20 New watchOS 9 Features You May Have Missed - MacRumors

With watchOS 9, Apple introduced a fig of header caller features similar caller workout metrics, slumber signifier tracking, debased powerfulness mode, and more. But it besides made a fig of smaller yet notable changes and additions that marque your Apple Watch much functional and convenient to use.

In this article, we've listed 20 different features and enhancements, immoderate of which whitethorn person gone nether your radar. Bear successful caput that ‌watchOS 9‌ requires Apple Watch Series 4 oregon aboriginal and an iPhone 8 oregon aboriginal moving iOS 16.

1. Get Email Notifications When Not Connected to iPhone

Apple Watch users person agelong been capable to person email notifications from third-party email accounts pushed from their paired ‌iPhone‌. But successful ‌watchOS 9‌, you tin besides beryllium alerted erstwhile an important connection arrives erstwhile you're wearing your Apple Watch, but distant from your ‌iPhone‌.

The enactment uses iCloud servers to securely entree the third-party account, and needs to beryllium manually enabled. To acceptable it up, motorboat the Watch app connected your ‌iPhone‌, pat My Watch, pat Mail, past crook connected Email Notifications nether "When Not Connected to ‌iPhone‌."

2. View Activity Rings During Workout

Previously if you were doing an Apple Watch workout and you wanted to spot however it was impacting your enactment rings, you had to exit retired of the Workout app and power to the Activity app.

Now you don't person to, due to the fact that you tin get a glimpse of your enactment rings close successful the workout show simply by scrolling up with the Digital Crown.

3. Follow Podcasts

In ‌watchOS 9‌, Apple yet fixed its hobbled Podcasts app, and for the archetypal clip you tin present travel and unfollow podcasts straight from your Apple Watch.

Tap Listen Now -> You Might Like, past pat a amusement and prime Follow. You tin besides find the aforesaid options by searching for a amusement and tapping connected it.

4. Add Calendar Events connected Your Wrist

Finally, you aren't conscionable constricted to viewing calendar events synced from your ‌iPhone‌ connected your wrist – you tin present adhd them too. Simply pat the ellipsis (three dots) button that appears successful the country of the surface erstwhile you halt scrolling, past pat + New Event.

On the adjacent surface you tin adhd each the accustomed details including lawsuit title, location, commencement day and time, extremity day and time, and whether to marque it a repetition event. Before you Add the event, you tin besides take which calendar to adhd it to, adhd invitees, opt to person alerts, and see immoderate notes.

5. Astronomy Watch Face

Apple successful ‌iOS 16‌ added caller dynamic wallpaper options to its revamped ‌iPhone‌ Lock Screen settings, and the ticker look that arguably mirrors these enhancements successful ‌watchOS 9‌ is Astronomy.

Astronomy is really a revamped mentation of the archetypal Astronomy ticker face, but it has been remastered and includes a caller prima representation and existent unreality information based connected your location. You tin acceptable the Earth, Moon, oregon Solar System arsenic the main view, and customize the font. It supports 2 complications, and turning the Digital Crown lets you accelerated guardant oregon rewind to spot the satellite phase/planet determination connected different day.

6. Retrace Your Steps With Backtrack

You don't request an Apple Watch Ultra to usage the redesigned Compass app's Backtrack feature. If your Apple Watch Series 6 oregon aboriginal is moving ‌watchOS 9‌, you tin usage it to way your way and past assistance you retrace your steps successful lawsuit you get lost.

Tap the footprints icon successful the bottom-right of the screen, past pat Start to statesman signaling your route. When you're acceptable to retrace your steps, pat the pause icon successful the bottom-right of the screen, past pat Retrace Steps.

Your starting determination volition look connected the compass, and a bouncing achromatic arrow volition constituent you successful the close direction. Follow the way backmost to instrumentality to wherever you archetypal turned connected Backtrack, past erstwhile you've arrived astatine your starting location, pat the footsteps icon and you'll beryllium capable to delete your steps.

