The Apple Watch is getting lots of new health, fitness, and safety tracking tools with WatchOS 11. The new software is expected to roll out this fall alongside the upcoming Apple Watch and the rumored iPhone 16.
But if you don’t want to wait until then to try it, the public beta version of WatchOS 11 is available to try now on any Apple Watch from Series 6 and later, and the second generation SE. Along with iOS 18, the public beta serves as a preview of these new features before its general release this fall.
I installed the beta on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and have been trying out new features like the Vitals app and training load for about a month. I have already found some favorite features that you should explore.
To try the WatchOS 11 public beta, you must have iOS 18 on your iPhone paired with your Apple Watch. Features may change between now and the final release, and I advise you to backup your Apple Watch and iPhone before installing. And know that you can’t go back to WatchOS 10 or earlier versions if you install the public beta.
Check this out: What’s new in WatchOS 11
Change your activity rings
In WatchOS 11 you can finally adjust your activity rings and take a day off if you’re sick. In the Activity app, tap the three rings, then tap pause ring. You can pause for the day, week, or month, or you can set a custom goal.
Another great new option is the ability to change your goals for each ring: move, exercise, and stand. If you know a 30-minute exercise goal isn’t right for you, it can be adjusted up or down.
Fixing the scrolling ring in WatchOS 11.
Individual days of the week can also be adjusted. Go to the calendar icon at the top right and then tap SCHEDULE AND readjust according to the circumstances. I know my Tuesdays are usually very low on exercise while I’m in the office, so I set the goal to be lower, then increase my weekend goals while I’m out, and more.
The Vitals app tracks your health overnight
When you wear the Apple Watch to track sleep, it also records other key metrics like your heart rate, breathing rate, and wrist temperature. The Vitals app displays these metrics in the morning so you can see them on your wrist instead of pulling out the Health app to dig through menus. Use the screen or crown to scroll through the metrics.
A useful view is the last seven days view, which tells you if any of your vitals fall outside your normal range and highlights it in pink. You’ll also get a notification on your wrist if two or more vitals are off.
The Vitals app.
The training load helps you keep an eye on your workouts
Training load is a way to measure the intensity of your training routine, so you can stay on track if you’re working towards a marathon or similar, or want to avoid overtraining.
Open the Activity app and find a new icon in the upper right. Tap the graph icon and the white line shows the weighted average of your 28-day activity, with the last seven days compared to it. You can move the digital crown to go back to the previous week’s workouts. They will be categorized as anything from “well above” to “well below” your average, and each receives an effort rating.
Training upload screen in the Activity app.
Compatible cardio workouts like walks, runs, hikes, and rowing will get an effort rating out of 10. Apple Watch calculates this based on data like height, weight, and age, plus calorimetry data from your workout like GPS and heart rate. the heart.
You can adjust this effort rating if you feel it doesn’t truly reflect your training. Say you’re super tired from a late night and you’re motivated to go for a run, but it’s slower than usual, you can change your effort rating to more accurately reflect how you’ve been feeling. Touch the effort rating to display a table and rotate the crown to move the rating.
A nice perk if you have an Apple Watch Ultra or Ultra 2 is that you can see your vitals and workout load on the Modular Ultra face by customizing the side bezel complication.
Check with your Apple Watch to be sure
There’s a new security tool on the Apple Watch called Check In with WatchOS 11. It works from both the Workout app and the Messages app. Similar to how Check In works in iOS 17, you open the Messages app and select the plus icon to find Check In. Here you can set it up to check in with a friend or family member based on a time period or when you arrive at a specific destination.
During a workout, swipe right and tap Check In. It will automatically text your selected contact when you complete your workout. If Apple Watch notices that you’re not progressing as expected; your speed increases dramatically; or if your heart rate drops close to resting during an intense workout, it will prompt you to respond.
Otherwise, it will share your location, with limited or full data based on your selection, with your contact.
A live activity appears at the top of the Smart Stack.
Once you start a check-in, this also starts a live activity on the watch that appears on the Smart Stack. As in iOS 17, Check In only works if your recipient is also running iOS 17 or later, and won’t work for other contacts who don’t use iMessage.
Redesigned Photos watch face
WatchOS 11 doesn’t have any new watch faces per se, but the Photos face gets more functionality. Take out your iPhone and go to the Watch app, where you can choose people, pets, nature or city photos to highlight on your wrist.
In the background, your phone evaluates the best photos for makeup and facial expressions to highlight what it thinks are the best images to display on your watch face. You can even go a step further and change the size and font of the time, plus background colors on your images to make the watch face more personal.
The remote app gets even more tools
I use the Remote app on my Apple Watch more than I care to admit, and there are even more controls in WatchOS 11. Open the Remote app, then tap the three dots in the top right. Here you can mute and unmute your connected Apple TV, turn on subtitles, or even turn off your connected device with a tap.
The Translate app on WatchOS 11.
Translate the app
The translation app is now on Apple Watch. Just say your phrase and select the target language, then Apple Watch plays back the translation. In the settings you can change the speed to make the playback slower or faster. Plus, you can download 20 different language packs so it works even if you don’t have your iPhone paired with you.
Some of my other favorite WatchOS 11 features include:
- Additional tools to help track your pregnancy in the Health app.
- Live activities now appear in the Smart Stack, such as if you call a car or snooze an alarm.
- Offline mapping in Apple Maps now lets you get turn-by-turn navigation for voice-guided walks.
- The iMessage supports have a different look, which is a nice subtle change.
- Double-tapping now lets you navigate through any app — messaging, weather, or basically anything else — in two taps.
Since you need to download iOS 18 to try out WatchOS 11, you might as well explore some of its new features. Check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet for must-try features.