the Apple Watch is getting another big update with watchOS 11, and there's lots to explore. Hi, I'm Lexi. Welcome to your weekly dose of all things mobile. I found some of the best new features in watchOS 11 to share with you, and I've installed the beta on the Apple Watch Ultra 20, but it is compatible with any Apple Watch from the Series 6 and SE version 2 onwards. Quick disclaimers before we jump in: number one, this is beta software, so things are subject to change; number two, please back up your devices; number three, you'll need to install the iOS 18 beta on the iPhone that's paired to the watch; and last but not least, you cannot roll back from the beta version to an earlier version without wiping your watch. So, with all that, let's dive in. In watchOS 11, you can finally adjust your rings and take a rest day if you're sick or if you're just tired. Thank you, Apple. In the activity app, tap on the three rings and then pause Rings. Here, you can set it to

be just for the rest of the day, the rest of the week, the month, or a custom target. You'll notice there's another option here to change your goals, so different days of the week can have different targets for your activity rings. Go to the calendar icon at the top right and then press schedule and adjust accordingly. So, I know my Tuesdays are usually pretty low on the workouts 'cause I'm in the office, so I can adjust that a little bit lower and up, say, my weekend goals as I'm out and about a lot more. And on pages for your exercise and stand rings, you can also adjust these too with the plus and minus icon. There's a new app to check out on your Apple Watch called Vitals, and when you wear the watch to bed, it's going to track these key metrics like heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, blood oxygen (if your watch supports it), and your sleep duration. Use the screen or the crown to scroll through the metrics, but more importantly, is this past 7 days view. This is going to tell you if any of

your vitals fall outside of your range of normal and highlight it in pink. Plus, it will give you a notification if two or more of your vitals are off. In the activity app, there's a new icon right up here, and that brings up training load. This is a way to measure the intensity of your workout routine. This white line here is a 28-day weighted average, and then you can see your past 7 days compared against it. My white line is unusually and kind of embarrassingly low 'cause it's been a busy month testing some other gadgets. So, you can see when I have done activities and workouts, it's calculated them as well above my average. Also, part of training load is the effort rating. After you finish a workout, you'll get a score from 1 to 10. Here, you can see my leisurely walk was only a three. It's calculating this based on things like your height, weight, and age, plus data including GPS and heart rate. And if you tap the number, it will give you this.

chart. You can adjust it if you don't think it really reflects your actual effort. Like, Hey Apple watch, I was super tired from a late night, cut me some slack, that one was obviously a seven. Something that's a nice perk. If you have an ultra watch, you can see the vitals and training load details on the modular Ultra face by customizing these side bezels. There's a new safety tool on the Apple watch called check-in with watch OS 11. When you start a workout, swipe over to this panel and tap check-in. It will automatically text a friend when you finish your workout, and if it notices you're not progressing on your workout as expected, or if your speed increases dramatically, maybe your heart rate goes down close to resting during something that should be an intense workout, the watch will prompt you to respond, and if you don't, it will share your location either with limited or full data with your friend. You can also send a check-in straight from the messages app, just like you can on the iPhone, based on when you

arrive at a set location or after a certain period of time. Now, once you start the check-in, this will also start a live activity on your watch, and that shows up in the smart stack. Know that this only works if your recipient also has iMessage; it will not work for MS messages. There's no new watch faces per se with watchOS 11, but the photo face gets a lot more functionality. Pull out the iPhone and go into the watch app. Here, you can choose whether you want people, pets, nature, or city photos to surface in the photos watch face. Now, in the background, the phone is going to go through your camera roll and those selected images, rate the best photos on composition and facial expressions, to highlight what it thinks are the top photos to show on your watch face. You can even go one step further and change the size, the time, the fonts, and the background colors here to make it even more personal. I use the remote app on the upper watch more than I care to admit, and now it's got even more

controls. Tap the three dots at the top right here, and you can now mute and unmute, turn on captions, or even power off your connected device. The translate app is now on the Apple Watch, and it's surprisingly good. Speak your phrase and choose the target language, then the watch can play back the translation. Here in the settings, you can change the speed to make the playback slower or faster. You can even download language packs so it will work even if you don't have the iPhone connected, so it processes on the watch, and there are 20 languages supported so far. These are my favorite new features in the Apple Watch so far, but there are plenty more, including extra tools to help track pregnancy within the health app. Live activities will now appear in the smart stack, so if you call a car or snooze an alarm, you'll see it there. I also like the offline mapping in Apple Maps that now lets you get turn-by-turn navigation for hikes with voice guidance. The iMessage tapbacks have a slightly different look, which is a nice and subtle change, and double tap.

now let's you navigate through any app in two pinches, like messages, weather, or basically any other app, as long as your watch supports double tap. Drop me a comment with what else you want to know about new features on the Apple Watch, and I'll get testing. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you later.

WatchOS 11: Best New Apple Watch Features to Try

CNET is the premier destination for explaining and navigating the changing world around us. Through news, product reviews, price comparisons, and more, we’ll tell you what’s new in the parts of modern life that increasingly matter more — from health, home, and money to tech, culture, and climate — and how to get the most out of them.

WatchOS 11: Best New Apple Watch Features to Try

WatchOS 11: Best New Apple Watch Features to Try

Scripts