Gerry Palmers Tech 09.13.2022 00:Sep AM EDT

Apple WatchOS 9 Brings Updated Compass, More Faces, Enhanced Features to Apple Watch

Apple's newest version of its smartwatch operating system, WatchOS 9, which is now available. It adds a redesigned Compass app to the Apple Watch Series 5 or later, as well as the Apple Watch SE.

The refurbished Compass app offers an analog compass that shows a digital view of the user's present bearing and direction. Users can tap the watch for a zoomed view that displays bearing, elevation, incline, latitude, and longitude for specific details on the user's location.

Mark Points of Interest Using WayPoints

For those who wear an Apple Watch Series 6 or later, you can mark points of interest in the Compass app using the Waypoints feature, which has customizable colors and symbols. The Waypoints app adds a little marker to your current coordinates, and all Waypoints show up on the main Compass view so you can find your way back to them.

The "Backtrack" feature is also offered for those wearing a Series 6 or later. This feature utilizes GPS to track the path users take, and thus once the user gets lost, they can find a way back. ‌watchOS 9‌ is now available for download for the Apple Watch Series 4 and later.

With watchOS9, Apple Watch users now have more watch faces to choose from, with richer complications that offer more information and opportunities for personalization. In the updated Workout app on watchOS 9, advanced metrics, views, and training experiences from high-performing athletes assist users in bringing their workouts to a whole new level. The Sleep app on watchOS 9 includes sleep stages, and the new FDA-cleared AFib History feature provides deeper insights into a user's condition for users diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AFib). The new Medications app makes it easy for users to conveniently and discreetly manage, understand, and track medications.

Four New Watch Faces Introduced in watchOS 9

watchOS 9 also introduces four new faces: First is Lunar, which depicts ties between the Gregorian calendar and lunar calendar that is used in Chinese, Hebrew, and Islamic cultures. Next is Playtime, which shows a dynamic piece of art that's unique to Apple Watch and created in collaboration with artist Joi Fulton. The third watch face is Metropolitan, which is a classic, type-driven face where the style changes once the Digital Crown is turned. The last watch face on watchOS 9 is Astronomy, which is an original, remastered face that provides a new star map and current cloud data.

The update brings improved, latest complications to some of the most popular watch faces, such as Utility, Simple, and Activity Analog, together with a background color editing capability for Modular, Modular Compact, and X-Large for better personalization. The Portraits face, meanwhile, features the depth effect on more beloved photos, including cats, dogs, and landscapes, while Chinese scripts have likewise been added as choices for the California and Typograph watch faces. And, all Apple Watches that run on watchOS 9, including those not Nike-branded models access to all the Nike watch faces which includes the fresh colors that will be part of the Bounce face.

In addition, Focus now lets users select an Apple Watch face to automatically display once they start a specific Focus on the iPhone, such as the Photos face during a Personal Focus, allowing more user personalization.