watchOS 11 is Apple’s upcoming operating system for Apple Watch models. After rebuilding the OS from the ground up with watchOS 10, the next version adds new insights for health and fitness insights, with even more personalization and connectivity. Here’s what we know about it so far.
watchOS 11 features
The new watchOS 11 update is full of fitness and health features.
Vitals app and Training Load bring insights into key health metrics
By taking advantage of Apple Watch sensors that measure health metrics during sleep, watchOS 11’s Vitals app gives users a way to quickly view these key health metrics and gain better context when it comes to their health.
This Apple Watch app (alongside insights from the Fitness app for iPhone users) helps you understand if you’re on a typical range or if you’re overreaching or missing too many workouts.
When two or more metrics are out of their typical range, users can receive a notification and a message detailing how changes in these specific metrics may be linked to other aspects of their lives, such as elevation changes, alcohol consumption, or even illness.
With Training Load, it measures how the intensity and duration of workouts impact a user’s body over time. Training load helps users understand the strain on their body from workouts over the last seven days compared to the last 28 days. Apple says these insights can help you prepare for an event, such as a marathon, bike race, or your first 5K, or just make informed decisions about your training each day.
Customizable Activity Rings and new Fitness app
The day has finally come, and Apple is once and for all letting users customize their Activity Rings with watchOS 11. Thanks to this change, the Activity Rings will understand planned rest days, injuries, or days off without affecting the award streak.
It’s also possible to customize Activity Ring goals by the day of the week, so your leg workout might be different from the one you go for an outdoor run.
Additionally, the Fitness app allows users to customize the Summary tab to show exactly the metrics they want to see, including their friends’.
Lastly, Apple Fitness+ has been redesigned. With a Personalized For You space, you can explore the exercises you love with the trainers you’re familiar with.
Smart Stack and Photos Face updates
Smart Stack adds new widgets, including Shazam, Photos, Distance, and more. It can also suggest widgets based on time, date, location, daily routines, and more.
In addition, watchOS 11 adds a new Photos Face. By using machine learning and making recommendations based on aesthetics, composition, and even facial expressions, this new Watch Face brings unique faces with different time sizes, layouts, font choices, and more.
Check In comes to workouts, and Translate app comes to Apple Watch
Check In was a feature introduced with iOS 17 to help other people know when you’re going somewhere or if you arrived home safely. With watchOS 11, you can set a check-in when you finish a workout. Apple explains: “Whether users are heading out on an early morning run or to a late-night gym session, they can access Check In directly within the Workout app so a friend or family member can keep an eye out for their workout to end. Users can also start a Check-In from Messages like they can on iPhone.”
With the Translate app for the Apple Watch, users can access translation for one of 20 supported languages directly on their wrist.
Additionally, the double tap gesture can now be used to scroll through any app — like Messages, Calendar, or Weather — making it even easier to interact with Apple Watch with one hand.
watchOS 11 has even more in store
- The Workout app offers even more workout types that can track distance using enhancements in GPS positioning, including Soccer, American Football, Australian Football, Outdoor Hockey, Lacrosse, Downhill Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Snowboarding, Golf, Outdoor Rowing, and more. Users can also see their route maps for these workout types.
- Custom Workouts can now be used for Pool Swims. Users can customize an interval-based workout with support for sets of work and recovery and haptics to signal when it is time to move on to the next interval.
- Apple Maps offers hikes for all U.S. national parks. These can be saved to Apple Watch and accessed offline with turn-by-turn guidance, even without an iPhone nearby. Users can also create their own walking routes within the Maps app on iPhone and save them so they can later navigate them with just their Apple Watch.
- Nap detection: Apple Watch now detects when you sleep even when you’re not using Sleep Mode.
- Summarized notifications, powered by Apple Intelligence, will be forwarded from iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max to Apple Watch.
- Enhanced ticketing improves information provided to users on tickets in Apple Wallet, such as when the venue opens and when the show starts. A Live Activity will start at the event so users can see their seats and other important information at the top of the Smart Stack.
RCS is coming
Last year, Apple announced that RCS messaging support would be available in 2024. This change will make it easier to group messages, send high-quality photos and videos, share their location, and more with RCS-supported texts, which means communication between iPhone and Android users over text will be easier.
Still, features like memoji, stickers, edit, and unsend messages will continue to be iMessage-exclusive. Another catch is that after Apple introduces RCS support in 2024, the carriers will also need to add it on their end, so this feature might be added later in the iOS 18/watchOS 11 cycle.
How to install watchOS 11 beta
watchOS 11 beta is available for developers. You just need to follow these steps:
- On your iPhone, open the Watch app
- Tap on General and Software Update
- Tap on Beta Updates and enable watchOS 11 Developer Beta
How to install the public beta
The public beta of the upcoming operating system has been available since July 15. First of all, you need to enroll to the Apple Beta Software Program with your Apple ID.
But before you think about downloading the beta, you should know that you can’t downgrade to an older version. So once watchOS 11 public beta is out, you won’t be able to downgrade to watchOS 10. In addition, you must download iOS 18 beta to make watchOS 11 work.
As such, even if you run into some critical bugs, you’ll be stuck with this beta until another testing version or the official build is released, as you can’t downgrade to any older versions. With that in mind, this is how you can download the public beta:
- On your iPhone, open the Watch app
- Tap on General and Software Update
- Tap on Beta Updates and enable watchOS 11 Public Beta
Release date
With watchOS 11 unveiled at WWDC 2024, the official release date for this software update is expected for September, alongside the iPhone 16 announcement.
Compatible Apple Watch models
Even though watchOS 11 doesn’t add several new features, Apple removed support for three Apple Watch models. That said, these are the wearables that will be able to run watchOS 11 later this fall:
- Apple Watch Series 6 (2020)
- Apple Watch Series 7 (2021)
- Apple Watch SE (2022)
- Apple Watch Series 8 (2022)
- Apple Watch Ultra (2022)
- Apple Watch Series 9 (2023)
- Apple Watch Ultra 2 (2023)
In addition to one of the smartwatches above, you must have an iPhone XR, iPhone XS, or newer running iOS 18 to fully enjoy an Apple Watch.
