Filip Brož After a year and a half, Apple indirectly admitted that the first generation of the operating system for the Watch was bad and made no sense. The Californian company presented the latest watchOS 3 together with the slogan "As if it were a new watch", and it is partly right. The new system is noticeably faster, especially in the area of launching third-party applications. Overall, the control method has also changed and new functions have been added. The result is a noticeably better experience, not just from the controls, but from the entire product.
I've been testing WatchOS 3 since the first developer version, and the new Dock caught my attention the most on the first day. This is the first evidence of a major redesign of the entire control, where the side button under the crown no longer serves to call up favorite contacts, but the most recently used applications. In the Dock, watchOS 3 tries to show you the apps you're most likely to want to run at any given moment. Plus, apps sitting in the Dock run in the background, so launching them is a snap.
Each user can customize the Dock, so if you are missing an application, you can add it to it in two ways. It's easy to do directly from the Watch: once you launch the app, press the button under the crown and its icon will appear in the Dock. You can also add apps to it from the Watch app for iPhone. Removal is again easy, just pull the icon upwards.
The Dock is a big step forward in using the Apple Watch. Apps have never launched so quickly, which is true for the entire system. Even from the main menu, you can start mail, maps, music, calendar or other applications noticeably faster than before. On the other hand, I miss the original side button and quick contacts. I often used them while driving when I needed to quickly dial a number. Now I just use the Dock and the favorite contacts tab.
New dials
The third watch operating system also showed that the Watch can be an even more personal device, which you can achieve by changing the watch face. Until now, to change the appearance, it was necessary to press on the display and use Force Touch, followed by a lengthy swipe, adjustment and change of the watch face. Now all you have to do is slide your finger from one side to the other and the look of the watch face will change immediately. You simply choose from a pre-prepared set of dials. Of course, the original system still works and you can use it if you want to change the color, dial or individual complications, i.e. shortcuts for applications.
You can also manage watch faces using your iPhone and the Watch app. In watchOS 3, you will find five new watch faces. Three of them are intended for athletes, one for minimalists and the last one for "toys". If you like to monitor the progress of your daily activity, you will probably appreciate the digital and analog overview, which can also be displayed in the form of small dials. You can then constantly see how many calories you have already burned, how long you have been walking and whether you have completed standing on the watch.
In the case of the minimalist dial called Numerals, you only see the current hour and a maximum of one complication. For Walt Disney lovers, Mickey and his colleague Minnie have been added to the mouse. Both animated characters can now also speak. But don't expect a lengthy conversation. After clicking on the display, Mickey or Minnie will just tell you the current time, in Czech. Of course, you can also turn the function off/on, again in the Watch application on the iPhone. It's quite handy when you want to impress your friends or people on the street.
In watchOS 3, of course, the older, still available watch faces also remain. Some have just gone through minor changes, as in the case of the Extra large watch face, in which you can display one main application in addition to the time, such as Breathing or Heart Rate. You will also find a new range of colors for the watch faces, and you can continue to add any complications to them that the developers are constantly improving.
Full Control Center
However, what has disappeared in the "troika" compared to the previous watchOS are quick overviews, so-called Glances, which were called up by dragging a finger from the bottom edge of the watch face, offered quick information from various applications and never really caught on. Their function in watchOS 3 was logically replaced by the Dock, and the place after Glances was finally occupied by a full-fledged Control Center, which was noticeably missing from the Apple Watch until now.
Now you can quickly find out how much battery is left in your watch, whether you have sounds on, turn on/off airplane mode or pair Bluetooth headphones. You can now find out or turn everything on and off quickly, just like in iOS.
Apple, on the other hand, quietly removed the time travel function from the dials, where it was possible to easily move through time by turning the digital crown and, for example, check what meetings are waiting for you. The reason for natively disabling this function is unclear, but apparently Time Travel also did not catch on very well among users. However, it can be turned back on via the Watch application on the iPhone (Clock > Time Travel and turn on).
