Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC 2018) was kicked off yesterday so all the news is about Apple and Apple products.
I think one of the best announcements was about the Apple Watch and watchOS 5. As expected, the update will focus on a lot of new fitness related features and improvements but there will be some new features added that will be communications-based
Can you say Dick Tracy? According to Apple, “watchOS 5 introduces Walkie-Talkie, an entirely new way to communicate with voice and just a tap of the wrist. A fun and easy way to quickly get in touch with friends and family, this new watch-to-watch connection is fast, personal and can be activated between any compatible Apple Watch users around the world over Wi-Fi or cellular.”
Push-to-talk features aren’t new when it comes to smartphones, but if you ever wanted to feel like Dick Tracy, Apple is now giving you the opportunity.
Upon opening the Walkie Talkie app for the first time, users will be able to choose which friends they want to be able to communicate with. Those friends can then confirm or deny the communication request from their own Watch. When you talk to one of your friends via Walkie Talkie, they’ll hear a brief beep and feel a slight haptic buzz before they hear your voice.
Speaking of making communication easier, Apple is also streamlining the way you talk to Siri on the Watch. Instead of saying “Hey, Siri” every time you want to ask the virtual assistant a question, you’ll soon be able to merely raise your watch to your face and speak your request.
As for the new fitness features, Apple will be introducing Activity Competitions which lets Apple Watch users compete against each other in closing their Activity Rings.
There’s a new Auto-Workout Detection feature, the addition of support for new workouts such as Yoga and Hiking (amongst 12 other new workouts), new running features that alerts users when they are ahead or behind their designated pace, and more.
There will also the ability to listen to Podcasts from the Apple Watch, along with improvements to the Siri watch face where it will provide users with dynamic shortcuts to features throughout the day based on your routines.
watchOS 5 is currently set for a release this fall but Apple did not mention when exactly, those details will be revealed later this year.
Here’s the link to Apples info: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2018/06/watchos-5-adds-powerful-activity-and-communications-features-to-apple-watch/
