virtual show, Apple showed off sneak peeks of all its new software OS updates. One of those updates is for the Apple Watch -with the watchOS 7, the company will be bringing lots of new style options specifically for Apple watch faces.
This will give users unlimited choices of faces to pick from as well as allowing them to choose how they wish to personalize, for example, which information they want to see at first glance. There will be brand new “complications” to get you started and these include the two major rich complications Apple will offer with the coming update: the new Chronograph Pro face with a tachymeter and a new version of bold X-Large face.
With well over 20,000 Watch apps that are currently available in the Apple Watch App Store, there are an insanely huge variety of ways to get the most out of your device.
One major way Apple is changing in the watchOS 7 update will be the ability to better and fully utilize the data from your favorite apps within the main screen of your watch. Users will be able to further customize the complications based on personal and style preferences.
It is already big news that there will be endless ways to configure your watch face that you can tailor fit to your unique personality. Adding a cherry on top, you will be able to share your custom watch faces with your friends, family and any other Apple Watch users. I’m ready to jump all over that!
Share your Watch face creations with others
Apple Watch Face Sharing can be shared in a handful of different ways: through Messages, sending faces through e-mail, and even sharing through your social media account. You will also have the ability to share your customized watch face straight from your Apple Watch by press and holding (long-pressing) then choosing the share icon, which is a new feature to the update.
What about if someone wants to share their Apple Watch face with me? This will also be a simple and easy process; you can either use your iPhone and tap the link to open the Apple Watch app, or open the shared link through your Messages on your watch.
The options are unlimited. If you get a shared watch face, you can keep it as-is, or you can further customize it to your liking. In addition to making your own Apple Watch Face creations, Apple has future plans to curate and spotlight some of the best customized Apple Watch face designs within its App Store. This will allow for users to discover even more new custom watch face options to add to their collections.
The 20 second rule automated for your entertainment
With the new update, WatchOS 7, at the WWDC 2020 event, Apple announced a handful of significant updates to its product line. Many were unexpected and some where …yawn, but one in particular was, well, funny but not in a bad way. Apple Watch will do something that no other wearable device has yet to do, automatically detect hand-washing.
Why is this important? Well, hopefully most of us know that washing your hands can greatly help to prevent the spread of germs and protect yourself from getting sick. On a daily we are touching multiple surfaces and while we are all still actively in a pandemic with COVID-19, practicing good hygiene is a major key to lowering your risk as well as to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
So even though it’s totally obvious we should wash our hands, particularly as we are reminded constantly in the media, it is more than an appropriate for us all to go back to the basics. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends washing hands for least 20 seconds. The old trick of singing the “Happy Birthday” song twice is effective. But with the new watchOS 7 update, there will no longer be any guessing as to whether or not you’ve washed your hands for the recommended amount of time.
The Apple Watch will utilize motion sensors and on-device machine learning along with the microphone to automatically detect when you’re washing your hands. Once your watch detects you’re washing (hand motions coupled with sounds of running water and soap suds) – a 20-second timer will begin a countdown. If you happen to stop earlier than the 20 second mark, you will be prompted by haptic feedback (vibrations) to tell you to continue washing. When a successful 20 second hand washing session has happened, your watch will give you a nice message of “Well Done”. Your Apple Watch will also be able to remind you to wash your hands when you get home.
In case you missed it: here’s the breakdown courtesy of the CDC
Again, going back to the basics, here are five simple steps based on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations to washing your hands the correct way:
Wet hands with clean running water and apply soap.
Lather hands by rubbing them together with soap – including the backs of your hand, between your fingers and under your nails.
Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds.
Rinse your hands under clean running water.
Dry your hands.
Being able to rely on your Apple Watch to ensure you are keeping your hands properly washed and having good hygiene is an added health bonus, that again, while during a pandemic – is not only good for staying healthy but can also protect those around you. Hopefully next year a feature like this one will not be necessary and we can return to more exciting uses for our bionic time piece.
At WWDC 2020, a first ever Apple virtual special event, the company officially announced the next update to the Apple Watch operating system called watchOS 7, which will have many new changes including custom personalization along with health and fitness features. The update is expected to be available to the public (for free of course) later this year, most likely around September, which is when the iPhone 12 is also anticipated to be released. The WatchOS 7 update has been confirmed to be functional on the Apple Watch versions 3, 4, and 5. Which means if you have the earlier versions like Apple Watch Series 1 or 2 you will not be able to retrieve the update.
One of the features includes big new upgrades to the Workout app which is one of Apple’s most popular and most used apps on the smartwatch, according to internal analytics, presumably. Running, swimming, rowing, cycling and more are some of the current commonly used workouts that can be tracked on the Apple Watch. Now, four completely new workouts will be available – Dance, Core Training, Functional Strength Training and Cool-down which will offer custom-built motion algorithms and heart rate sensors to best track your movements.
Dance is set to be added as a total body workout and will have the ability to track movements from a handful of the most popular dance styles that includes Hip Hop, Latin, Bollywood, and Cardio Dance (see video, above). Getting accurate tracking and credit for dancing previously proved challenging since dancing is not always repetitive and rarely has synchronized arm and leg movements like running and walking often do. With the newest update, Apple is using advanced censor fusion that will combine data from the heart rate sensor, accelerometer and gyroscope to get a better full body reading (movements in your arms and legs ) that will generate a more accurate ‘calories burned’ calculations for dance movements.
The OS7 will also track accurate calories for: Core Training, Functional Strength Training, & Cooldown. Core training where exercise is primarily focused on abs and back. Functional Strength Training is a workout type that helps you get stronger and move better for everyday activity. And Cool-down which can be added onto various workouts is when you want to continue with easy movements and stretches to bring heart rate and breathing back to normal.
Not bad. Sounds like very little new on paper, but if you use the workouts, like I do, these small changes represent more freedom to do what you want, and add a more natural feeling to your routine.
All your workouts can be tracked extensively with tons of precise data within the Activity App which is completely redesigned in the new update. The redesign has a new summary tab system to allows seamless switching between the Activity, Workouts, Awards and Trends views, all within one tab. The Activity App has also received a new moniker – and will be called simply: “Fitness”.
