All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Whisper it quietly, but 2024 is shaping up to be a big one for the Apple Watch. After 10 years in the game, the smartwatch that sells more each year than every Rolex, Omega and Patek Philippe combined is ramping up for a heavily rumoured redesign come September. Potential upgrades include a thinner aesthetic, more efficient OLED display and magnetically attaching bands, but in the meantime, Apple has been laying the groundwork for what comes next with its latest watchOS 11 update.
If last year’s refresh majored in grail-worthy charm with the debut of an animated Snoopy dial, then watchOS 11 is all about small but meaningful improvements to the way you track your health and workouts. A bit like England’s pre-Euros friendlies – if you ignore whatever happened against Iceland – most of its changes are laying the groundwork for more head-turning news to come. From measuring the intensity of your training to pausing your Rings, there’s a fair bit worth knowing about the headline features arriving on Apple Watch later this year. Having seen them all in action, here’s the lowdown on watchOS 11.
Take a load off
Whether you’ve prepped for a 5K Parkrun or the London Marathon, you’ll know that training and recovery are two sides of the same coin. That’s why most running watches have some sort of functionality to account for the intensity of your training so you know when it’s time to ease off or kick things up a gear. The same idea applies to Training Load in watchOS 11, which has been built to measure the length and intensity of your workouts from the past week and then compare them to your stats over the past 28 days.
For the most part, intensity is measured automatically by a new algorithm for Apple Watch that accounts for all manner of data points such as age, weight, heart rate and the like. You’ll be able to view the results and Apple’s related guidance both on your Watch and its accompanying iPhone app. If you do feel the need to take a break from training, whether that’s out of precaution or injury, you’re now able to pause your Activity rings for a month (or even more) without breaking an awards streak. It’s another small tweak to make sure you get back to the gym when you’re ready, not because a wearable guilt-tripped you into doing so.
Vital statistics
From blood oxygen to wrist temperature, the Apple Watch knows a lot about you thanks to its exhaustive array of sensors. In a move that will delight hypochondriacs the world over, a lot of that information is now being collated together to get a better picture of your health in the new Vitals app. So if you slept less than usual and had an elevated heart rate you’ll get a notification telling you this and a few suggestions as to why this might be. For example, you pounded back one too many Negronis before calling it a night at 2am.
You’ll need to wear your Apple Watch while sleeping to get the Vitals app's benefits and it’s worth saying that no piece of tech is a replacement for an actual doctor. Still, the algorithm behind Vitals has been developed using IRL data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study, and the app itself seems like a useful extension of the Watch’s longstanding alerts around irregular heart rates and loud environmental noise. You’ll be able to check out its utility for yourself – as well as a refresher Photos watch face and better support for tracking pregnancy data – when watchOS 11 launches later this year.
