watchOS 5 Brings Automatic Workout Detection, Walkie-Talkie Mode, Podcast App To Apple Watch

At WWDC 2018, Apple announced several new features in watchOS 5 that will be coming to the Apple Watch later this year. Digital Trends summarizes all the big new additions including more watch faces and improved health tracking features: Apple is putting a huge emphasis on ensuring fitness tracking data is accurate in WatchOS 5. The company studied more than seven terabytes of fitness data from more than 12,000 participants to make sure its tracking measurements are on point. You'll also find a new competition mode on WatchOS 5. The mode allows you to enter a seven-day competition with a friend. WatchOS 5 also features new fitness modes. The Yoga mode will track your activity via the heart rate monitor while the Hiking mode will use your pace and elevation to better determine the number of calories burned. The Running mode now offers a custom pace alert, tracks your cadence and will even provide time data on the previous mile run. Finally, you'll see new start and end workout alerts.

WatchOS 5 also brings several awesome communications improvements. First off is the new Walkie-Talkie mode. With Walkie-Talkie, you can add friends to your Apple Watch and communicate with them directly by tapping the Talk button within the Walkie-Talkie app. Your Siri watch face will also get a huge update as well. The new Siri watch face will provide more information on your favorite sports teams, offer commute and traffic information, as well as heart rate. Also available in watchOS 5 are Siri Shortcuts, an official Podcast app, and WebKit, which will let you view webpages from Messages or emails. You will also no longer need to say "Hey Siri" to activate Siri. Now you can simply raise your wrist to your mouth and Siri will automatically be listening.

Note: The original Apple Watch won't get watchOS 5's new features. You will need a Series 1 or newer timepiece.

Re:

[TheFakeTimCook]

Automatic listening? WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG???

I guess we'll just have to pretend we have this thing called privacy. Apple Watch will join Alexa in recording all of your conversations.

Yeahrightsure.

Like it has the infinite battery power needed to remain awake and transmitting your every boring utterance to the mothership.

For a tech site, Slashdot has got some of the LEAST tech-savvy participants I have ever seen...

Re:

[Bing Tsher E]

No, it will just be coded to trigger on a set of keywords. Things like 'demonstration' 'progressive' 'rally' 'liberty' and 'protest.' Also a list of drug culture words, in regions where that is required by the authorities. When the electronics is in place and operating to parse all sound, you're correct that not all sound will be flagged and uploaded.

Re:

[TheFakeTimCook]

No, it will just be coded to trigger on a set of keywords. Things like 'demonstration' 'progressive' 'rally' 'liberty' and 'protest.' Also a list of drug culture words, in regions where that is required by the authorities. When the electronics is in place and operating to parse all sound, you're correct that not all sound will be flagged and uploaded.

In order to do that, it has to be "awake" at some level, and if the "trigger" set gets too big, then it cannot do it on-chip.

This isn't "Echelon on your wrist", bozo. But boy did my message-score just go up for invoking that word.

Re: Automatic listening

[Bing Tsher E]

A dictionary of 500 words to scan for is completely feasible.

Wtf is the bozo shit about? The guy who threw slang like that around is long dead. Any amusing dogcow anecdotes to share with us?

No, the last whiff of that culture at Apple is gone. They're as lively a corporate culture as Panasonic or Mattel now.

Re:

[TheFakeTimCook]

A dictionary of 500 words to scan for is completely feasible.

Wtf is the bozo shit about? The guy who threw slang like that around is long dead. Any amusing dogcow anecdotes to share with us?

No, the last whiff of that culture at Apple is gone. They're as lively a corporate culture as Panasonic or Mattel now.

Still not buyin' it.

Re:

[AHuxley]

Great for the NSA, FBI, DEA. The live mic, voice prints all over the USA and beyond. Its PRISM for the wrist.

Automatic workout detection?

[LynnwoodRooster]

Well, first I know that's a wasted feature for the /. community, as climbing the stairs from the basement is enough exercise, thankyouverymuch... But this is a feature my Samsung Note 5 (and new Note 8) have had since the beginning. They're quite adept at determining when I'm walking versus sitting and rocking in a chair, or riding on my motorcycle. And it automatically counts your steps if you enable health tracking.

Re:

[TheFakeTimCook]

... to do stuff, not let closed spy jewlery do stuff to us.

It's actually funny: An iTard rock climber with an iWatch is less of a lifeform than even an AC blob who does nothing but comment and work with computers all day.
Because he has entirely given up being an individual, and has just folded and handed his body to the owner of the swam lifeform he joined. Because passive-thinking and passive-living is soo much "easier", and that is what being alive is all about! ... /s

Would you like to try that diatribe again, this time in some human language?

Re:

[TheFakeTimCook]

Tim Cocksuckers works out her stupid butthole

Another erudite AC heard from!

Re:

[MikeMo]

Yes, so does the iPhone. What this does, which, I think is a bit different, is tell the difference between a run, a bicycle ride, a stationary bicycle ride, a swim, etc. In a watch.

Re:

[Trogre]

Oh you mean like the Samsung Gear watches? Got it.

