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Apple Watch

watchOS 2 review – The Watch takes a few steps forward

Filip Brož
19

Apple Watch users finally got it. The Californian company has released the long-awaited second version of watchOS 2 for Apple watches. Until now, only developers could test the new system, but even they were limited, as many innovations and improvements were brought only by the sharp public version.

At first glance, it may seem that these are just cosmetic changes like new dials, images or colors, but don't be fooled. After all, this is the first ever major software update for the Apple Watch. It brings changes mainly under the hood and also for developers. Apple gave them access to the tactile module as well as the digital crown for more precise control. Thanks to this, completely new and unique applications are starting to appear in the App Store, which take the use of the watch to the next level.

This once again confirms the words of Apple CEO Tim Cook, who refers to the Apple Watch as the most personal device ever. Many say that it is only with watchOS 2 that the Apple Watch starts to make sense, and it can also be seen that Apple was aware of the annoying limitations of the first version. That's why he presented WatchOS 2 already in June, just a few weeks after the Watch went on sale.

And now a significant software update is getting into the hands, or rather onto the wrists of all users. Everyone should update regardless, because on the one hand there is no reason not to do so, and on the other hand watchOS 2 takes the use of Apple watches to another level, as we will describe below.

It all starts with the dials

Perhaps the most significant change in the new Apple Watch system are the watch faces. These have undergone a major update and changes that users have been clamoring for.

The most interesting and effective is definitely the Time-Lapse dial, i.e. a quick video tour of six metropolises and localities. You can choose from London, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mack Lake and Paris. The dial works on the principle of time-lapse video, which changes according to the current phase of the day and time. So if you look at your watch at nine o'clock in the evening, for example, you can observe the starry sky above Mack Lake and, on the contrary, the lively night traffic in Shanghai.

For now, there are only the mentioned six time-lapse videos that you can place on the watch face, and you cannot add your own, but we can expect Apple to add more in the future. Maybe one day we will see beautiful Prague.

Many people will also welcome the possibility to add your own photos to the watch face in watchOS 2. The watch can either show your favorite photos over time (you create a special album on your iPhone and then synchronize it with the Watch), when the image changes every time the display is turned on, or show a single photo.

The downside to "picture" watch faces, however, is that Apple doesn't allow any complications on them, in fact no information other than the digital time and date.

[do action="tip"]Read our Apple Watch review[/to]

Apple also worked on color shades for the new version of the operating system. Until now, you could only choose from basic colors, but now there are also different shades and special colors available. These correspond with the new colored rubber straps that Apple was showing on the last keynote. When choosing the color of the dials, you will come across red, orange, light orange, turquoise, light blue, purple or pink. The design is also a multicolor watch face, but it only works with the modular watch face.

Time travel

You can still find watch faces from the previous version of watchOS in Apple Watch, including the ability to create your own. Another hot new feature in the binary operating system is the Time Travel function. For this one, Apple was inspired by the rival Pebble watch.

The Time Travel function is your gateway to the past and the future at the same time. It is good to point out that it also does not work with image and time-lapse watch faces. On any other watch faces, it is always enough to turn the crown and, depending on which direction you turn, you move to the past or the future. On the display, you can immediately see what you have already done or what awaits you in the following hours.

You probably won't find a faster way to find out what meetings and events await me on a given day on Watch, so it's important to actively use the iPhone calendar from which Time Travel draws data.

Watch complications

The Time Travel function is connected not only to the calendar, but also to many other applications that you have installed on your Apple Watch. Time Travel is closely related to another new gadget that moves the watch several steps forward.

Apple has opened the so-called complications, i.e. widgets of which there can be an infinity and you place them on the watch face, for third-party developers. Each developer can thus create their own complication aimed at practically anything, which significantly expands the possibilities of the Watch. Until now, it was only possible to use complications directly from Apple.

Thanks to the complications, you can see what time your plane leaves, call up your favorite contacts or be notified of changes in various applications right on the watch face. There are only a few complications in the App Store for now, but we can assume that the developers are working hard on them. For now, I came across, for example, the Citymapper application, which contains a simple complication that you can use when traveling. Thanks to it, you can quickly find your way around or find a public transport connection.

I also really like the CompliMate Contact app, which creates a quick dial for your favorite contact on the watch face. For example, you know that you call your girlfriend several times a day, so you create a shortcut on your watch that allows either a phone call, a message or a Facetime call.

Even the popular astronomy app StarWalk or the health and healthy lifestyle app Lifesum have their complications. It is clear that complications will increase over time. I am already thinking about how I will organize everything and which complications make sense to me. For example, such an overview of the remaining FUP limit of mobile data seems useful to me.

Native application

However, support for native third-party apps is undoubtedly a huge (and necessary) step forward. Up to this point, all but Apple's apps used the iPhone's computing power. Finally, the long loading of applications and their mirroring from the iPhone will be eliminated. With watchOS 2, developers can write an app directly for the watch. They will thus become completely independent and the use of the iPhone will cease.

