In his latest “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple is set to give the Apple Watch lineup one of the biggest software updates since the original version — with a new focus on widgets and fundamental changes to how the device works.
He says, as part of watchOS 10, the company is planning to bring back widgets and make them a central part of the interface. This new strategy will debut at WWDC in June, alongside the unveiling of iOS 17, macOS 14, the 15-inch MacBook Air, and, of course, the much-anticipated mixed-reality headset.
From Gurman’s report: The new widgets system on the Apple Watch will be a combination of the old watchOS Glances system and the style of widgets that were introduced in iOS 14 on the iPhone. The plan is to let users scroll through a series of different widgets — for activity tracking, weather, stock tickers, calendar appointments and more — rather than having them launch apps
The new interface will be reminiscent of the Siri watch face (shown above) introduced in watchOS 4, but it will be available as an overlay for any watch face. It’s also similar to widget stacks, a feature in iOS and iPadOS that lets users pile many widgets into one and scroll through them.
This info from Gurman is from the free edition of “Power On”. If you like it, consider subscribing to Bloomberg.com—you’ll receive the newsletter earlier and get exclusive access to a Q&A section.