New native apps
At least a quick overview of notifications remained in the same place in watchOS 3. As in iOS, you pull down the bar from the top edge of the watch and immediately see what you missed.
What's new is – inexplicably neglected in previous watchOS – the Reminders application, which users can now also open on their watches. Unfortunately, it is not possible to edit individual sheets, so you cannot add new tasks directly in Watch, but you can only check off existing ones. Many will have to once again reach for third-party applications, such as todoist or Omnifocus, which can manage tasks fully even on the wrist.
Following the example of iOS 10, you will also find the Home application in the main watch menu. If you have any devices that support the so-called smart home and you have them paired with your iPhone, you can control all functions directly from your wrist. You can easily change the temperature in the rooms, open the garage door or turn on the air conditioning. This is a logical extension of the HomeKit platform, and the Apple Watch should provide even easier control when you don't have an iPhone at hand.
The Find Friends application, again known from iOS, is also a minor novelty, which will be used, for example, by caring parents. In case your little ones are using any device with bitten apple, you can easily monitor and control them with this app. You can follow the rest of your family or friends in a similar way.
Hello again
It's no secret that Apple has been focusing more and more on health in recent years. In every new cross-platform operating system, new applications and functions can be found that focus precisely on the human body. One of the main innovations in watchOS 3 is Breathing app, which has become an absolutely invaluable helper for me in recent months. Previously, I used third-party applications such as Headspace to meditate or practice mindfulness. Currently, I can get by just fine with Breathing.
I'm glad that Apple thought again and combined Breathing with haptic feedback. This makes meditation much easier, especially for people who are just starting out with similar practices. Indeed, clinical trials show that mindfulness meditation can be as effective as prescription painkillers and can support the body's natural healing process. Meditation also relieves anxiety, depression, irritability, exhaustion, or insomnia that result from chronic pain, illness, or everyday busyness.
In watchOS 3, Apple also thought of wheelchair users and optimized the functioning of fitness applications for them. Newly, instead of notifying a person to get up, the watch notifies the wheelchair user that he should take a walk. At the same time, the watch can detect several types of movement, as there are several wheelchairs that are controlled in different ways with the hands.
When it comes to life
The custom application also received heart rate measurement. Let's just remind you that the heart rate was part of Glances until now, which Apple completely canceled in watchOS 3. Also worth mentioning is the SOS button, which is newly implemented in the side button under the crown. If you hold it for a long time, the watch will automatically dial 112 via iPhone or Wi-Fi, so if, for example, your life is in danger, you don't even have to reach for the phone in your pocket.
However, the SOS number cannot be changed, so you cannot, for example, dial directly to lines 155 or 158, which belong to the rescuers or the police, because the emergency line 112 is operated by firefighters. You cannot set a close person as an emergency contact. In short, Apple only offers dialing a universal emergency line in all countries, even because, for example, another does not even exist in some countries.
In the Czech Republic, it may be more effective to use, for example, the Rescue application, which also works on Apple watches and, unlike the SOS button, can also send the GPS coordinates of where you are to rescuers. However, there is a small catch again, you must have an iPhone with you and activated mobile data. Without them, you just dial line 155. So each solution has its pros and cons.
News for athletes
Apple also thought of athletes – and it showed in a big way in the new Apple Watch Series 2 – and in the Exercise app in watchOS 3, you can see up to five indicators: distance, pace, active calories, elapsed time and heart rate, without having to go to the next page. If you like to run, you will also appreciate automatic stopping, for example when you are stopped at a traffic light. Once you start running again, the meter on the Watch will also start.
You can also share the activity with friends or anyone else. In the iPhone, there is an Activity application for these purposes, where you can find the sharing option in the bottom bar. You can invite your friends and compete against each other using your Apple ID or email. You will be notified of each progress on your Watch, so you can see which of your friends has already completed it during the day. Similar functions have long been used by most competing apps and fitness bracelets, so it was only a matter of time before Apple jumped on this wave as well.
