watchOS 11, the latest version of Apple"s operating system for its smartwatches is now available for the general public following several months of public beta testing.
watchOS 11 adds the long-requested ability to pause your activity rings on pause without breaking your streaks. Apple lets you pause activity for a day, week, month, or even more. This will come in handy, say if you are ill or injured and need some rest. In addition, watchOS 11 lets you customize activity goals for every day of the week.
Every morning, your Apple Watch can present you with the new Vitals UI, which features extensive data about your body gathered during sleep. Another new UI, Training Load, allows you to track your workouts and their impact on your body over time.
There is also a redesigned Photos watch face that uses machine learning to analyze your images and select the best ones for a perfect watch face.
Other changes in watchOS 11 include new pregnancy tracking and a more intelligent Smart Stack with automatic widget sorting based on time, location, and more. Speaking of widgets, watchOS 11 adds weather alerts, Training load, Photos, Distance, and Shazam widgets. Apple Watch can also track distance and route for more workouts, including rowing. Finally, there are two new apps: Tides for and Translate.
watchOS 11 is available for the following Apple Watch models:
- Apple Watch SE 2nd generation
- Apple Watch Series 6
- Apple Watch Series 7
- Apple Watch Series 8
- Apple Watch Series 9
- Apple Watch Series 10
- Apple Watch Ultra
- Apple Watch Ultra 2
To update your Apple Watch to the latest watchOS, you must have an iPhone Xs or newer—that is, any iPhone compatible with iOS 18. Update your iPhone to iOS 18 first, then head to the Watch app > General > Software updates.