What’s hot in watchOS 9 THE WATCHOS 9 UPDATE
Why watchOS 9 is the upgrade many of us were dreaming of…
should delight pretty much every kind of Apple Watch user, from fitness fanatics to those of us with a more laid–back lifestyle.
One of our favorite features is the ability to have different watch faces for different Focus modes; so for example you might have one face and set of complications for driving, another for the gym and something completely different for school or work. There are some great new watch faces, and many of the existing ones have been given more options and complications too.
MORE POWER!
We particularly like the new Low Power Mode, which is a vast improvement over the previous Power Reserve. Power Reserve tried to maximize your battery life by making your Apple Watch pretty much useless, but Low Power Mode isn’t such a blunt instrument.
Low Power Mode enables you to turn off power–hungry stuff — such as the Always–On display, background heart rate checking, and frequent mobile data requests on cellular models — without turning absolutely everything off. Apple reckons with it on you can get up to 36 hours between charges on a Series 8 and 60 on the Apple Watch Ultra.
The improved fitness features are another big draw here, because they bring the Apple Watch up to speed with many high–end running watches and fitness tracking devices; for example, there’s new Heart Rate Zone monitoring and more customization of workouts and the info provided during them. Health features have been improved too: sleep tracking is more detailed, and your Watch can now ensure you don’t forget to take essential medications as well as track your heart rhythms for any irregularities.