Apple could be working on new swim-tracking features for the Apple Watch, says a new report.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
- New swim-tracking features rumored.
- Could be exclusive to Series 7.
- Older models might benefit, too.
- Further details unknown.
Swim-tracking enhancements
This tidbit came as a brief one-sentence mention in today’s report from Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman regarding a new rugged Apple Watch model that could launch later in 2021 or in 2022.
“Apple is also working on new swim-tracking features for the Apple Watch,” reads the report.
Unfortunately, no further information was provided so we can only speculate as to what that means. Swim tracking has been available in the Workout app on the Apple Watch since Series 2 models, which introduced a higher level of water resistance. Subsequent software updates have made the feature more versatile than initially.
→ Apple Watch water resistance: Everything you should know
With swim-tracking, your Apple Watch can count laps you make in a pool and track your freestyle swimming across open water, as well as display splits, sets and other metrics in the Fitness app on the iPhone.
Another valid question deals with availability.
Will the aforementioned enhancements be exclusive to the upcoming Apple Watch Series 7 or is this something that current and some older models could get via a software update?
We think it’s the latter because swim-tracking takes advantage of data provided by the onboard GPS, accelerometer and heart rate sensors. The rest is just an algorithm. But then again, it wouldn’t be the first time Apple has made a certain feature exclusive to the latest models even though it could be supported on older hardware.