The new watchOS 10 brings a new approach for Apple Watch users to easily and quickly view information with the new Smart Stack widgets, redesigned apps, health tracking and monitoring features for physical and mental well-being, and more.
Staying true to one of its core purposes, the watchOS 10 also introduces new fitness features to help cyclists, hikers, and others to view and monitor their progress.
We have listed all the new fitness features in watchOS 10 coming to Apple Watch users.
watchOS 10 offers new fitness features like Cycling FTP, Trail views, Live Activity views, and more
The new fitness features in watchOS 10 are aimed at improving hikers’ and cyclists’ experience. Here are all the new tracking tools coming to Apple Watch when cycling and hiking workouts are started:
Support for Bluetooth-enable cycling accessories
On watchOS 10, an Apple Watch will automatically connect to Bluetooth-supported cycling accessories like speed sensors, cadence sensors, or power meters. The connection is supported for outdoor and indoor cycling workouts including GymKit.
New Bluetooth support cycling metrics
The support for Bluetooth-enabled cycling accessories comes with new metrics line cycling power (watts) and cadence (RPM), and additional Workout Views, including Power Zones.
Cycling FTP and power zones
Combing the new sensor data and power meters, watchOS 10 can estimate the Functional Threshold Power (FPT) of cyclists. It is the highest level of cycling intensity that a rider could maintain for an hour, theoretically.
Integration with FTP will allow Apple Watch to calculate personalized Power Zones for users to easily view the current zone and how much time was spent in each zone.
Cycling workout Live Activity view on iPhone
When a cycling workout starts, it will show up as a Live Activity automatically on the iPhone so that users can mount their smartphone on the bike and view metrics like cycling speed, heart rate, elevation, race route, and others.
Two new Waypoints in the Compass app for a hiking workout
The Compass app on Apple Watch gains two new automatically generated waypoints in watchOS 10 for hikers:
- A Last Cellular Connection Waypoint to estimate the last location or place with cellular coverage to make calls or check messages.
- A Last Emergency Call Waypoint to estimate the route to the last point or place on the route where the device had network connectivity to make an emergency call.
Elevation view in 3D of saved waypoints
Using altimeter data, the new Elevation view will display a 3D view of saved waypoints when preparing routes.
Search for nearby trails directly from the watch face
In watchOS 10, hikers can easily search for nearby trails and trailheads through place cards directly from the watch face. The trail place cards include information like trail type, length, and difficulty.
New Topographic map in Apple Maps
Starting in the United States, Apple Maps features a new Topographic map that shows hill shading, elevation details, contour lines, and points of interest.
New workout APIs for app developers based on motion sensors data
Third-party app developers will have access to high-frequency motion data of sensors on Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra-like velocity and acceleration to create new experiences like the Swingvision and Goldshot apps using twisting motion of the forearm, wrist, and hand to analyze serve pronation and golf swings, respectively.
Furthermore, Apple Watch Ultra gets a new Auto Night mode option in watchOS 10 to automatically change the color of the Wayfinder watch face into red in low light environments. In watchOS 9, users have to turn the Digital Crown to enable Night mode when using Wayfinder watch face.
Exclusively available on Apple Watch Ultra, the Wayfinder watch face is specially designed for active users providing multiple metrics at a glance like Activity, alarms, audiobooks, blood oxygen, heart rate, cycle tracking, ECG, and more. Its Night mode preserves users’ night vision and reduces strain on the eyes.