7. Change Watch Face Based connected Focus

In ‌‌‌iOS 16‌‌‌, you tin customize beauteous overmuch everything astir your Focus. It's not conscionable the Home Screen and Lock Screen that you tin acceptable – if your Apple Watch is moving ‌watchOS 9‌, you tin prime 1 of your Apple Watch faces to activate connected your wrist for a circumstantial Focus mode.

On your ‌iPhone‌, spell to Settings -> Focus, prime an existing Focus oregon make a caller one. Set immoderate notification soundlessness options for radical and apps erstwhile your Focus is active, past nether "Customize Screens," pat Edit nether the ticker look option. Choose a ticker look from your Apple Watch look gallery, past pat Done.

That's each determination is to it. With your chosen Apple Watch look present linked to your Focus Mode, it volition beryllium activated automatically connected your wrist the adjacent clip you alteration the Focus connected your ‌‌iPhone‌‌.

8. View Edited Messages

In ‌iOS 16‌, Apple added the quality to edit texts sent implicit iMessage, and successful ‌watchOS 9‌, you tin presumption immoderate edits to a received connection that person been made.

Simply pat and clasp the connection Edited successful bluish beneath the connection to uncover the edits. Tap Hide Edits to marque them vanish again.

9. Edit Reminders

Previously, the Reminders app lone fto you presumption oregon adhd reminders. Now it lets you Edit existing reminders and adhd cardinal details, including day and time, location, tags, and notes. You tin besides determination reminders betwixt lists close connected your wrist.

10. Change Calendar View

Not lone tin you present adhd calendar events successful the Calendar app connected Apple Watch, you tin besides power to day, list, and week views.

Simply pat the ellipsis (three dots) button that appears successful the country of the surface erstwhile you halt scrolling, past nether "View Options," take from Up Next, Day, and List. When you've made your choice, pat Done.

11. Prioritize Background Running Apps successful the Dock

Accessed with a property of the Side button, the Dock has been the spot you went for speedy entree to your astir precocious utilized apps oregon favourite app. With ‌watchOS 9‌, however, apps moving successful the inheritance are prioritized implicit the remainder of the apps successful the Dock, making it easier to instrumentality to them.

You don't person to bash thing to activate this diagnostic - it's functional by default.

12. Turn Off Cellular Data

For years present connected ‌iPhone‌ you've been capable to crook disconnected cellular information without losing the quality to marque and person calls. Previously, the aforesaid enactment wasn't offered connected cellular Apple Watch models – whenever your cellular work was enabled, truthful was cellular data, eating your artillery close up.

In ‌watchOS 9‌, Apple has helpfully added abstracted switches for your watch's basal cellular/mobile work and mobile data, truthful present you tin power them independently. You tin find the settings successful your watch's Settings app, nether Cellular/Mobile Data.

13. Kickboard Swim Detection and SWOLF Score

In bully quality for swimmers, Apple Watches moving ‌watchOS 9‌ tin present automatically observe erstwhile you're utilizing a kickboard during a excavation aquatics workout.

The Workout app tin adjacent springiness you your SWOLF score, 1 of the cardinal swim-specific metrics. SWOLF is calculated utilizing a operation of your changeable number and your clip spent successful the water. The less strokes and the little clip you take, the little your SWOLF score, arsenic a measurement of your swimming efficiency.

14. Text Size Control

In different boon for accessibility, Apple has added a Text Size power to the Control Center successful ‌watchOS 9‌, truthful present it's adjacent easier to guarantee Apple Watch apps that enactment Dynamic Type set to your preferred speechmaking size.

15. Dictation Auto-Punctuation

Dictation is simply a fashionable diagnostic connected Apple Watch for sending messages, since it converts your code to text, which is truthful overmuch quicker than typing connected a tiny keyboard. WatchOS 9 improves the diagnostic greatly by automatically inserting punctuation into your sentences successful existent time, truthful you nary longer person to accidental "comma" oregon "question mark" retired loud.

The diagnostic should beryllium turned connected by default, but if it isn't, you tin spell to Settings -> General -> Dictation and crook connected Auto Punctuation.

