Inside Apple's Plan to Revamp How the Apple Watch Works

Apple is set to give its smartwatch a big software overhaul with watchOS 10, once again making?widgets?a core part of the device. Also: Apple is?working on major new health features?for this year and beyond.

The Starters

Apple Inc. is set to give its 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.?

When the company launched the original Apple Watch in 2015, watchOS was built around four main areas: the watch faces, a widgets interface called Glances, the home screen filled with app icons, and an area to access frequent contacts. Within a few years, Apple adjusted?the strategy, ditching widgets and frequent contacts in favor of highlighting notifications and multitasking capabilities.?

Through the changes, apps remained core to the Apple Watch. The best way to get information on the device —?besides viewing watch-face complications —?is still to launch apps. To make that as easy as possible,?the?home screen is accessible with a single press of the Digital Crown, the watch’s most prominent button.

But now Apple is trying something different. 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.?

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...

Read the?rest of this column and get access to Mark's takes on the biggest Apple news of the week and more on Bloomberg.com?here?for free.?

You can?subscribe to Power On here?to get this column in your inbox every week and?paid subscribers?get the email an hour early plus access to the Post Game Q&A. Here are this week's questions:

Q:?What do you think about Amazon discontinuing its Halo fitness trackers??And what does that mean for the Apple Watch?

Q:?Do you think Apple will bring Emergency SOS via Satellite to more devices?

Q:?How will developers write and test apps for the Apple headset prior to launch?