Apple’s WWDC kicked off today, and with it, Apple showed off watchOS 3.
Apple promises that watchOS 3 will be much faster than watchOS 2. With the update, the Apple Watch should launch apps seven times faster than before. You can also access apps more quickly with the dock, which is accessed by pressing the side button on the Apple Watch. When you bring up the dock, you can scroll though live apps that’ll show you info without even having to dive into the app itself.
Apple is also giving Apple Watch a Control Center feature similar to the one found on iOS. It’ll be accessed by swiping up from the watch screen, and when you’re there, you’ll be able to see your battery life and also access buttons for Do Not Disturb, Airplane Mode, silence, lock, and a button to help you locate your connected iPhone.
watchOS 3 is bringing some changes to watch faces, too. In addition to adding new watch faces, including a Minnie Mouse to compliment the Mickey Mouse face that’s already available, Apple will let you quickly switch between your watch faces by performing an edge-to-edge swipe. There’s also going to be a new Activity face that’ll give you a clear look at your Activity rings.
Speaking of Activity, Apple is adding Activity Sharing to watchOS 3. This feature will let you compare your Activity to your friends and family, and you can compare whatever statistics that you’d like. Apple is also adding a new Breathe app to Apple Watch that’ll help you take deep breaths and relax.
One other big feature coming to Apple Watch is SOS. With watchOS 3, you can press and hold the side button to launch SOS, which will give you a countdown and then call emergency services. This feature works internationally, so you don’t have to know the emergency number if you’re in a foreign land. After calling emergency services, SOS will automatically send an alert to your emergency contacts, and it can show your medial ID info, too.
Rounding out the watchOS 3 features, Apple will be adding Apple Pay support within apps, support for fitness apps that can run in the background, speaker audio, Game Center, and more. Apple is also giving you another way to reply to messages with Scribble, which will let you write on your Apple Watch screen to compose messages.
watchOS 3 will be available in a Developer Preview today and will launch to the public in the fall.