If you’re an Apple Watch owner and use it for your workouts and fitness tracking, the announcement of the upcoming watchOS 3 operating system is good news. Apple just previewed the new OS at the WWDC Event on 13th June 2016. Here are some of the highlights for fitness users and those interested in their health…

1. New watch faces. There are a number of new watch faces coming to the Apple Watch with one that shows your activity rings as it’s background. The Activity rings complication will also be available on more watch faces than in previous versions of the OS.
2. Activity can now be shared. Just as many other fitness trackers do, Apple WatchOS 3 will allow you to share your Activity with others. The OS will use the messaging app to share your progress and help you compete with others!
3. The new OS will make it easier to see your all your running metrics. In the current OS you have to swipe left or right if you want to see information such as your pace, calories, distance, heart rate and elapsed time. The new OS will be able to present five different metrics all on one easy to read screen so no more swiping! Metrics can also be customized and workouts labelled.
4. Apple Watch will now recognise when you pause your workout. If you’re cycling for example and are stuck at traffic lights, the OS will recognise this and pause the workout for you.
5. Wheelchair users can also use the activity app. Apple has worked hard on this so that those who use a wheelchair can now effectively monitor their activity.
6. Relaxing with your watch. A new Breathe app is being introduced to the watch to help you regulate breathing as a stress reduction tool. Gentle taps and on screen animation are designed to help calm and soothe you.
7. The OS will be faster and easier to use. There are lots of under the hood changes to the watchOS that will make it a lot more responsive and easier to use. The button on the side of the watch will also be more functional and useful as well bringing up the new Dock which will make finding your fitness apps a lot easier and simpler.

The new watchOS promises to bring lots of exciting, useful and refined features to your Apple Watch. Whilst the new operating system will be publicly available in the autumn, preview versions are already available to registered Apple developers. Public beta versions are expected in July and you can sign up for this program on the Apple website.

Whilst the Apple Watch gets an OS upgrade, no doubt the health apps in iOS will also receive some attention and we’ll have new on this as it comes out of the WWDC developer conference.