watchOS 9 Lands With New Watch Faces, Low Power Mode and More
Apple Watch owners can now download the latest version of software for their device, watchOS 9.
The update can be downloaded now through the companion Watch app on your iPhone by heading to General > Software Update in the My Watch portion of the app. You can also go to Settings > General > Software Update on an Apple Watch.
Your watch needs to have more than 50 percent power and connected to a charger. Like most Apple Watch updates, it could take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to complete, so be patient.
It’s compatible with the Apple Watch Series 4 and later.
Here’s a look at some of the new features in the software.
watchOS 9 Brings Improved Workout App
First up is a new Low Power Mode. When activated, it can significantly improve your battery life from the usual 18 hours.
On the Apple Watch Series 8 and Series 7, you’ll be able to use the watch for up to 36 hours with an iPhone present. It will also extend the time for older watches before needing a charge.
To extend the battery life, it will disable or limit select sensors and features including the Always-On display, heart health notifications, and others.
And you’ll be able to select from a host of new watch faces including Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and a revamped Astronomy. Apple has also improved the complications on familiar faces like Utility, Simple, and Activity Analog.
The Portraits face can now also highlight your dog or cat.
On the Workout app, the display will show you more information during exercise. Just turn the Digital Crown to see your Activity Rings, heart rate zones, and more. You can now also customize a workout.
For runners, you can view information like stride length, ground contact time, and vertical oscillation. Head to your iPhone to see an enhanced workout summary.
On the health side, there is a new Medications app, sleep stages in the Sleep app, and an AFib History.
tvOS 16 Features HDR 10+ Support
Apple TV users can now also download tvOS 16 to their devices.
The new software brings Nintendo Switch controller support to the Apple TV. You can use both the Joy-Cons and the Pro Controller to play games.
It also supports HDR+ 10, a new type of HDR technology.
An update should automatically be downloaded to an Apple TV HD or Apple TV 4K.
If you haven’t already enabled automatic updates, you can download the software by heading to Settings > System > Software Updates > Update Software. Right next to the button to update software is the toggle switch to turn on automatic updates.