16. Apple Watch Mirroring

With ‌iOS 16‌ and ‌watchOS 9‌, Apple introduced a caller Apple Watch Mirroring diagnostic that lets you spot and power your Apple Watch surface from your paired ‌iPhone‌. It's designed to marque the ticker acquisition much accessible for radical with carnal and centrifugal disabilities, but it tin besides beryllium utile if, say, your Apple Watch surface is cracked oregon unresponsive.

To alteration it, motorboat the Settings app connected your ‌iPhone‌, pat Accessibility, past nether "Physical and Motor," pat Apple Watch Mirroring, earlier toggling connected the diagnostic successful the adjacent screen.

A graphical practice of your Apple Watch volition look connected your ‌‌iPhone‌‌'s screen, portion a bluish outline volition look astir the look of your Apple Watch to bespeak that mirroring is enabled. You'll present beryllium capable to power your Apple Watch by tapping and swiping connected the ticker representation that appears connected your ‌‌iPhone‌‌. You tin adjacent pat the Side fastener and swipe the Digital Crown to mimic the aforesaid carnal actions that you would execute connected your watch.

17. Quick Actions

With caller Quick Actions, users with precocious assemblage limb differences tin present bash adjacent much with a double-pinch motion to respond to alerts connected their Apple Watch, including reply oregon extremity a telephone call, instrumentality a photograph erstwhile the viewfinder and shutter fastener are showing successful the Camera app, play oregon intermission media successful the Now Playing app, and start, pause, oregon resume a workout. You tin besides usage speedy actions to snooze an alarm oregon halt a timer.

To alteration Quick Actions, Open the Watch app connected your ‌iPhone‌, pat Accessibility, past nether "Motor," pat Quick Actions. Choose from 1 of the pursuing options: On, When AssistiveTouch is Enabled, and Off. You tin besides take their quality to beryllium Full oregon Minimal.

With Quick Actions on, erstwhile you spot an alert connected your Apple Watch, you'll beryllium prompted to execute a Quick Action. For example, erstwhile you've paused a workout, a punctual lets you cognize that you tin double-pinch to resume it (tap scale digit to thumb doubly quickly).

18. Control Your iPhone With Apple Watch

In a benignant of reverse instrumentality of Apple Watch Mirroring, you tin besides power your ‌iPhone‌ with your Apple Watch. On your watch, spell to Settings -> Accessibility, past prime Control Nearby Devices. Select your ‌iPhone‌ (or iPad) from the list.

Once connected, you'll spot a bid of power buttons enabling you to execute a assortment of actions connected your ‌iPhone‌, including Go to Home Screen, Open App Switcher, Open Notification Center, Open Control Center, and Activate Siri. Tapping the More fastener volition besides springiness you media playback controls.

19. Find Your Car

The redesigned Compass app includes the quality to make Compass Waypoints and past find the region and absorption betwixt them. The diagnostic tin besides beryllium utilized to find your parked car.

If your car has CarPlay oregon Bluetooth connectivity, you don't really person to bash thing to acceptable it up. Provided your ‌iPhone‌ is paired with your car successful immoderate capacity, your Apple Watch tin admit erstwhile you've parked and disconnected, and it volition driblet a waypoint wherever your car is located.

Launch the Compass app, past look for a bluish waypoint connected your compass dial. If you crook the Digital Crown, the dial volition zoom successful and out, giving you a amended thought of however acold distant your car is. Tap the waypoint to get much accusation astir it, past pat Select to spot a pointer that volition usher you to your car.

If you find yourself relying connected this diagnostic frequently, you tin adjacent adhd a Parked Car Waypoint complication to your Watch look that volition pb you to your vehicle.

20. Add Favorite Timers

If you usage definite timer durations frequently, wherefore not favourite them? In ‌watchOS 9‌, you can.

Simply unfastened up the Timer app, swipe near connected a precocious utilized timer, past pat the star icon that appears. The favorited timer volition present unrecorded astatine the apical of your timer list, until specified a clip erstwhile you swipe near connected it and pat the reddish X to region it.