Apple Watch may be able to catch up to Fitbit and Garmin with the release of watchOS 9 ..

Apple Watch may be able to catch up to Fitbit and Garmin with the release of watchOS 9.

The Apple Watch will become even more competitive with the addition of new sleep monitoring and running functions in watchOS 9.

This post is part of CNET's comprehensive coverage of Apple's annual developers conference, WWDC 2022.

The software that runs the Apple Watch has been updated.

At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, the company unveiled WatchOS 9, which includes new fitness capabilities for runners, improved sleep tracking, a medication tracking app, and new watch faces.

As Apple continues to emphasize health and fitness as important selling elements, such capabilities will help Apple bridge the gap between its smartwatches and competing products from Fitbit, Garmin, and Oura.

The upgrade will be available in the fall for Apple Watch Series 4 and up, with a developer preview accessible now.

Next month, the public beta will begin.

Take a look at this:

Sleep

Watch OS9 Is Coming With Stages 12:04

The Apple Watch will get new measurements with WatchOS 9 that will help runners better evaluate their performance and lessen the risk of injury.

Vertical oscillation, stride length, and ground contact duration are among them.

More information, including segments, splits, and elevation, will be shown in a new workout view.

In WatchOS 9, heart rate zones will provide you with more information about the intensity of your workout.

Triathletes will be able to effortlessly transition between run, cycle, and swim tracking thanks to a new multisport workout option.

Apple is also providing a personalized exercise option that allows for an interval workout with rest.

Although the Apple Watch is a complete fitness tracker, it lacks additional specialized functions.

On dedicated running watches, you'll find this feature.

Even the Forerunner 55, Garmin's entry-level watch, has cadence alerts, pacing coaching, and training plans.

WatchOS 9's new capabilities will help the Apple Watch catch up in this area, potentially making it more enticing to runners.

Apple's sleep analysis is also being improved with the addition of Sleep Stages to its devices.

Sleep Stages will tell you how much time you spend in REM, core, and deep sleep, as the name implies, offering Apple Watch users a more complete picture of their sleep.

Fitbit, Samsung, and other fitness trackers have had this capability for years, however Apple has solely focused on sleep duration and respiratory rate up until now.

The Apple Watch, on the other hand, is still missing.

A sleep score is one sleep tracking feature I've come to like on other fitness trackers.

As the name implies, this feature assigns a score to wearers that evaluates the quality of their sleep based on a variety of factors, most notably movement and heart rate data.

Continue reading: Your Apple Watch Will Soon Be Able to Track Your Sleep

Aside from the new running stats and sleep monitoring features, WatchOS 9 will bring a slew of other health and wellness enhancements.

With a new function dubbed AFib history, the Apple Watch will be able to provide additional context regarding atrial fibrillation, which tracks frequency and other trends connected to the heart ailment.

WatchOS 9 will also have a new Medications app.

The app's purpose is to

Even if you don't have an Apple Watch, it'll be easy to keep track of your medications and set frequent reminders to take specific medications and vitamins.

You'll be able to scan a label or manually type in the name of a drug.

In addition, the app will display information about medication interactions.

Also also

Recap of WWDC 2022: iOS 16 and Everything Else

Hands-on with the Apple M2 MacBook Air: Bigger Screen, Higher Price

The Most Exciting Features of iOS 16 for iPhone Users

Four new watch faces will be included in the upgrade, as well as support for six new keyboard languages.

Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and Astronomy are the names of the new watch faces.

Other improvements include less obtrusive notifications while wearing the Apple Watch, as well as new Quick Actions for answering calls and snapping pictures.

a revamped dock that prioritizes actively used apps and a photo with a double-pinch gesture

WWDC is usually focused on new software upgrades for Apple's major products.

Before the software releases later this year, Apple uses its opening speech to build anticipation for new features and improvements.

Despite the fact that the majority of the conference is being held digitally this year, Apple held a special event for developers and students at its Apple Park facility on Monday.

Apple has maintained its dominance in the smartwatch market.

According to Counterpoint Research, Apple accounted for 36.1 percent of wristwatch shipments in the first quarter of 2022, up from 35.9% in the same period the previous year.

Apple snatched up 28.9% of the basic watch market.

According to Canalys, smartwatch shipments will reach $1 billion in the first quarter of 2022.

Take a look at this:

Sleep Stages Will Be Available on Watchos OS 9 12:04

Check out what we've learned about iOS 16 and MacOS Ventu to learn more about Apple's major announcements at WWD