watchOS 3

Siri for Apple Watch is about to get much more useful

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 25, 2017

In addition to highlighting a new Theater Mode in watchOS 3.2, Apple yesterday announced that the upcoming software update will also enable support for Siri in third-party Apple Watch apps. As you probably know by now, the SiriKit framework made its debut in iOS 10.

It's an officially sanctioned way for developers to enrich their apps for messaging, payments, ride-booking, workouts, calling and searching photos with Siri interactions.

With SiriKit support in watchOS 3.2, developers can add spoken commands to Apple Watch apps to let users ask the personal assistant on their wrist to do things like book a ride, send a message, make a payment or accomplish other supported tasks.

Want podcasts on your Apple Watch? There’s finally an app for that

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

The ability to store and play podcasts on Apple Watch is one of many features advocated for regarding future watchOS updates, but so far it has fallen on deaf ears at Apple. With the cries for podcasts on Watch slowly reaching fever pitch, developers have taken matters into their own hands and released a fully functional podcast app that enables the transfer of your favorite subscriptions from iPhone to Apple Watch.

The app goes by the name WatchPlayer and (while moody at times) gives a solid account of itself, effectively beating Apple to the punch in the podcast race. Find out below how the data transfer is realized, where it trumps Apple's stock apps and what areas of WatchPlayer could do with some attention.

Glimpse is an Apple Watch app news addicts will love (with reservations)

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

Every once in a while a Watch app comes along that brings something ostensibly new to the table. Glimpse, a project that sets out to relay real-time content from your iPhone straight to your Apple Watch’s watch face, is one of those notable additions. The app is home to a handful of social networks and about twenty prolific news outlets, which subject to your taste can selectively refresh on your iPhone and welcome you with new content every time you glance at your watch face.

The promise and potential of Glimpse is uncontested, but so are the flaws in its execution as of today. So before you speed to the App Store, think over the following items to find out if Glimpse has been tailored to you.

New betas of iOS 10.2.1, macOS Sierra 10.12.3, watchOS 3.1.3 and tvOS 10.1.1 now available

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 9, 2017

Apple today released new OS betas to its registered developers. iOS 10.2.1 beta 3 (build 14D23), macOS Sierra 10.12.3 beta 3 (build 16D25a), watchOS 3.1.3 beta 2 (build 14S959) and tvOS 10.1.1 beta 2 (build 14U711) are now available for testing to the members of Apple Developer Program.

The latest builds can be installed over-the-air via the Software Update mechanism on devices that have an appropriate configuration profile installed on them.

The new builds have arrived nearly three weeks after a second beta of iOS 10.2.1 and macOS Sierra 10.12.3 released to registered developers.

Have any Health information at a glance with HealthFace for Apple Watch

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

The developer team at Crunchy Bagel has taken the wraps of HealthFace, a product designed to assist regulars of Apple’s Health app in monitoring their vital data on the fly. HealthFace is capable of reaching deep into your personal Health catalogue and displaying virtually any data point in form of a complication on your wrist.

For users constrained to keeping a close eye on their vitals, food intake or other health related parameters, the app sets out to become a quasi extension of Apple’s Health app.

Deliveries gains full iOS 10/watchOS 3 support & many new features in latest update

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 16, 2016

Deliveries, my favorite package tracker for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch, received a major update on the App Store this morning. Bumped to version 8.0, Deliveries is now fully compatible with iOS 10 and watchOS 3 and supports many new iOS 10 features, from rich notifications and haptic feedback to a reworked widget, deeper 3D Touch support, faster background updating for the Deliveries widget and its Apple Watch app, improved suggestions when you add a delivery, an iMessage sticker pack and more.

watchOS 3.1.1 disables Lock feature in Control Center—here are four workarounds

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 14, 2016

Don't bother trying to lock your Apple Watch by tapping a dedicated Lock button in Control Center!

That's because watchOS 3.1.1 update (currently pulled over bricking complaints) has killed that button. It's not a bug—the feature disappeared from Control Center in the first beta of watchOS 3.1.1.

I'm unsure as to why Apple has tweaked how manual unlocking works, but am certainly not a fan of the change. Actually, I've felt so ticked off by this apparent “feature” of watchOS 3.1.1 that I've decided to come up with a few workaround solutions for those of us who manually lock our watches before going to sleep.

watchOS 3.1.1 released with latest Unicode 9.0 emoji, changeable skin tones, bug fixes & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 12, 2016

Happy updates day, everyone! Apple is today unleashing a barrage of updates for its software platforms, starting with a feature-packed iOS 10.2 release and tvOS 10.1 with support for Single Sign-On, Apple's new “TV” app and more. Also available today: watchOS 3.1.1, a minor release with bug fixes, performance improvements and support for more than a hundred new Unicode 9.0 emoji which are also available in iOS 10.2 and via the upcoming macOS 10.12.2 software update.

How to switch to Power Reserve mode on watchOS 3

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated December 28, 2021

If you are not closely tracking every subtle interface change that Apple puts into practice on iOS, macOS or watchOS, it is likely you have entirely lost sight of a smaller feature or setting before. This is because, in short, Apple likes to relocate and thereby slowly supplant features no longer withstanding the test of time. With watchOS 3, the complete renovation of the operating system and reinvention of the Side button on top of it has had a similar ripple effect for numerous older features.

Power Reserve mode has become one of such cases, a feature still of much use despite the improved battery performance on Apple Watch Series 1 and 2. It used to be as easy as holding down the Side button and swiping to activate Power Reserve, but mind you, nothing is permanent with Apple and it has been silently relocated since. In case you have been caught napping on Power Reserve, let's quickly fill you in on how to deploy the potential life saver on the latest watchOS.

Apple releases beta 4 of iOS 10.2, watchOS 3.1.1 & macOS Sierra 10.12.2 to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2016

Apple on Cyber Monday seeded new beta downloads to its registered developers who are enrolled in the Apple Developer Program. If you're a developer, iOS 10.2 beta 4 (build 14C82), watchOS 3.1.1 beta 4 (build 14S879) and macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta 4 (build 16C53a) are now readily available as standalone downloads through the company's portal for developers or as over-the-air downloads on devices with a prior beta and an appropriate configuration profile.

Nike+ Run Club gains new features ahead of tomorrow’s launch of Apple Watch Nike+

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 27, 2016

The Apple Watch Nike+ is arriving tomorrow in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and a number of other countries. The Series 2 comes with exclusive Nike-branded bands, watch faces and complications, plus the Nike+ Run Club app is built-in. Ahead of tomorrow's launch, Nike+ Run Club for iOS was refreshed this morning with new features on the Apple Watch Series 2.

How to send kisses, heartbeats, heartbreaks, taps, sketches, and fireballs in messages from your Apple Watch

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated October 12, 2022

Digital Touch allows you to send all kinds of beautiful animations, such as heartbeats, broken hearts, kisses, fire, and animated sketches, just by using simple taps and gestures on the watch screen.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to send a Digital Touch effect in the Messages app on your Apple Watch. You're going to love it!