WWDC 2016 has officially kicked off and started at a place not many would expect – watchOS. Say hello to the newest iteration of their smartwatch operating system w/watchOS 3. Along w/ the usual performance enhancements and such, they made sure to change up a few things.
Apps now open a lot faster thanks to Instant Launch which allows things to open 7x faster than on watchOS 2. You have a new UI that makes getting to apps & info a lot easier. This brings forth the new Control Center and just like your iPhone, you can access it by swiping up. The side button now launches recent/running apps instead of contacts. You got new watch faces to play w/ like Minnie Mouse, one that shows your activity progress, and more. Also new is the option to write back your replies to messages w/ your finger. You can even draw letters to type out words w/ the new Scribble feature a la Android Wear 2.0.
You have a new safety feature that allows you to call 911 by just holding the side button down for a few seconds. It will call via your iPhone’s cellular or Wi-Fi connection. It offers Breathe, a new health app, to endorse relation & breathing techniques as well as haptic feedback to guide users.
The developer preview for watchOS 3 comes today and will be available for all later this fall.