Small news that pleases
In iOS 10 for iPhones and iPads appeared, among other things, completely new and fundamentally improved News, which you can also enjoy to a limited extent on Apple Watch. If someone from iPhone sends you a message with an effect or a sticker, you will also see it on the watch display, but the full use of all functions remains the currency of iOS 10. Neither on macOS Sierra not all effects can be used.
As part of the beta versions, I also had the opportunity to test the ability to write messages manually in watchOS 3. This means that you write individual letters with your finger on the display and the Watch automatically converts them into text. But for now, this feature is limited to the US and Chinese markets only. The Chinese can use it to enter their complex characters, but otherwise dictation is understandably much more efficient.
As part of its latest operating systems, Apple has once again worked on the so-called continuity, where individual devices are connected to each other for maximum work efficiency. That's why it's now possible to unlock your MacBook directly using your watch. The need is to have a newer MacBook with macOS Sierra and a watch with watchOS 3. Then, when you just approach the MacBook with the Watch, the computer will automatically unlock without having to enter any password. (We are working on a tutorial on how to set up your Apple Watch to unlock your MacBook.)
Finally, the Watch application on the iPhone also underwent changes, where a gallery of watch faces won its own place. In it, you can pre-set your own set of watch faces, which you can easily switch between on your wrist and change as needed. If you like taking screenshots on the Watch, you might be surprised to find that you have to turn them on in the app first. Just start Watch and in the section In general you activate screenshots. You then create them by pressing the crown and the side button at the same time.
The third operating system brings news not only for end users, but also for developers. They finally have access to all sensors and the operating system. In the future, we will certainly see great applications that will use, for example, the crown, haptics or heart rate sensors. Taking into account the new generation of Apple Watch Series 2 and the new faster chip that hides inside, all applications will be noticeably faster, more sophisticated, including better graphics. We definitely have something to look forward to.
Is this really a new watch?
WatchOS 3 undoubtedly brings a minor revolution to watches. Apple has finally tweaked the minor afterbirth pains, added new features, and above all, made all apps launch and load faster. Personally, I enjoy using it much more, which is reflected in the fact that I actively launch more applications during the day than I was used to - even given the mentioned limitations.
That's why for me until now, the Apple Watch was mainly just an accessory and an extended hand for the iPhone, which I didn't have to take out of my bag that often. Now the watch has finally become a full-fledged device from which many things can be done right away. Apple has squeezed a lot more juice out of the Watch with the new operating system, and I'm curious to see what the future holds. The potential is definitely there.
So I really miss glances. I find the Dock cumbersome and graphically ugly.
Exactly! I miss Glances so much, just like I miss the button for friends..sharing digital touch with them was so easy, since we have watchOS3 we have completely stopped using digital touch and communication through the watch =/
So, calling up quick contacts, where I selected and dictated an SMS, or made a direct phone call - it's like cutting off my finger. I used that quite often. I find the Dock really cumbersome and ugly (as Anndy writes). I have to open it, and now search for favorites in the flood of applications - without pictures, without a crown, lengthy... Well, how should I dictate messages to them and send them? :( They didn't get this right - everything else is ok of course, but what the hell is this?
Exactly!
Like a new watch
2x By, small thing, but #grammarNazi never sleeps…
I would rather know where the hell I can buy a new Apple Watch immediately! :D
In Prague? In iStyle?!
Well, apparently they don't have any. I can't find it anywhere on the net. Directly from Apple in as little as three weeks.
How can we iOvs have enough to adore Apple for a "minor revolution". Only the guys from Cupertino have always patched the biggest holes in UX. That doesn't make them fighters, that's basic courtesy to customers.
I have a question, please, can you elaborate on your experience with meditation and the headspace application, or other alternatives. Alternatively, in more detail about breathing, your experiences. Thanks a lot and greetings
Three contacts can be added to the SOS call by holding down the crown, to which an emergency call SMS will be sent along with the GPS location (I can also call 112 here, if it is enabled in the apple ID)