Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
There ’s much to care here , particularly for those ( we distrust they are in the majority ) whose Apple Watch role mostly revolves around the Activity and Workout apps , both of which get important new features . We ’re most frantic about being able to sync up with gymnasium equipment , although this wo n’t be practical until gym have had time to update their treadmills and bikes ; hopefully there will be lots of favorable air pressure on them to do so . But mixed and HIIT workouts are invoke too . The increasing comportment of AI in the watchOS interface is challenging and in some cases genuinely utile ; in others it still seems to be detect its feet ( such as personalised coaching ) . But with a small - sieve equipment like the ticker , multi - step navigation is a pain and anything that imagine what you desire without you have to expect for it is going to be a gamechanger . ( This is also why Siri is more important on watchOS than on other Apple platforms . ) last , do n’t underestimate the signification of superficial graphic tweaks . We find the Toy Story watch faces authentically fun ; others may get similar enjoyment from the kaleidoscope . And the gaudy animations when you hit a destination in Activity are a small rise to motivation . It all assist . Do note , however , that if you ’re using an original Apple Watch you are potential to experience detectable retardation after you update , and we ’d advocate that you stick on watchOS 3 . The Series 2 seems to be basically okay – it ’s very slightly more lag - prostrate , but this is more than made up for in our minds by the new features – and we ’d expect the Series 1 ( which also has a dual - heart chip ) to do likewise .
watchOS 4 was annunciate atWWDC 2017 in June , along with major update to Apple ’s three other operating systems , and in September they are finally launch to the world at large . We ’ve updated watchOS on various Apple Watch manakin to see how well it performs , to try out the new features , and to essay out the redesigned interface .
In our watchOS 4 review we report on feature , intention and speeding offspring , to help you settle if you shouldmake the rising slope on your Apple Watch . We expect another big update next autumn : take a look at ourwatchOS 5 rumoursarticle for the latest selective information on that .
Apple Watch & watchOS History
This is an old interpretation of watchOS that has since been updated . We ’re expecting to seeApple Watch Series 10 , Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3rd generation , runningwatchOS 11 , launch in September 2024 at the company’sGlowtime event(seehow to determine the September event ) . If you ’re in the market for a new Apple Watch , see ourApple Watch buying guide , round - up of thebest Apple Watch mass , and advice on whether you shouldbuy Apple Watch now or wait . You might also be concerned in what othernew Apple productsare coming this year , and when is thenext Apple event . you’re able to find links to all our Apple Watch reviews below .
Design & interface
The biggest variety Apple has made to the lookout man interface came in watchOS 3 , which repurposed the side release : rather of open up the ( rarely used ) favourite - liaison telephone dial , it now activated the favourite - apps dock , which is peachy and useful . There ’s nothing quite as significant here , although Apple has tweaked the interface in a few remarkable style .
A recurring theme ( you ’ll find it in the dock , Workout app and Music app , for illustration ) is a switch from horizontal- to erect - scrolling navigation . Instead of swiping left to right with a fingertip you ’ll more often be scrolling up and down with the Digital Crown – something we find easier , speedy and more exact . We do n’t yet fuck if app developers will come after Apple ’s lead on this and incorporate vertical scrolling more oftentimes , but we believe it makes sensory faculty .
Control Centre
The Control Centre has been redesigned a little , although less noticeably than the one iniOS 11 . Mostly things have been just been moved around ( Do Not Disturb is a small lower , Silent Mode is now below the faithful , and the iPhone pinging feature has earned a deserved furtherance ) although there ’s a new location table service icon , and an entirely unexampled entry : torch .
Torch makes the picket face light up undimmed white – handy when looking for a drop key in the darkness – and you may switch to Bolshevik or flashing snowy ( near for dark - prison term walks near road ) where appropriate .
New watch faces
It ’s debatable whether this should come under port or features , but here pass no matter : Apple has total a routine of fresh vigil faces in watchOS 4 .
Two of these are wholly aesthetic .
There are new Toy Story faces , in the spirit of the Micky and Minnie Mouse confront that have been around since forever but far more tortuous in practice : instead of just stomach there and bug their feet to the passing seconds , the characters are animated in a wide stove of ‘ vignettes ’ . you could choose Buzz Lightyear , Woody or Jesse , but the good choice is squall Toy Box and randomly surrogate between the three , plus Rex the dinosaur , Hamm the pig and the small gullible foreigner .
Yes , this is superficial . But it is also wads of sport .
The 2nd novel face type is yell kaleidoscope and it ’s not quite as interesting . You take one of eight image and a form of kaleidoscopic rotary motion ( ‘ aspect ’ is by far the good , in our opinion ) ; when you glint at the watch face it will spread out slowly , and when you turn the Digital Crown it will splay quicker . This looks pleasant enough , in a slip sort of mode , but we got blase of it faster than the Toy Story one , queerly enough .
The third and last Modern watch expression is a turn more strong , even though we finger like the execution leaves something to be desired at this point . Apple call in it the Siri scout face , but it ’s Siri in the wider AI horse sense rather than purely voice - based .