We only had the opportunity to test this most fundamental innovation in the new operating system to a limited extent, native third-party applications are still heading to the App Store. The first swallow, the translator iTranslate, nevertheless confirms that a fully native application will significantly improve their performance. iTranslate starts as quickly as the system alarm clock, and it also offers a great complication where you just dictate a sentence and it will immediately appear translated, including its reading. In watchOS 2, Siri understands dictation in Czech across the entire system, not just in Messages. As we learn more native third-party apps, we'll let you know about our experiences.

Apple has also worked on a better connection between the Watch and the iPhone. The watch now automatically connects to known Wi-Fi networks. In practice, it should look like this: you will come home, where you have already been with your iPhone and watch. You put your phone somewhere and go with the watch to the other end of the house, where of course you no longer have Bluetooth range, but the watch will still work. They will automatically switch to Wi-Fi and you will continue to receive all notifications, calls, messages or e-mails.

I've even heard that someone managed to go to the cottage without an iPhone that they forgot at home. The Apple Watch was already on the Wi-Fi network at the cottage before, so it worked without any problems even without an iPhone. The person in question received all messages and notifications from the iPhone, which was tens of kilometers away, all weekend.

Watch video and minor improvements

Video can also be played in watchOS 2. Again, no specific apps have appeared in the App Store yet, but Apple has previously shown videos on the watch via Vine or WeChat at a developer conference. It won't take that long and we will be able to play, for example, a video clip from YouTube on the watch. How meaningful it will be due to the small display is the question.

Apple has also worked on details and small improvements. For example, twelve free slots for your contacts have been newly added, including the fact that you do not have to add them only via iPhone, but also directly on the watch. Just press the button next to the digital crown and you will find yourself in your contacts. Now, with a flick of your finger, you can get to a new circle, where you can add another twelve contacts.

We also have good news for Facetime audio fans. Apple Watch now supports this function, so you can call your friends using FaceTime without any problems.

Apple Watch as an alarm clock

I've been using the Alarm Clock app on my Apple Watch ever since I got it. Apple has moved this function again and in watchOS 2 we will find the Nightstand function, or bedside table mode. As soon as you set your alarm in the evening, just turn the watch to its edge by ninety degrees and the watch display will immediately rotate. Only the digital time, date and set alarm will be shown on the display.

The watch wakes you up in the morning not only with sound, but also with a display that slowly lights up. At that moment, the digital crown also comes into play, which serves as a push button for a classic alarm clock. It's a detail, but it's a pleasure.

With the bedside table mode, different stands also come into play, which finally make sense. Apple Watch in the stand will look much better in night mode than if you just turn it on its edge. There are already an abundance of them on sale, including the fact that Apple also sells several stands in its brick-and-mortar stores.

Developers and developers

Steve Jobs might wonder. During his tenure, it was unthinkable that developers would have such free access and free hands to create applications for apple irons. In the new system, Apple has completely unlocked access to the watch's hardware. Specifically, developers will get access to the digital crown, the microphone, the heart rate sensor, the accelerometer and the tactile module.

Thanks to this, applications will certainly be created over time that will fully utilize the potential of the apple watch. I have already registered endless flying games in the App Store, for example, where you fly a kite and control it completely by tapping the screen. With the opening of the heart rate sensor, new sports and tracking applications are sure to emerge soon. Again, I registered apps for measuring sleep and movement in the App Store.

Apple has also improved the functioning of the intelligent assistant Siri, but it still does not work in Czech and its use in our country is limited. For example, Polish has already been learned, so perhaps Siri will also learn Czech in the future.

The battery was not left out either. According to the developers who tested the second system for the Apple Watch, it has already been optimized and the watch should last a little longer.

Music and Apple Music

It was also a pleasant discovery after the switch to watchOS 2 that Apple devoted itself to the Music application and the Apple Music service. The Music application on the Watch has undergone a complete redesign and new functions have been added - for example, a quick button to start the Beats 1 radio, playlists created by Apple Music "For you" or access to saved music and your own playlists.

If you have music stored directly in the watch, you can now also play music from it. In combination with sports activity, wireless headphones and an Apple Watch, you will become completely independent of the iPhone, which you will certainly appreciate especially when running. You can also stream and play music on other devices at will.

In addition to music, the Wallet application has also appeared on the Apple Watch, which mirrors all your stored loyalty cards from the iPhone. So you no longer have to take out your iPhone or card in the store, just show your Apple Watch and have the barcode scanned.

A new button for AirPlay has also been added to the quick overview, which you activate by pulling out the bar from the bottom of the watch. In combination with Apple TV, you can continue to stream the contents of the watch.

Personally, I really like the new system update. The watch makes a lot more sense to me again and I see a lot of potential in it, what can be done and created with it. In the near future, we will probably not miss a big boom of third-party applications, which could finally be completely independent. I firmly believe that many ground-breaking applications will also appear, and I hope that the App Store for the Apple Watch, which Apple has so far more than neglected, will also undergo a change.

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