Before the year ends, there will be another new smartwatch from Apple to marvel at, but apart from the pure hardware, the question arises: What could the operating system of the Apple Watch 7 look like? A possible answer to this is currently provided in advance by a look at its design.
Speculation about the Apple Watch Series 7 is currently on-trend. Most recently, Apple insider Jon Prosser informed us about a new, flat-edged design and new colors. Sure, this isn’t the case yet, but it’s safe to say: The Apple Watch Series 7 will run with the new watchOS 8. Nothing is directly known about the new smartwatch operating system yet.
Apple Watch 7 with watchOS 8: Design of the operating system
This emptiness of knowledge leaves room for exciting interface designs. One of these is provided by 9to5Mac colleague Parker Ortolani, who recently tried his imagination regarding the upcoming iOS 15 and conjured up a concept worth seeing. Now there are some ideas about watchOS 8. Let’s take a quick look at them.
Health app for Apple Watch: Currently, there are only on the iPhone, but not on the Apple Watch. However, a dedicated health app for the smartwatch would be more than welcome. You could eliminate the detour via the smartphone. Useful, not least for sporty users who like to leave the iPhone at home.
Widgets in the Control Center: After the great success of the redesigned devices in iOS 14, the turn of the Apple Watch, especially the small widget size class of iOS, would be a perfect candidate. These widgets are found by horizontal scrolling in the Control Center and are much more powerful and much faster to reload than standalone apps due to their small size. Ortolani even has a particularly clever idea for this, quote:
“Apple could also make it conceivable to quickly port existing iOS 14 widgets to the Watch without a standalone app. you could sync the data from the web or iPhone. This could help bring more third-party software to the Watch as interest in developing full Apple Watch apps wanes.”
Battery remote control with the Apple Watch?
Battery app: The battery widget on the iPhone is handy. It would be pleasant if a related app for the Apple Watch could be even more ingenious. Ortolani’s idea: You could, for example, remotely switch on the power-saving mode of a connected iPhone. In short, it would be a great way to keep an eye on connected devices.
Hiking app: For many, including Apple CEO Tim Cook himself, hiking is a beautiful “sport.” It’s time to donate your smartwatch app to this sensible pastime. With the new hiking app, users could learn about hiking trails and places they visit, find signposts to new places and keep an eye on their position when hiking.
Do these proposals inspire Apple? We’ll find out on June 7th, then the WWDC, Apple’s virtual developer fair, will start. Traditionally, there is a live stream at the start, in which Apple shows us the first pre-release versions of the new operating systems, of course also from watchOS 8 – the unique design of the upcoming Apple Watch 7.