watchOS 9 is set to be released next month – and for those who love to track their workouts, Apple has made a number of tweaks and changes that will no doubt go down well.
The Workout app is perhaps the most popular on the Apple Watch, allowing users to track their performance when running, playing football, and swimming. In watchOS 9, Apple has updated the user interface to offer even richer metrics for measuring performance. The in-session display takes advantage of the Digital Crown so that users can easily rotate between easy-to-read Workout Views. Heart Rate Zones can now be used to monitor the intensity of a workout.
For the first time, Apple allows users to create Custom Workouts so that users can create a structured activity, including work and rest intervals. New alerts can also be utilized throughout the workout, including pace, power, heart rate, and cadence.
Apple has added new Multisport workout options that allow users to switch from swimming to biking and running automatically, using motion sensors. The Workout app will then show a new summary page offering interactive charts to monitor performance during each workout. Apple goes even further for runners, introducing new metrics such as Stride Length, Ground Contact Time, and Vertical Oscillation. It’s now possible to race against your best or most recent result on frequently used routes. An updated pacer experience ensures users choose a distance and goal for their available time, taking the guesswork out of workout planning.
For swimmers, kickboard detection has been added as a new stroke type, automatically detecting when users swim with a kickboard and classifying the stroke type in the workout. It’s also possible to easily calculate your SWOLF score — a stroke count combined with the time it takes to swim one length of the pool and monitor their performance over time.
Apple has made significant improvements to Apple Fitness+ since it launched, and now it’s thought that the service has millions of users worldwide. With watchOS 9, Apple has built new workouts into the Apple Watch. Workouts display on-screen guidance and trainer coaching to ensure users get the most out of their workouts. Fitness+ users can stream workouts with on-screen graphics to TVs and smart devices using AirPlay.
Are you looking forward to trying watchOS 9? Let us know and check back soon for more.