Everything you need to know about watchOS 3 for Apple Watch

Posted:
in Apple Watch
The release of watchOS 3 for Apple Watch is being pushed as a major change for the wearable platform, tweaking and in some cases completely revamping how the platform operates. Before you update your Apple Watch to watchOS 3, here's a quick guide on the changes.




Key changes







How to update



First of all, your iPhone that is paired to your Apple Watch must be running iOS 10 for watchOS 3 to be available. When your iPhone has been updated, then you can open the Apple Watch app, then choose General, then Software Update.

Updating requires your Apple Watch battery to be at least 50 percent charged, and it must be plugged into an external power source.

Finding what's new



After watchOS 3 is installed, the first changes can be found right from your watch face. Swipe up from the bottom of the display to access the new Control Center. With watchOS 3, Apple has removed the glances view.

Edge gestures from the left and right side of the display will quickly switch between watch faces. With this feature, you can have specialized faces for certain tasks -- for example, using one of the new Activity faces for exercise tracking.



Apple has also changed its policy on complications in watchOS 3, and encourages all third-party apps to offer a watch face complication, even if it's just a simple link to the app.

Accordingly, all first-party apps in watchOS 3 include a complication. New additions include Music, Find My Friends, Home, and even a new, separate weather conditions complication (which can be used in tandem with a temperature complication).



Perhaps the biggest change to watchOS 3 comes once you venture away from the watch face and press the side button. While before the side button brought up quick contacts, it now provides access to an all-new watch app dock.

The dock serves a few purposes: It shows a snapshot of the app in its current state, allowing apps to provide quick-view information without opening the software. In this respect, it replaces the now-defunct glances view.



It's also a quick way to load your favorite and recently used apps. Preferred apps can be pinned to the dock, much like in macOS or iOS. Recently opened apps automatically populate the remaining, non-pinned slots, which can be found by scrolling toward the right.

Recently opened apps include a "Keep in Dock" button below if a user wants to pin them. And pinned apps can be removed by sliding up and selecting "Remove."

There are a great deal of other changes in watchOS 3, including handwriting recognition for sending text messages, an Emergency SOS feature that can call 9-1-1 and notify loved ones, and the ability to create watch faces from the Apple Watch app for iPhone. AppleInsider will offer closer, more detailed looks at all of the individual new watchOS 3 features in the coming days.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    Has anyone got this to work?
    gmc256
  • Reply 2 of 23
    spice-boy said:
    Has anyone got this to work?
    No I am still waiting for the download to be completed. It is taking a very long time.
  • Reply 3 of 23
    It took about 45-50 minutes to download and several to prepare and verify... now installing for the past 20-30 minutes and it is only half done. Wow thats a long time for a watch to update!!
    netmage
  • Reply 4 of 23
    I'm up to date but the Download button isn't showing. 
  • Reply 5 of 23
    I always wait till later, about 10pm or so.   Sometimes I even wait an extra week, just to see if they pull the update for some reason.  People are already complaining about it bricking their devices and having to hook it up to iTunes to restore.