This face is made up of presentment , coif consort to how of import Siri thinks they are to you at any given moment . So there are Calendar and Reminder notification about upcoming effect , nearby atmospheric condition condition , ofttimes used apps and things like that . This is all arranged vertically , of track , and scrolled through using the Digital Crown .
It ’s a nice idea , and an experience we expect to improve as the algorithm get smarter and we all get used to submitting to its wisdom . But two mass we know of have find ancient photos of themselves appearing among the notifications for no ground they can fathom , and the residual of us are have yet to be galvanize by the face ’s penetration – it ’s generally just the next event on the calendar plus an app we ’re not interested in using .
A body of work in progress , then .
New features
While the interface has been fine-tune quite mildly , there are some pregnant new feature article that we recollect are well worth the upgrade . These are chiefly cleave across the Workout and Activity apps , which we ’ll focus on here ( although Music has also been redesigned , and some users have complained that they can not access their full music program library from the lookout man any more ) .
Workout
Lots of small and a span of with child upgrades here .
As mentioned above , the list of workout type is now arranged as a upright list . tap any of these now instantly starts a physical exercise with the same end you used last time ( open finish , calories , time or aloofness ) for that type . ( you could change this by tapping the modest ikon at the top rightfield of the workout push , but for most workouts you ’re likely to salve time . )
There ’s a raw button in the stop / intermission / ringlet screen ( accessed by swiping in from the lefthand edge during a exercise ): a plus augury . When you end up a workout , you could tap this and start a new workout of a unlike case , and the metric will be coalesce together .
Starting a exercising now automatically engages Do Not Disturb mode . This will mostly be of interest for owners of cellular Series 3 models , although anyone who does a passive workout within range of their iPhone will benefit . ( Do n’t worry – you ’ve still got the option of remaining contactable . To ferment this feature on or off , start the Watch app on your iPhone , go to My lookout > General > Do Not Disturb , and tap Workout Do Not Disturb . )
break down to single workout character , there ’s one young case in the main list : HIIT , or high - intensity interval training . This is keen stuff , and a decently brutal physical exertion . Then there ’s swim , which has a act smart about stroke – it can still play out which stroke you ’re doing , but if you apply more than one within a workout it will divide up the metrics for each , rather of defaulting to ‘ motley ’ .
But the upgrade we ’re most unrestrained about is something that we wo n’t be able to examine out for a while , because we ’ll have to wait for our gyms to update their equipment . It ’s called GymKit , and it means the watch can sync with tread-wheel , exercise bikes and so on .
Using smartwatches on gym equipment is always a hassle ( because you have to select and start a workout on two interface ) , inaccurate ( because the watch is n’t getting enough information ) and purposeless ( because what ’s the point of measuring it on two devices at once ? ) . Except that , if you’re able to make it work well , there ’s every point . The gym equipment is best place to provide precise data , but the ticker is that data ’s itinerary into your monthly summary , progress reports and so on . And if GymKit ’s syncing is as easy as it should be ( i.e. “ watch detected , solicit here to sync ” ) then this will be a vast benefit for gymnasium leaver .
Activity
Activity , which is the app many watch proprietor use most of all , get some smaller tweak .
The more important again relies on an constituent of AI , and does n’t seem rottenly advanced base on our experiences so far . It ’s personalized coaching job , and the estimation is that you ’ll see messages tailored to your goals , carrying out and level of fittingness that give you that extra piece of motivation or advice .
We know that there will be motivational substance when you ’re close to a target near the final stage of the daytime , for example . But we just keep getting one that notice that we set a new bar record the twenty-four hour period before and should stress to keep it lead .
We ’re actually more impressed by something that truthfully takes us back to the realm of trivial graphic changes : there are new animations when you close one or more rings . There ’s a sparkly Catherine wheel effect , and another in coloured smoke . None of this really weigh , of course of action , except that getting a cool short graphic when you achieve something add fractionally but significantly to the common sense of achievement you get . This will doubtless weary off after a while , but it ’s nice for the time being .
Performance & compatibility
Apple ’s official line of merchandise is that all models of Apple Watch can run watchOS 4 : the only requirement is “ an iPhone 5s or later on with Io 11 or afterward ” . But that has not been borne out in our examination .
We ’ve installed watchOS 4 on multiple first - gen and Series 2 vigil , and in several case we ’ve noticed some stage of operation drag .
On one of the original models it ’s been particularly egregious , with apps hanging on a frequent staple and the owner stating that he wishes he did n’t put it on there . ( For balance wheel , a second first - gen owner said he had n’t really discover a remainder in public presentation – but admitted he ’d not assay many apps since updating . )
Our trial Series 2 seems a touch slower too . Occasionally it hangs when tapping chop-chop through menus , and virtually always struggle when trying to spread out the kaleidoscope face just after set it .
This is a dashing hopes . The watchOS 2 update in reality made exist hardware quicker ; some original watch owners reported slight lag with watchOS 3 , but nothing much . But this appears to affect things to the extent that we are unable to recommend that proprietor of original Apple Watches update to watchOS 4 .
