14 DAY TRIAL // watchOS 9 is the next big version of the Apple Watch operating system, and at WWDC today, the Cupertino-based tech giant has provided us with an early look at what’s to come in this release.
For many users out there, especially for those who aren’t necessarily interested in health tracking and sleep monitoring, the biggest news is the addition of four new Apple Watch faces called Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and Astronomy.
“watchOS 9 introduces four new faces: Lunar, which depicts the relationship between the Gregorian calendar and lunar calendar, used in many cultures such as Chinese, Islamic, and Hebrew; Playtime, a dynamic piece of art that’s unique to Apple Watch and created in collaboration with artist Joi Fulton; Metropolitan, a classic, type-driven watch face where the style changes as the Digital Crown is rotated; and Astronomy, an original face that has been completely remastered and features a new star map and current cloud data,” the iPhone maker announced today.
Modern complication on classic faces
Furthermore, Apple has announced that some of the classic watch faces, including Utility, will be provided with modern complications, while the new faces, including Modular Compact, will get background color editing.
“watchOS 9 introduces enhanced and modernized complications on some of the most classic watch faces, such as Utility, Simple, and Activity Analog, along with background color editing for Modular, Modular Compact, and X-Large for additional personalization. The new Portraits face showcases the depth effect on more photos, including cats, dogs, and landscapes, while Chinese scripts have been added as options for California and Typograph watch faces,” the company says.
Apple is projected to start a beta program for the new watchOS 9 in the coming weeks, while the final version of the operating system is scheduled to launch for the supported models in September.