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The Apple Watch is getting a host of new health, fitness, and security tools with WatchOS 11. The new software is expected to release in the coming weeks alongside the next Apple Watch and the rumored iPhone 16. On Monday, Apple will hold its Glowtime event, where we expect to hear more details surrounding the release of iOS 18 and WatchOS 11.
But if you don’t want to try it out, the watchOS 11 public beta is available to try now on any Apple Watch Series 6 and later, and the second-generation SE. Along with iOS 18, the public beta serves as a preview of these new features ahead of their general release this fall.
I installed the beta on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and spent about a month testing out new features like the Vitals app and Training Load. I’ve already found a few favorite features that you should explore.
To try out the watchOS 11 public beta, you’ll need to have iOS 18 on your iPhone, paired with your Apple Watch. Features may change between now and the final release, and I recommend backing up your Apple Watch and iPhone before installing. And know that you won’t be able to go back to watchOS 10 or earlier versions if you install the public beta.
Check this out: What’s New in WatchOS 11
Change your activity rings
WatchOS 11 finally lets you customize your Activity rings and take a rest day if you’re sick. In the Activity app, tap the three rings, then tap break ringsYou can pause for a day, week, or month, or you can set a custom goal.
Another great new feature is being able to change your goals for each ring: move, exercise, and stand. If you know a 30-minute workout goal isn’t going to work for you, you can adjust it up or down.
Customize your Move ring in WatchOS 11.
Individual days of the week can also be adjusted. Go to the calendar icon at the top right and press diagram And to adjust accordingly. I know I usually don’t work out much on Tuesdays because I’m in the office, so I set that goal lower and increase my weekend goals because I’m out and about a lot more.
The Vitals app tracks your health at night
When you wear your Apple Watch to track your sleep, it also records other important stats like your heart rate, breathing rate, and wrist temperature. The Vitals app displays these stats in the morning, so you can see them on your wrist, instead of having to dig into the Health app and dive into menus. Use the screen or the crown to scroll through your stats.
A handy overview is the last seven days overview, which tells you if any of your vital signs are outside your normal range and highlights it in pink. You will also receive a notification on your wrist if two or more vital signs are out of range.
The Vitals app.
With Training Load you can keep track of your training
Training Load helps you measure the intensity of your training routine. This helps you stay on track, for example if you are working towards a marathon or something similar, or if you want to avoid overtraining.
Open the Activity app and find a new icon in the upper right corner. Tap the graph icon and the white line shows your 28-day weighted activity average, with your last seven days measured against it. You can scroll the digital crown to go back to your workouts from the past week. They’re categorized as “well above” to “well below” your average, and each is given an effort rating.
The Training Load screen in the Activity app.
Compatible cardio workouts like walking, running, hiking, and rowing get an effort rating from 1 to 10, which Apple Watch calculates based on data like your height, weight, and age, plus calorimetry data from your workout like GPS and heart rate.
You can adjust this effort rating if you feel like it doesn’t really reflect your workout. Say you’re overtired from a late night and forced to go for a run, but it was slower than usual, you can change the effort rating to more accurately reflect how you felt. Tap the effort rating to open a graph and turn the crown to move the rating.
A nice perk if you have an Apple Watch Ultra or Ultra 2 is that you can view your vitals and training load data on the Modular Ultra watch face by customizing the side bezel complication.
Check your Apple Watch for security
There’s a new safety tool on the Apple Watch called Check In with watchOS 11. It works from both the Workout app and the Messages app. Similar to how Check In works in iOS 17, you’ll open the Messages app and select the plus icon to find Check In. From here, you can customize it to “check in” with a friend or family member based on a time period, or when you arrive at a set destination.
During a workout, swipe right and tap Check In. It will automatically send a text message to your selected contact when you’ve completed your workout. If Apple Watch notices that you’re not making expected progress, your speed increases dramatically, or your heart rate is approaching your resting heart rate during an intense workout, it will prompt you to respond.
Otherwise, it will share your location with your contact, with limited or full data based on your selection.
A Live Activity will appear at the top of the Smart Stack.
Once you start a Check In, it also starts a Live Activity on the watch that appears in the Smart Stack. Just like on iOS 17, Check In will only work if your recipient is also using iOS 17 or later, and will not work for other contacts who don’t use iMessage.
The renewed watch face of Photos
watchOS 11 doesn’t necessarily bring new watch faces, but the Photos face is getting some new functionality. Grab your iPhone and head to the Watch app, where you can choose photos of people, pets, nature, or cityscapes to tag on your wrist.
Behind the scenes, your phone will evaluate the best photos based on composition and facial expressions to highlight what it thinks are the best images to feature on your watch face. You can even take it a step further and change the size and font of the time, plus background colors on your images to make your watch face more personal.
Remote app gets even more tools
I use the Remote app on my Apple Watch more than I care to admit, and it has even more controls in watchOS 11. Open the Remote app and tap the three dots in the upper right corner. From here, you can mute and unmute your connected Apple TV, turn on subtitles, or even turn off your connected device with a single tap.
The Translate app in WatchOS 11.
Translate app
The translation app is now on the Apple Watch. Simply say your sentence and choose the target language, and the Apple Watch will play the translation. In the settings, you can change the speed to make the playback slower or faster. You can also download 20 different language packs, so it works even if you don’t have your paired iPhone with you.
Some other favorite features of WatchOS 11 include:
- Additional tools to track your pregnancy in the Health app.
- Live activities now appear in the Smart Stack, such as when you call a car or snooze an alarm.
- Thanks to offline maps in Apple Maps, you can now use turn-by-turn navigation for walking tours with voice guidance.
- iMessage tapbacks look different, which is a nice subtle change.
- With Double Tap, you can now navigate any app in two steps: messages, weather, or pretty much anything.
Since you need to download iOS 18 to try out watchOS 11, you might as well check out some of the new features as well. Check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet for features to try out.