Re:

[TheFakeTimCook]

He likes to suck men's dicks, so automatic AIDS detection would be very beneficial to him.

Sounds like someone feels a little threatened.

Re:

[TheFakeTimCook]

Seriously, software development should be left to open source communities, so it changes when somebody actually has a need, not for pointess profit and growth's sake.

All those features are both ancient and only neede by a fringe group or are utterly cancer all the way down.

So, ignore them.

watchOS 5 Brings Automatic Sermon Detection

[Anonymous Coward]

You know, for when pastors flail their arms around excitedly as they preach a sermon. #nicheaudience

do people still wear "smart" watches?

[Anonymous Coward]

Serious question.

I know some people bought the apple watches when they came out. But do people still have a use for them?

Other than to tell time, and pedometer.

Re:do people still wear "smart" watches?

[cayenne8]

I know some people bought the apple watches when they came out. But do people still have a use for them?

OH for sure, I love mine...use it all the time.

I love the notifications for when I get txt, I listen to music on it while on my bike through my BT earbuds [nuheara.com], and with the cellular I can do this and make calls if needed while I leave my phone at home. I like the GPS in it for monitoring my rides, I track all my gym workouts with it, swimming laps in pool, etc.

I got a 3rd party app for it, that helps me monitor my sleep, etc.

I'm constantly using the timer on it for cooking and grilling.

I find a LOT of uses for it daily.

Re:

[seoras]

I can concur with all that cayenne8 said. I'm still using an S1 Stainless steel 42mm model. Might change it now it's not getting software updates, but then again I might just keep it a bit longer. Nothing announced today really makes me want to change.
I don't miss calls since the watch vibrates when anyone tries to contact me via any medium. Cell, facetime, message, whatsapp, skype etc etc.
I'd me lost without the timer which I use for cooking almost daily. Alarms and reminders are invaluable on my wrist.
Bei

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

S1 will be supported. S0, the Apple Watch Sport, SS and Edition models, will not be.

Re:

[khchung]

The timer is super useful once I found out how easy it is to start one with Siri, just lift my watch near my mouth and say "Hey Siri, two minutes timer", then let the watch do its job.

Sleep tracking is very useful once you got into the habit of it. Sleep tracker that only need the watch avoid draining the battery on the phone (which one usually don't have time to charge in the morning), and amazingly it use almost zero battery on the watch (still reports 100% battery in the morning).

Exercise tracking is of

Re:

[cayenne8]

Sleep tracker that only need the watch avoid draining the battery on the phone (which one usually don't have time to charge in the morning),

Don't most people plug their phones in to charge beside the bed nightly?

I always have...kinda of figured most anyone else that doesn't have a land line would do the same...

Re:

[Plumpaquatsch]

Sleep tracker that only need the watch avoid draining the battery on the phone (which one usually don't have time to charge in the morning),

Don't most people plug their phones in to charge beside the bed nightly?

Well, for sleep tracking you would at least have it to be on the bed. With the charging cord or the "wireless" charging pad. Have a nice sleep you are trying to track.

Re:

[I75BJC]

Alarm feature is very important for me. Being able to set alarms to vibrate only makes my life better. Receiving phone calls is great. Receiving texts is also great. Reminders are easy to use and helpful. All without my iPhone in my hand or even with me. Different strokes for different folks. Apple Watch works great for me!

Re:

[Pascal Sartoretti]

Serious question.

I know some people bought the apple watches when they came out. But do people still have a use for them?

For me, it is a fantastic fitness tool for running, cycling and hiking.

It is also very useful to change the volume on my Sonos loudspeakers.

But for the rest ? I don't care about notifications, I already receive too many on my phone.

YMMV

Re:

[antdude]

I still wear and use Casio DataBank calculator watches (DB 150). Does that count as a "smart" watch? :P

Re:

[drummerboybac]

I use mine (LTE Model) daily for finding the location of my next meeting, checking DarkSky for weather, getting passcodes for 2FA, setting alarms that only wake me up and not my wife, setting timers via Siri, listen to music and podcasts, and get emergency text messages without my phone. This is a huge benefit while running or doing active things, as it allows me to leave my phone at home or in the car. Something that I find myself doing more than I anticipated is using it daily for paying for stuff. It w

Re:

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:

[Tony Isaac]

Google Fit, while not by any means an impressive fitness tracker, also has automatic workout detection. And it's "just" a free Android app that runs on most any phone!

Re: NOW the iWatch has Automatic Workout detection

[Zero__Kelvin]

It is nothing like the Fitbit if it is actually accurate. I guess you missed the memo that their fitness tracking is (or at least was) highly inaccurate

Will it detect when the workout is over?

[Cro Magnon]

I'm always starting a workout, walking around the lot for 15-20 minutes, forgetting to stop, and looking at the watch to see a "workout" of 80 minutes, 60 of which was sitting on my butt.

Thanks for deserting us early adopters, Apple!

[Eric Hastings]

So a $500+ watch is only supposed to last 2.5 years now? Sad they've cut us off so soon... the WatchOS updates have actually improved the original experience dramatically over time.