Apple makes watchOS 7 official, with handwashing, sleep tracking, and dancing

Apple revealed watchOS 7, an update to its Watch operating system, on Monday at WWDC 2020.

The Cupertino-based company carved out some time in its annual software showcase to talk about the evolution of its Apple Watch operating system. To no one’s surprise, Apple’s continued down the path of making the Apple Watch a health-focused device, with the addition of sleep tracking, handwashing detection, and a redesigned and renamed Activity app.

Sleep tracking

Let’s start with sleep tracking, a popular feature in other wearables that Apple waited until now to make a native feature of the Apple Watch. 

With watchOS 7, you can set a bedtime and wake-up time that your Apple Watch and connected iPhone will remind you to follow. Those devices will also work together to give you a personalized “wind-down” routine before you go to bed, which can include your favorite meditation apps. It will also turn on Do Not Disturb on your phone as soon as your sleeping time starts.

Oh, and your sleep routines will also be tracked in the iOS Health app.

Health and fitness

The watchOS Activity app has now been renamed “Fitness.” Your workout history and trends will be displayed on one screen. Dancing has been added as a new type of exercise in the Workout app, along with core training and functional strength training. There are also new cool downs to help you round out your fitness experience. 

The last health-focused addition Apple revealed for watchOS 7 is automatic handwashing detection. A combo of motion sensing and machine learning will detect when you start washing your hands while wearing the Apple Watch, and will provide a 20-second countdown timer on the screen. (Please wash your hands for at least 20 seconds! It’s important.) 

Of course, the Health app will also track your handwashing habits.

Share your watch face and more

Apple also revealed a number of miscellaneous watchOS enhancements. Watch faces are now more versatile, with new complications available through apps. Examples of new watch face features included one that shows baby nap times and another that indicates water temperatures for surfers. Custom watch faces are also going to be shareable, either from the App Store, developer websites, or directly between people using messaging software or social media.

Last but not least, Apple threw cyclists a bone with specialized cycling instructions in the watchOS Maps app. If you need to dismount and carry your bike up some stairs along your route, your Apple Watch will tell you as much. 

Apple Watch has been a fitness- and health-focused device for a while now, and Apple’s WWDC 2020 announcements prove that focus isn’t changing anytime soon.