What’s new in Apple Watch and watchOS 8

The largest and most advanced display, most durable Apple Watch, and fast charging (Apple Watch Series 7) The latest Apple Watch features more screen area, with smaller borders and a refractive edge effect. With the included USB-C cable, Apple Watch Series 7 charges faster than any previous Apple Watch model. See Charge Apple Watch.

Note: Fast charging is not available in all regions.

Explore new watch faces Switch things up with new watch faces for Apple Watch—World Time, which makes it easy to see the time across the globe, Portraits, which brings your favorite portrait photos front and center, Unity Lights, a face inspired by Afrofuturism, and, on Apple Watch Series 7, Contour and Modular Duo. See Apple Watch faces and their features.

Edit on the fly To correct errors in text, use the Digital Crown to scroll precisely to the spot you want to edit. See Compose a text message.

A text entry screen with a cursor between two letters in a misspelled word. The Delete button is to the right of the text. Emoji, Space, and Dictate buttons are at the bottom.

Scribble and dictate, all on one screen In Mail and Messages it’s easier than ever to make your point by seamlessly switching from Scribble to dictation and back again. See Compose a message.

A text entry screen with text and an emoji near the top, and Emoji, Scribble, and Dictate buttons at the bottom.

QWERTY and QuickPath keyboard (U.S. English and Simplified Chinese only, Apple Watch Series 7 only) Enter text with the full QWERTY keyboard. Just tap each character or use QuickPath to swipe between letters without lifting your finger. See Compose a message.

A text entry screen showing a QWERTY keyboard. Some text appears at the top with the Delete button to the right. Emoji, Space, and Dictate buttons are at the bottom.

Enjoy a mindful moment The new Reflect feature in the Mindfulness app helps you establish a meditation practice by focusing on a short, thought-provoking theme. With an Apple Fitness subscription, listen to guided Meditations right on Apple Watch. See Start a Reflect or Breathe session and Listen to guided Meditations.

The Mindfulness app shows a thought you can reflect on—“Think of something you did that was fun. Remember why you liked it.” A Begin button is below.

Try new workouts Strengthen your core with the new Pilates workout, and clear your mind and reduce stress with Tai Chi. See Work out with Apple Watch.

The Workout screen with the Tai Chi workout highlighted.

See your respiratory rate as you sleep Your Apple Watch can track your respiratory rate when you’re sleeping. Knowing your sleep respiratory rate can give you greater insight into your overall health. See Review your sleeping respiratory rate.

Keep keys on Apple Watch Store your car, home, workplace, and hotel key in the Wallet app on your watch. See Access your car, home, workplace, and hotel room with keys in Wallet on Apple Watch.

Store and present your vaccination card (watchOS 8.1) Add a vaccination record in the Health app on your iPhone, add it to the Wallet app, and double-click the side button on Apple Watch to present your card when you need to show proof of vaccination. See Use vaccination cards in Wallet.

ID in Wallet (iOS 15.4 and watchOS 8.4) In participating states, securely add your driver’s license or state ID to the Wallet app, then use your iPhone or Apple Watch to present your license or ID at select TSA security checkpoints. See Use your driver’s license or state ID in Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch (U.S. only).

Better control your home In watchOS 8, the Home app has been redesigned to make it easier than ever to control the smart devices in your home by highlighting the accessories you’re most likely to use based on the time of day. See Control your home.

Locate misplaced devices and items In addition to finding your friends, you can now locate your missing Apple devices and AirTags with the new Find Devices and Find Items apps on Apple Watch. See Find misplaced devices.

The Find Devices app showing two devices—an Apple Watch and AirPods.

Rediscover significant people, places, and events Photo highlights from your Memories and Featured Photos now automatically sync to your watch, serving up something new every day. See View photos and Memories on Apple Watch.

Stay focused Focus helps you stay in the moment when you need to concentrate, allowing only the notifications you want. Choose from preset Focus suggestions like working or exercising, or sync a custom Focus you’ve created on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. See Use Focus on Apple Watch.

The Focus list shows Do Not Disturb, Personal, Work, and Sleep. The Work Focus is active.

Navigate your watch with AssistiveTouch People who have limb differences can use Apple Watch and its built‑in motion sensors to answer calls, control an onscreen pointer, and even launch a menu of actions—all through hand gestures. See Use AssistiveTouch on Apple Watch.

An AssistiveTouch screen where you can try a gesture. The Clench gesture is showing with an illustration of a clenched hand.

Make contact Use the new Contacts app to quickly browse, add, or edit contacts right on your Apple Watch. See Add and use contact information.

The Contacts app showing a contact. The contact’s name is near the top left with their picture at the top right. Phone and Messages buttons appear below.

Create multiple timers When making a multicourse meal, timing is everything. In the Timers app, start multiple timers as you begin cooking and use Siri to give each one a label. See Create multiple timers.

Two timers in the Timers app. Each timer shows the remaining time below the timer’s name and a pause button to the right. A Recents button is at the bottom of the screen.

Request music using only your voice (watchOS 8.3) A new subscription option, Apple Music Voice, offers access through Siri to the Apple Music catalog, playlists, personalized mixes, and more. See Play music on Apple Watch.

Check the volume In watchOS 8 you can see real‑time headphone audio levels in Control Center when you’re listening to media. See Monitor your headphone volume.

The Headphone Volume screen showing a volume control at the top and a meter below, which displays the current headphone volume. The volume level is 65 dB and is marked “OK.”

Download this guide: Apple Books | PDF

Helpful?

Apple Watch User Guide

What’s new in Apple Watch and watchOS 8