watchOS 3 Tidbits: Face Gallery, Disable Screenshots, New Stock Apps, and More

Apple this week previewed watchOS 3, the next major version of its Apple Watch software platform. The first beta has been seeded to registered developers, allowing for early adopters to take a closer look at what’s new in the update.

Many tidbits in the new watchOS have already been discovered that were not given much or any stage time during Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote, including improvements to the Apple Watch companion app on iPhone, new first-party apps and watch faces, minor user interface tweaks, and more.

Face Gallery

A new Face Gallery section has been added to the companion Watch app on iPhone, allowing users to browse and switch between watch faces, customize the color scheme, and configure complications.

X-Large Watch Face

Apple has added a new X-Large watch face with one large complication positioned at the center of the screen.

Screenshots Toggle

Apple Watch screenshots can now be enabled or disabled using the companion Watch app on iPhone. The toggle switch is in the General menu.

New Modular Complications

Apple Watch Now Appears in Find My iPhone

Other Tidbits

• More watch faces support complications
• New stock apps: Breathe, Home, Find My Friends, Reminders, and Heart Rate
• Delete most first-party apps by first deleting the app on iPhone
• Tap on the Mickey/Minnie Mouse watch faces and they will read the time in their voices
• Enable auto pausing of indoor and outdoor runs
• Dismissing a notification now returns you to watch face rather than Notification Center
• The new Activity watch face is available in both analog and digital formats
• Siri has a slightly tweaked user interface
• Activity and Workout apps have been redesigned
• Friends view has been removed in favor of the new Dock feature

Share your own tidbits in our Apple Watch: All The Little Things discussion thread.

watchOS 3 will be available as a free software update for all Apple Watch users this fall.

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Apple Watch Gains ‘SOS’ Emergency Call Feature With WatchOS 3

Today at it’s WWDC keynote, Apple announced a brand new feature for watchOS 3 called SOS. The emergency call feature works similar to LifeAlert, allowing a user to easily call emergency services when they need it quickly and easily.

A user just has to press and hold the side button underneath the Digital Crown, and the emergency call will countdown from three. The Watch will then automatically call 911, or the equivalent for the country the user is in. The call will go through the paired iPhone, but it’ll also be able to call directly from the Apple Watch if the Watch is on a Wi-Fi network.

SOS will also send your location to your emergency contacts, alerting them that you’re in need of help. The Watch itself can also display a user’s MedicalID, easily displaying a user’s name, age, date-of-birth, medical conditions and other medical information.

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Apple Announces ‘Breathe’ Mindfulness App for Apple Watch

Apple has today announced a new mindfulness-based health app for the Apple Watch called ‘Breathe’.

Breathe is designed to help users alleviate everyday stresses by coaching them through timed breathing sessions, which can be launched from the watch face and set up in advance with reminders.

Breathing sessions can be set to last between one and five minutes using the Digital Crown on the Apple Watch, and the app provides summaries of each session including the user’s recorded heart rate throughout.

The Breathe app is part of WatchOS 3, which will be released as a free upgrade this fall.

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Apple Announces watchOS 3 With Faster App Launching, New Watch Faces, and More

Apple today announced a few new features incoming in watchOS 3, one of which will help apps launch quicker thanks to the fact that the device keeps a user’s favorite apps in memory. Other new revamps to Control Center and a new dock feature will be incoming in the update.

Users will also have a more streamlined way to respond to Messages and a new “Scribble” feature, which dynamically recognizes which letters are drawn on the Apple Watch’s screen and translates the drawings into full text messages.

Other updates include new watch faces, enhanced complications, and an easier way to swipe between watch faces for users who like to change up the style of their Apple Watch frequently.

The company also announced a new social network aspect that will be added into watchOS 3’s activity rings feature, encouraging users to keep track of their friends’ stats and even comment on certain workout milestones.

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‘Cardiogram’ App Update Brings Native Apple Watch Support, 3D Touch, and More

HealthKit-enabled Apple Watch app Cardiogram has received its 1.0 release, bringing native watchOS 2 compatibility, 3D Touch for supporting devices, and a redesigned interface.

The app has been developed in collaboration with researchers at the University of California San Francisco’s Health eHeart study, which aims to help end heart disease. The program wants to develop a way to detect atrial fibrillation – a medical condition that can lead to stroke – using innovations in everyday consumer technology.

By that token, the Cardiogram developer team have been refining an algorithm that attempts to detect abnormal heart rhythms using the Apple Watch’s heart rate sensors.

The 1.0 version of the app at the center of its efforts brings that goal a step closer, introducing native watchOS 2 support that enables users to track and view recorded heart rate data without having to tether their iPhone. A new Apple Watch complication also allows users to quickly view their latest heart-rate readings.

Meanwhile, the iPhone companion app now includes comprehensive activity statistics and trending HRM data, along with a Metrics screen that brings together users’ move, stand, and exercise goals.

In addition, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus device owners can use 3D Touch gestures to tag peaks in heart rate, while social media sharing and interface tweaks make up the rest of the update.

Anyone with an Apple Watch can take part in the eHeart study, since the algorithm learns from its users, whether or not they have preexisting heart conditions.

Apple’s HealthKit framework debuted in 2014, allowing developers to build health monitoring software that integrates with Apple’s Health app, while Apple’s open source framework ResearchKit was made available to developers in April 2015, enabling them to create their own iPhone apps for medical research purposes.

Apple itself continues to have significant interest in making its Apple Watch part-medical health instrument. An Apple patent application recently came to light, titled “Care event detection and alerts”, which envisions a hardware system with the ability to monitor the surrounding environment for events that would require assistance from medical professionals, police, fire rescue or other emergency services.

Cardiogram is a free download for iPhone on the App Store. [Direct Link]

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Hands-On With Feld & Volk’s Custom $5000+ Carbon Fiber Apple Watch

Luxury device manufacturer Feld & Volk is known for ripping the internals out of iPhones and building new enclosures for them from a range of high-quality materials, and now the company is doing the same thing with the Apple Watch.

Feld & Volk extracted the components of the Apple Watch and built a unique carbon fiber Apple Watch body from the ground up, for a line of Apple Watches unlike anything Apple is able to offer. Ahead of the launch of its new carbon fiber Apple Watch, Feld & Volk invited us to take a closer look at the device, so MacRumors videographer Matt did a hands-on video to show off its construction and build quality.

As can be seen in the video, the carbon fiber enclosure of the Apple Watch has been built with precision, incorporating a custom carbon fiber side button in addition to leaving the heart rate sensor and Digital Crown functional and accessible. The cutouts for the microphone and speaker have also been added to the body, so this works just like a regular Apple Watch.

Because it’s a custom designed body, Feld & Volk’s carbon fiber Apple Watch is not compatible with standard Apple Watch bands. Instead, it is designed to work with traditional watch bands, so it still offers a wide range of band options. A rubber band with a matching clasp customizable with initials will ship with each carbon fiber Apple Watch, and an additional band of alligator leather, textile, or resin will also be included, varying by model.

Feld & Volk plans to officially launch its carbon fiber Apple Watch in the near future, but disassembling the Apple Watch and putting it into a new body doesn’t come cheap — these watches will retail for upwards of $5,000. Along with the carbon fiber Apple Watch shown off in the video, Feld & Volk also plans to release custom enclosures made from brass/carbon and wood, with each new custom Apple Watch available in 38 and 42mm size options.

The Feld & Volk watches will be available later this month at French luxury boutique Collette and from the Feld & Volk website.

Note: Feld & Volk loaned a carbon fiber Apple Watch to MacRumors free of charge for the purposes of this video. No other compensation was received and the watch was returned at the conclusion of filming.

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Coach Apple Watch Bands Set to Launch on June 12

For the last several months, well-known luxury brand Coach has been quietly working on a set of designer Apple Watch bands created to match Coach handbags, and now those bands are set to debut on June 12.

Haute Écriture’s David Boglin de Bautista has been sharing details on the design of the bands gleaned from sales representatives and over the weekend, he learned Coach retail stores will be receiving the bands starting next week.

Coach is planning to release the bands in three styles: Leather Strap with Charms, Wild Beast Camo, and Tea Rose Appliqué, with each style available in three colors for a total of nine bands. High-quality photos of each style were shared by de Bautista.

Coach salespeople are readily sharing information on the bands with customers, and a redditor was able to snap a photo of a product guide that depicts all of the new bands and their color options. Leather Strap comes in black, white, and saddle brown, while the Wild Beast Camo band is available in denim, military green, and saddle brown. The Tea Rose band will be available in black, white, and tawny orange. All bands are listed as women’s bands and will be priced at $150.

Coach has reportedly made the Apple Watch bands in small quantities and one sales representative told de Bautista that she expects them to sell out quickly. The bands will be available in select stores in California, Nevada, and New York, and will not initially be available online.

It was originally unclear if Coach was teaming up with Apple on the bands or releasing them independently, but it appears the bands will not be sold by Apple. Apple offers its own line of Apple Watch models and luxury bands through a partnership with Hermès.

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Apple Seeds First Beta of watchOS 2.2.2 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first version of an upcoming watchOS 2.2.2 update to developers, three weeks after releasing watchOS 2.2.1, a minor update that introduced bug fixes and performance improvements.

The watchOS 2.2.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on an iPhone by going to General –> Software update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the Apple Watch charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.

We don’t know what’s included in watchOS 2.2.2, but as a 2.x.x update, it’s likely to focus on bug fixes and performance improvements rather than outward-facing design changes and feature tweaks. We’ll update this post with any changes that are discovered in the watchOS 2.2.2 beta.

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Developer Excitement for Apple TV Easily Exceeds Interest in WatchOS

Developer interest in coding third-party apps for Apple TV continues to surge, while interest in the Apple Watch has waned since the start of 2016, according to mobile app developer database Realm.

Realm hosts a database of apps used by approximately 100,000 developers, and contains details of apps used by around 1 million people, giving it a unique view of which devices capture mobile developers’ interest over time.

Speaking to Business Insider UK, Realm VP Tim Anglade said that the Apple TV had gained the most interest among developers since the release of the fourth-generation device and the launch of a dedicated App Store in October 2015. Meanwhile, developers have cooled their interest in the Apple Watch, viewing it more as a companion to the iPhone, where coding appeal remains high.

“tvOS is a brand new platform so there’s a gold rush for it,” said Anglade. “[But] on a weekly basis we’re seeing very few Watch apps, compared to iOS apps. For every 1,000 new iOS apps being built, there are 10 tvOS apps and maybe 1 Watch app.”

Apple doesn’t release separate sales figures for the Apple Watch, but market research suggests the device finished third in the overall wearables market in the first months of 2016, with 7.5 percent market share. Since the launch of the fourth-generation Apple TV, sales of the set-top box have been 50 percent higher than unit sales in 2014.

According to Anglade, there’s every chance that coders will flock to the next version of the Apple Watch – expected to be unveiled late this year – in the way they did when the device was first launched, so long as the timepiece offers more opportunities for developers to tap into upgrades and Apple opens up the platform to run independent apps.

Developers originally had limited access to Apple Watch features using WatchOS 1, and were unable to access the gyroscope, accelerometer, NFC, built-in speaker and microphone, and the Taptic Engine of the device. That all changed with the launch of watchOS 2 in September, and as of June 2016, all Apple Watch apps must run natively, rather than rely on the iPhone.

Apple is said to be continuing its work on various health-related sensors that did not make it into the original Apple Watch due to performance problems and inconsistent results. These sensors may be incorporated into the second-generation device following further refinement, although details remain sketchy.

“Apple published a road map, to be able run independent apps, and that’s a big deal,” added Anglade. Apple is expected to demo the next version of watchOS at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Until then, coders seem satisfied to invest the majority of their time and energy on developing for Apple’s other platforms.

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