Apple’s new watchOS 10 brings forth a host of new features, including widgets, new metrics, workout views, and Bluetooth connectivity for power meters, speed sensors, and cadence sensors for cyclists.
New Topographic maps and compass waypoints offer further capabilities when you’re out in the woods or exploring new places. A new check-in feature also helps your loved ones know you got home safely.
And, of course, there are some new watch faces, including the popular Snoopy face, featuring animations and his pals, like Woodstock!
Contents
- 1 New and updated Apple Watch features in watchOS 10
- 2 Smart stacks and widgets on Apple Watch
- 3 New Watch Faces coming in watchOS 10
- 4 Cyclists get a Hurray! with the new watchOS 10
- 5 Mental Health via updated Mindfulness App features
- 6 Vision Health via ambient light sensors
- 7 Other exciting features coming to watchOS 10
- 8 Compatibility
Related reading:
- How to use Control Center on Apple Watch using watchOS 10 and above
- How to access the Apple Watch recent apps dock or close apps in watchOS 10+
- Widgets on Apple Watch, a new road to delight watch owners with watchOS 10
- Apple’s new Check-in Functionality in iOS 17 expected to disrupt numerous existing apps
New and updated Apple Watch features in watchOS 10 
Users can now initiate playback of a FaceTime video message and view it directly on Apple Watch. Additionally, Group FaceTime audio is now supported on Apple Watch.
There are new navigation features for your Apple Watch. With watchOS 10, redesigned apps provide more information at a glance, and there are new ways to navigate and quickly access the content.
Additionally, the Mindfulness app offers additional tools to support mental health and emotional awareness. Similar mental health tools are available on the iPhone. 
The new Smart Stack feature enables users to see timely information that adapts to their context. Apple Watch apps now utilize more of the Apple Watch display, making it easier to view more information at a glance.
Smart stacks and widgets on Apple Watch 
The new Smart Stack contains widgets that display timely information that adapts to the user’s context and can be revealed with a simple turn of the Digital Crown from any watch face.
For example, at the beginning of the day, the Weather app shows the forecast, or when traveling, the Smart Stack shows boarding passes from Wallet and more, making it super easy to glance and get your information quickly.
To accommodate these design changes, Apple has changed how the digital crown plays a role in this new UI/UX experience on the Apple Watch.
A fast and easy way to get to Control Center 
Control Center is now accessible using the side button, making it easy to open it at any time over any app quickly.
A double-click of the Digital Crown reverts back to any apps used recently. 
New Watch Faces coming in watchOS 10
Apple’s watch team leadership today announced two new artistic and joyful watch faces: Palette and Snoopy. The Palette face depicts the time in a wide variety of colors using three distinct overlapping layers, and as time changes, the colors on display also shift. 
What could be better than Snoopy and Woodstock coming to your Apple Watch? The characters interact and play with the watch hands, react to the weather conditions in the area, or even get active when the user does a workout.
Cyclists get a Hurray! with the new watchOS 10
When you start a workout from the Apple Watch in watchOS 10, it automatically shows up as a Live Activity on your iPhone and, when tapped, utilizes the full screen.
Workout Views include Heart Rate Zones, Elevation, Race Route, Custom Workouts, and a new Cycling Speed view.
Apple Watch can now automatically connect to Bluetooth-enabled cycling accessories like power meters, speed sensors, and cadence sensors.
This enables brand-new metrics, including cycling power (watts), cadence (RPM), and additional Workout Views, including Power Zone. This applies to cycling equipment that is indoor as well as outdoor.
Apple finally brings a new pro metric for cyclists to the Apple Watch. Apple Watch can help estimate Functional Threshold Power (FTP), the highest level of cycling intensity that a rider could theoretically maintain for an hour.
Using FTP, Apple Watch calculates personalized Power Zones to easily see the current zone and track how long is spent in each, which is an effective and popular way of improving performance.
Mental Health via updated Mindfulness App features
With the Mindfulness app in watchOS 10, users can discreetly and conveniently log their momentary emotions and daily moods to build resilience and improve overall well-being.
The Digital Crown enables users to scroll through engaging, multidimensional shapes to choose how they are feeling, select what is having the biggest impact on them, and describe their feelings.
Once logged in, open the Health app on the iPhone to see your trends and how your state of mind might correlate with lifestyle factors like time spent in daylight, sleep, exercise, and mindful minutes. 
The health app also features tools that help users take depression and anxiety assessments to help users determine their risk level, connect to resources available in their region, and create a PDF to share with their doctor. 
Vision Health via ambient light sensors
With watchOS 10, the Apple Watch introduces the ability to measure time spent in daylight using the ambient light sensor. 
Users can view this information in the Health app on iPhones or iPads.
Other exciting features coming to watchOS 10
Apple is always listening to its users and partners. Here are additional bells and whistles coming to your Apple Watch:
- The Medications app can send follow-up reminders if a medication hasn’t been logged 30 minutes after the scheduled time. This is a huge add as many users who used the older med app always faced this need and had to attempt workarounds
- The new NameDrop feature makes it easy to share contacts between iPhone and Apple Watch
- Facetime Video and Group Audio coming to Apple Watch
- Offline maps on iPhone provide access to turn-by-turn navigation, estimated arrival time, places in Maps, and more while away from Wi-Fi or cellular services. These features can also be used on a paired Apple Watch that is in range of its companion iPhone.
- Apple Fitness+ introduces Custom Plans, a new way to receive a custom workout or meditation schedule based on day, duration, workout type, and more.
Compatibility
It requires an iPhone XS, iPhone XR, or later with iOS 17 and one of the following Apple Watch models:
- Apple Watch Series 4
- Apple Watch Series 5
- Apple Watch SE
- Apple Watch Series 6
- Apple Watch Series 7
- Apple Watch Series 8
- Apple Watch Ultra
What are some exciting features you are looking forward to trying on your Apple Watch with watchOS 10? Please let us know using the comments below.
Thank you for some clarifying information. My wife has Hyponatremia medical professionals have not been able to get to the bottom of it.
For many years she has controlled sodium levels with salt or electrolytes as she could feel the need. Now she is having issues with high blood potassium due to bone density issues so it is difficult to balance the sodium and potassium.
I will be watching for good systems that can monitor these levels on a continuing basis.