Apple announces watchOS 4

Choose the new Siri watch face to see relevant information at a glance based on your location and daily routines, and apps like Maps, Calendar, Reminders, Activity, and Wallet.  Bring Woody, Jessie, and Buzz Lightyear to life with the new Toy Story watch faces, or see static images turn into mesmerizing patterns with the Kaleidoscope watch face.

Music

Listening to music on the go is more personal with the redesigned Music app, which automatically syncs intelligently curated playlists including My New Music, My Favorites, and Heavy Rotation.  With more songs on your wrist, the effortless combination of Apple Watch and AirPods makes listening to music even more enjoyable.

Apple Pay

Make and receive person-to-person payments quickly, easily, and securely with Apple Pay using Siri or Messages.  Money you receive is added to your Apple Pay Cash account and can be used instantly to send to someone or to make purchases anywhere Apple Pay is accepted.

Activity

Close Activity rings and earn achievements more often with help from intelligent coaching, tailored encouragement, and monthly challenges designed just for you. Each morning, a notification will tell you what you can do to match yesterday’s activity levels or if you’re close to earning an achievement. And if you need it, a notification near the end of the day tells you exactly how long to walk to close your rings.

Workout

Get any workout going more quickly with the redesigned Workout app. Pool swim workouts automatically track sets when you take a rest, measuring pace for each set, and distance for each stroke type. You can measure High Intensity Interval Training workouts with new motion and heart rate algorithms in watchOS 4.  And whether you’re doing back-to-back workouts or training for a triathlon, you can combine multiple workouts to capture overall calorie and time measurements.

GymKit

Now you can simply tap your Apple Watch to pair it with your favorite cardio equipment””including treadmills, ellipticals, indoor bikes, and stair steppers. With GymKit, a new technology platform for cardio equipment manufacturers, exercise machines work seamlessly with your Apple Watch to ensure calories, distance, speed, floors climbed, incline, and pace are calculated accurately.

Developers

Systemwide improvements and new user interface elements in watchOS 4 make third-party apps on Apple Watch faster and more flexible, fun, and interactive. And third-party apps can now access Core Bluetooth on Apple Watch, so data from bluetooth sensors appears in apps faster than ever.

UPDATE 7:20 PM CDT

iPhone 5s or later running iOS 11 Free software update in fall 2017