Apple releases watchOS 2 with new watch faces, enhanced communication options and more


Apple watchOS 2

Apple announced the watchOS 2 at the WWDC back in June. At the iPhone event earlier this month, Apple said that it will release watchOS 2 on September 16th, along with the iOS 9, but it got delayed due to bugs that was discovered at the last moment. Now it has rolled out the update for the Apple Watch that brings new features such as native support for third-party apps such as News, Weather, Facebook Messenger, GoPro with viewfinder support on Watch, new ‘Time Travel’ feature lets you rotate the digital crown to move forward or backwards in your appointments, Transit option in maps for finding public transportation and several improvements.

Apple watchOS 2 update

You can update to watchOS 2 by opening Apple Watch app on your iPhone and going to My Watch > General > Software Update. Check out the complete changelog below.

New features in watchOS 2

  • New watch faces and timekeeping features
    • Time-lapse videos of Hong Kong, London, Mack Lake, New York, Shanghai, and Paris
    • Photo and Photo Album so you can see your favorite images every time you raise your wrist, including support for Live Photos
    • Time Travel with the Digital Crown to see what’s coming in the future or what’s happened in the past
    • Nightstand Mode so your Watch can be used as a bedside alarm clock
    • 9 new colors to customize your watch face, and a new multicolor Modular face
    • Support for third-party apps to create complications
  • Siri improvements
    • Start a specific workout, get transit directions, or ask to see a glance
    • Support for FaceTime audio calling and replying to email
    • Support for HomeKit to control supported devices in your home using Siri
    • New support for Austria, Belgium (French and Dutch), and Norway
  • Activity and Workout improvements
    • Workouts from third party apps on the Watch can be included in your Activity rings
    • Activity rings, workouts, and achievements can be shared from the Activity app on iPhone
    • Interactive achievements
    • On-demand weekly summary
    • Mute Activity notifications for one day
    • Workouts saved automatically
  • Apple Pay and Wallet improvements
    • Support for Discover cards
    • Support for rewards cards and store credit and debit cards
    • Add passes to Wallet directly from third party apps on your Watch
  • Friends and Digital Touch improvements
    • Add more than 12 Friends directly from Apple Watch
    • Multiple Friends’ groups that you can name
    • Send sketches using multiple colors
    • New options for animated emoji
  • Maps improvements
    • Transit view, showing transit lines, stations and intermodal connections in select major cities
    • View the list of directions for your current route
    • View station placards with departure information
  • Music improvements
    • New Beats 1 button to start playing the 24/7 radio station
    • New Quick Play button to play a variety of songs from Apple Music
  • Reply to emails using dictation, emoji, or smart replies customized specifically for email
  • Make and receive calls using FaceTime audio
  • Support for Wi-Fi calling without iPhone in proximity on participating carriers
  • Activation Lock prevents anyone from activating your Apple Watch without your Apple ID and password
  • New developer capabilities
  • New support for system language in English (India), Finnish, Indonesian, Norwegian, and Polish
  • New support for dictation in Dutch (Belgium), English (Ireland, Philippines, South Africa), French (Belgium), German (Austria), Spanish (Chile, Colombia)
  • New support for smart replies in Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Taiwan), Danish, Dutch, English (New Zealand, Singapore), Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Thai

Author: Srivatsan Sridhar

Srivatsan Sridhar is a Mobile Technology Enthusiast who is passionate about Mobile phones and Mobile apps. He uses the phones he reviews as his main phone. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram