Apple WWDC 2017: watchOS 4 Unveiled With Siri Watch Face, Better Activity and Workouts, and More

The annual Apple developer conference, WWDC 2017, kicked off on Monday with the keynote address at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, and as expected the company made some announcements around its products. The company confirmed that Amazon Prime Video is coming to the Apple TV. The Cupertino-based also announced the all-new watchOS 4 which brings new enhancements. One of the biggest highlights of the new watchOS is it comes integrated with Siri, and the company claims this brings a voice assistant on the wrist. The new watchOS 4 will be available for developers in preview form starting Monday while the upgrade will be coming to everyone this fall.

Announcing the watchOS 4 update, Apple's Kevin Lynch stressed how the new watchOS has been developed to automatically show a selection of information users might want to see. The company promises that Siri will be proactive with the all-new watchOS, and Apple also introduced a new Siri Watch face. With the brand new Siri Watch Face, Apple says machine learning will adapt automatically and surface new information each time you raise your wrist. For users, relevant passes can appear right here on the watch face including third-party apps. Apple at the event also showcased the all-new Apple Watch dock which will now be vertical.

Tim Cook during the keynote said, "watchOS 4 is a great update." Apart form the Siri Watch Face, Apple also announced two other new Watch faces including Kaleidoscope Face for users who like less information and more graphics. It will sport a trippy animation that changes over the day, and when users rotate digital crown. After Mickey and Minnie Watch faces, Apple has now introduced Toy Story characters such as Woody, Jessie and Buzz Watch faces.

For fitness buffs, Apple's watchOS 4 will offer personalised Activity notifications with celebratory animations for every new milestone reached. The company said that it has improved Workout algorithms for tasks such as swimming, high intensity interval training, and now also supports multiple workouts in a single session. Apple will also enable two-way data sync with gym equipment via NFCm which will be available this fall. The company also announced improvements how the Apple Watch handles, with an improved Music app. Apple also promised some upcoming features like flashlight in the control centre which can be used as a blinking safety light during required time.

We discussed everything Apple announced at WWDC 2017 on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast. You can subscribe to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS or just listen to this episode by hitting the play button below.