WatchOS 2 Is Finally Available for Apple Watch

These apps will also be able to run without an immediate connection to your phone, something only first-party apps could do before. And while it doesn’t fix all of the Apple Watch’s flaws, it’s a significant improvement for the crazies like me who bought one already. Glad that’s all finally settled.

All told, it’s a robust-sounding set of updates that should make the Apple Watch an even more useful and personal device. There are also new animated Emojis.

The Apple Watch in Night Stand mode.

If you own an Apple Watch there’s some good news – Apple’s new watchOS 2 is now available. “We will not release watchOS 2 today but will shortly”. Unfortunately, HomeKit-enabled devices are only just hitting the market.

And with watchOS 2, Apple fills in its biggest blanks yet. Apps will also be able to play video directly on the Apple Watch.

The Mail app loaded new email in a few seconds or less when I opened it on the watch.

Before, the watch displayed only current pace during your runs. And then there’s a Time Travel feature that works with complications, letting you use the Digital Crown to fast forward though time. Saving you the hassle of jumping in and out of endless apps, simply double pressing the crown will auto-launch the last app you were in. If you start turning the crown the time will start to change and then the other, time-based information will change in sync as well. No one wants to have to open a slow app to do it. Since the small watch face can only show up to 12 emojis at a time, it will take you quite a while before you find the emoji you are looking for. If third-party apps end up being truly improved, maybe that’s enough for now.

Just as we saw in like in iOS 9, Siri gains more power with this latest software update. She can be listening for the magic words, “Hey Siri”.

Existing functions in Siri have been enhanced. In fact, iOS 9 is a strict requirement for watchOS 2, and there’s no way you’re progressing if you haven’t installed that onto your device. And, yes, the directions were accurate. Sometimes, Siri pretended not to hear me, stalling on simple dictation. So no total hands-free operation here. As a result, you can now see what your day will look like in the Calendar app or what the weather will be hours from now. That’s a feature I’d like to see Apple add.

Ignoring the mixed reviews, common sense and the usually wise advice that you should avoid first-gen products at all costs, I bought an Apple Watch last June. But a last-minute bug forced Apple to hold off on the release until now. In the center of the circle is a plus button. There’s now a dedicated Beats 1 button for additional music options, too, and you’ll need a pair of Bluetooth headphones to actually listen to anything. Fortunately, Apple thought of this. They especially liked that more color options were included on old watch faces such as Utility and Modular, and likewise on the watch-to-watch communications service, Digital Touch.

While you could draw whatever you wanted, you had to stick with one of 7 basic colour. Read ’em out and it will still ring (though by this point it may just be easier to get your phone out). Budding Apple Watch Picassos get ready to create some ephemeral masterpieces. This all worked for me, though I can’t think of a situation where I’d be on a Wi-Fi network and not also have my iPhone close by.

watchOS 2.0 also adds some of Wallet and Apple Pay improvements such as support for reward cards, store credit and debit cards, and Discover cards.

Songs can be dragged across using the “Music” section of the handset-locked Watch app, although they’ll need to be in playlist form first. To be more accurate, at your wrist. It was pretty impressive.