When the Apple Watch first burst onto the scene, there was plenty of hype around the tech giant’s latest offering.

Fast forward to 2019, and one of the most personal pieces of technology Apple has ever invented remains a product that is underestimated by many.

Studies have shown that the Apple Watch can have a massive impact on a person’s health and wellbeing. For example, participants using an Apple Watch saw an average 34% sustained increase in activity – 4,8 extra days of activity per month – across the United Kingdom, United States and South Africa.

That same study, which was the largest ever of its kind, also found that the incentive-driven behavioural technology featured in the Apple Watch, when used correctly, has the potential to add two years to your life.

Not at all shabby.

At Apple’s recent Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where they unleashed iOS 13 update features, they also covered the WatchOS 6 software update, coming this year to Apple Watch models made in 2016 or later (these guys are good, of course).

The update will include eight new features, which are covered below with the help of Business Insider.

New watch faces

Apple added a ton of new watch faces in WatchOS 6, including new styles and complications…

There are gradient watch faces that animate with the time, new bold watch faces, a watch face that changes languages randomly, and even a solar watch face that changes based on the position of the sun.

A new feature called Activity Trends gives you long-term analysis of your health and fitness

Activity Trends compares your progress over the last 90 days to the past 365 days, so you can see if you’re improving or trending downward in any given fitness metric, like standing, exercising, moving, and cardio levels.

Your Watch will be able to tell you what song is playing

Thanks to a new integration with Shazam, you’ll be able to raise your wrist to activate Siri and ask “What song is this?” If you have an Apple Watch with cellular connectivity, you won’t even need your phone nearby to do this.

Perfect for when you’re drunk and you hear a song you love, only to realise the next day that it’s horrid and you shouldn’t have twerked to it.

Thanks to WatchOS 6, the Apple Watch will be able to address hearing loss and hearing health for the first time

The Apple Watch is getting a Noise app and complication, which can sense ambient noise in the environment and track the duration of your exposure. If the sounds near you are super loud as to impact your hearing, the Watch will let you know if you’re in an area that’ll impact your hearing over time.

Don’t stress, Apple doesn’t record or save any audio when using this feature.

The Apple Watch will have new ways to tell you the time

If you don’t want to look at your Apple Watch to get the time, WatchOS 6 has you covered.

In the new update, you can program a chime to ring in the new hour, or you can have the Watch silently tap out the hour on your wrist. Holding two fingers on the face will make your Apple Watch tell you the time out loud.

A little unnecessary, but nice to know the option is there.

The Apple Watch is getting a Cycle Tracking app for women

Later this year, the Apple Watch will be able to track menstrual cycles, let you record symptoms like cramps, and show patterns and variations of cycle length. It can also tell women when their fertile window is most likely to start.

A slew of useful apps from the iPhone are coming to the Watch

Apple’s Audiobooks, Calculator, and Voice Memos apps will all be on your wrist, so you never have to reach far to take a mental note or do some math.

The Apple Watch is getting a full version of the App Store

The full App Store will be searchable on the Apple Watch. You can dictate, scribble, or use Siri to find what you’re looking for. Once you find an app you want, just double-click to install it.

Essentially, the update is going to make your Apple Watch more of a standalone product, rather than being an accessory to an iPhone.

For those who want to pack maximum power on their wrists, it’s certainly a move in the right direction.

As mentioned earlier, this update will only work on Watches made in 2016 or later. Digicape, South Africa’s largest independent Apple retailer, has the full range of Apple Watch Series 4 to choose from.

For those who have an older model, fear not – Digicape allows you to trade in older Apple products (iPhones, iPads and Watches) for discounts on the latest products, so you can hook yourself up with the latest gear.

Go on, then – join the revolution.

[source:businsider]