    I'm currently waiting on an app to be updated before I install iOS 10 on my iPhone or I might have jumped the gun and installed it.
  • Reply 6 of 23
    Finally completed after 1 hour and 50 minutes! Works just fine now...
    albegarcwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 23
    tswiers said:
    Finally completed after 1 hour and 50 minutes! Works just fine now...
    Tank you for sharing, I am still waiting for the download to be compelted.
  • Reply 8 of 23
    volcanvolcan Posts: 1,799member
    Finally finished. My iPhone was reporting that watchOS 3 was installed and up to date when the second progress circle on the watch was hung at 75%. 30 minutes later it finally booted. All seems normal now but iOS 10 for iPhone is confusing with the new way that Press to Open and Touch ID react. Seems inconsistent. Haven't quite figured it out, but Touch ID doesn't work quite right.
  • Reply 9 of 23
    xaoxao Posts: 30member
    volcan said:
    All seems normal now but iOS 10 for iPhone is confusing with the new way that Press to Open and Touch ID react. Seems inconsistent. Haven't quite figured it out, but Touch ID doesn't work quite right.
    You have to actually push the home button to go past the lock screen. If you lift the phone and your screen automatically comes on, then put your finger on Touch ID without pressing the button, you'll see the txt "Phone Unlocked" scroll I think at the top of the screen. It allows you to unlock your phone without leaving your lock screen, so you can read the notifications on the screen. It took me a bit to get used to it, but now that I understand it and have used it for a while, I really like the change.
    williamlondonequality72521netmageGeorgeBMacmmatz
  • Reply 10 of 23
    It would really be nice to take advantage of WatchOS 3...  I've been trying to download it since it released to no avail....  Call Apple Support - "keep trying, we've had heavy demand so it might take up to 2 days"...  Fantastic.  One of the world's LARGEST companies can't afford data centers (or chooses NOT to afford) to support a rollout.  Hmmm.  Anyone else still unable to update or am I alone?
  • Reply 11 of 23
    OMG. Minnie Mouse speaks the time if you press the watch face
    netmageGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 12 of 23
    xao said:
    volcan said:
    All seems normal now but iOS 10 for iPhone is confusing with the new way that Press to Open and Touch ID react. Seems inconsistent. Haven't quite figured it out, but Touch ID doesn't work quite right.
    You have to actually push the home button to go past the lock screen. If you lift the phone and your screen automatically comes on, then put your finger on Touch ID without pressing the button, you'll see the txt "Phone Unlocked" scroll I think at the top of the screen. It allows you to unlock your phone without leaving your lock screen, so you can read the notifications on the screen. It took me a bit to get used to it, but now that I understand it and have used it for a while, I really like the change.
    Theres an option in settings to change this, so you don't need to press the home button. It's what I did since I've never gotten used to it in the recent betas. 
  • Reply 13 of 23
    gmc256 said:
    It would really be nice to take advantage of WatchOS 3...  I've been trying to download it since it released to no avail....  Call Apple Support - "keep trying, we've had heavy demand so it might take up to 2 days"...  Fantastic.  One of the world's LARGEST companies can't afford data centers (or chooses NOT to afford) to support a rollout.  Hmmm.  Anyone else still unable to update or am I alone?
    Be patient, it took me almost 4 hours to complete the process of downloading and installing the upo grade but believe me it is worth it. Watch OS 3 IS GREAT.
    watto_cobranetmageGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 14 of 23
    It's not that they don't have enough centers. What happened is that as soon as something new is released everyone ne wants it at the same time and they get overloaded. Just like when a new game like COD, Halo or Destiny get releases and their online servers get borked for a few days and the centers both call and chat get overwhelmed with people. I know this because I work for the Apple Chat department and it gets insane when you have about 3 million people updating at the same time. It's going to happen, we just ask that you're patient until it slows down a bit. Normally a day or two, even me as an employee I wait a few days before I attempt to update. 
    watto_cobrawilliamlondonalbegarc
  • Reply 15 of 23
    Mine won't even update. After checking for updates, it says, "Watch OS 2.2.2 - Your software is up to date". :(
  • Reply 16 of 23
    zroger73 said:
    Mine won't even update. After checking for updates, it says, "Watch OS 2.2.2 - Your software is up to date". :(
    You have to install iOs 10 in your iOhone firste, then you can update your AW

  • Reply 17 of 23
    Do you have iOS 10 installed?
  • Reply 18 of 23
    Upgraded to iOS 10, now watch is no longer paired. Anyone have this happen? Lost bright display over a month ago, so I cannot setup as a new watch.
  • Reply 19 of 23
    albegarc said:
    You have to install iOs 10 in your iOhone firste, then you can update your AW
    zroger73 said:
    Mine won't even update. After checking for updates, it says, "Watch OS 2.2.2 - Your software is up to date". :(

    I finally realized that after spending a few minutes searching online. It would have been much better if Apple had added a few lines of code that said, "An upgrade to Watch OS 3 is available, but iOS 10 must be installed first." How hard is that? Saying, "Your software is up to date" when it isn't is somewhere between misleading and an all-out lie.
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 20 of 23
    tswiers said:
    Finally completed after 1 hour and 50 minutes! Works just fine now...

    Mine took significantly longer than that.   Plus, it kept showing the message that the update was paused and, to resume it, I needed to connect the phone to WiFi (which it was)...   In addition, the watch went blank several times with no apparent activity going on.   It almost appeared as if the update had failed -- but instead of interfering I let it run and it eventually completed successfully.   It was over 2 hours.
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