watchOS 9 features: list of all the new features

Updated September 13, 2022:watchOS 9 is available for everyone.

It is normally in fall 2022 that Apple will deploy watchOS 9, its new operating system for connected watches. Serious health and design improvements are in the game, the vast majority of which are already available in beta. Keep in mind, however, that the list below is not exhaustive; in fact it happens that new features encountering too serious bugs are postponed, as is the case for Stage Manager on iPadOS 16.

In addition, it is also very possible that Cupertino is preparing additional features for us but which are still hidden. They would then be released with watchOS 9.1, watchOS 9.2, etc. The schedule is similar to that ofiOS 16, which also arrives with multiple new features, the list of which you can find in this other dedicated article.

Reminder: prefer to wait until September for the final version of watchOS 9 in order to avoid technical problems.

New watchOS 9 watch faces

• Megalopolis: This new watchOS 9 face lets you customize the font of the clock numbers.
• Recreation: design created in partnership with Chicago graphic artist Joi Fulton with original little characters.
• Astronomy: view of the globe and weather from space.
• Lunar: our natural satellite in the center and a calendar to choose from among the Chinese, Islamic or Hebrew lunar calendars.

• New complications: UV rays, outside temperature.
• Portraits: this iconic Apple Watch dial improves with watchOS 9 by now giving you the possibility of displaying photos of your dog or your cat, while tinting the background of the image as you wish.
• Background colors: to customize for the Modular, Modular compact and Extra large dials.

Notifications

• Confidentiality: new for notification bubbles, which will appear more discreetly when you are using watchOS 9. If the wrist is lowered, the alert is displayed in full screen.

Sport

New free features

• Exercises: a new design, accessible by rotating the Digital Crown, allows you to view the statistics collected by your Apple Watch in real time during your sports sessions, including your activity rings, heart rate, altitude or even power.
• Heart rate zones: this new graph segments your exercises according to heart rate, so you can guess when you exert yourself the most, automatically or manually.
• Workouts: more customization, with the possibility of choosing your own effort and recovery intervals according to your habits.
• Alerts: new feature in watchOS 9 that notifies you when certain parameters are reached with power, heart rate, rhythm or cadence.

• Race against yourself: watchOS 9 offers a new feature reminiscent of the ghosts of Mario Kart; you must catch up with or exceed the average speed recorded during your previous exercises. Works with a map for regular routes.
• New technical data: stride length, ground contact time and vertical oscillation.
• Racing power: “by instantly measuring your efforts, functionalityRacing powerhelps you aim for an intensity level that you can maintain over time“, indicates Apple.
• Triathlon: support for this new sport, as well as the transition from cycling to swimming or running and vice versa.
• Swimming: watchOS 9 now detects board swimming and tracks your Swolf score based on each series.

• Exercise Summary: the analysis of your runs after exercise is more detailed with watchOS 9.

Apple Fitness+

Note: a subscription to Apple Fitness+ is billed at 9.99 euros per month, however Apple offers you three months of testing when purchasing a new Apple Watch.

• Intensity: watchOS 9 displays new information on the intensity of your efforts (Easy, Moderate, Difficult, Maximum) at the right time during the class.
• Goals: rhythms to achieve recommended by coaches for running, cycling or rowing.
• TV: If your TV is compatible with AirPlay, your workouts on the big screen now also display the data collected in real time by watchOS 9.

New watchOS 9 keyboards

• Supported languages: German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian.

Health

Treatments

• Reminders: this new feature in watchOS 9 alerts you when it's time to take your medications, food supplements or vitamins, like a connected pillbox.
• Follow up: manually indicate your medication intake based on time and dose.

Sleep

• Sleep cycles: this new feature of watchOS 9 detects sleep phases (REM / wakefulness / paradoxical sleep / deep sleep), which will be very practical for monitoring polyphasic sleep for skippers and other night workers.
• Health: the iPhone app has a new version which records heart rate, respiratory rate and changes in sleep during the night, all in the form of graphs to be compared depending on the day and over the long term.

Family

• Podcasts: watchOS 9 makes the app accessible to children via family settings.
• Maison: a new feature in watchOS 9 allows you to let your little ones control your connected objects via HomeKit (HomePod, lighting, shutters, etc.).
• Cards (formerly Apple Wallet): you can now share the keys to your home or rental accommodation (hotel, Airbnb, etc.) with your children.

watchOS 9: multitasking

• Dock: watchOS 9 displays apps running in the background first (layered in front of others) in the Dock.

Accessibility

• Quick Actions: Pinch twice to start an exercise or capture a scene remotely with the iPhone camera paired with your Apple Watch.
• Copy: new feature that duplicates the interface of your Apple Watch under watchOS 9 on the screen of your iPhone so that you can control it by voice if necessary.

Calendar

• Events: create your own event directly from watchOS 9, without taking out your Mac or iPhone.
• Agenda: new visualization for the program of the day or week at a glance in full screen.

Compatible devices

Unfortunately, some Apple Watch models are not compatible with watchOS 9. This is the case for older editions. To find out more, do not hesitate to consultour complete list of Apple Watches eligible for watchOS 9.

Bonus: the battery life of the Apple Watch Series 4 and Series 5 is extended with watchOS 9.