Apple Reveals watchOS 8: First Look at New Features

Apple today revealed watchOS 8, the next major version of its watchOS operating system, with brand new features, including enhancements to health tracking including a new Mindfulness app and improvements to the way users interact with their Apple Watch.

Screen Shot 2021 06 07 at 9
Referring to the Apple Watch face, watchOS 8 now supports using portrait mode photos in the watch face, using data from the image to layer the date and time behind a subject in the photo. watchOS 8 also gains support for Find Items, a new standalone app on the Apple Watch that will allow users to locate and find item part of the Find My network.
apple wwdc21 watchos8 find my 06072021 carousel
Introduced in iOS 15, Focus, which provides users with a powerful set of tools to reduce distractions during work, downtime, and more will also be coming to the Apple Watch.

watchOS 8 supports Focus, a powerful set of tools available in iOS 15 to help users reduce distraction and be in the moment. Apple Watch will automatically align with any Focus set on iOS, so that notifications from people and apps are filtered based on what a user is currently doing. Focus uses on-device intelligence to make suggestions based on usage patterns — for example, when starting a workout on Apple Watch, the Focus for fitness is suggested

apple wwdc21 watchos8 focus fitness 06072021 inline

watchOS 8 also features a redesigned Music app that makes it easier to share songs, albums, and more through iMessage. watchOS 8 now also allows users to set multiple timers, features expanded support for the Always-On display in Apple Watch Series 4 or later for more apps such as Maps, Mindfulness, Now Playing, Phone, Podcasts, and more.

Related Roundup: WWDC 2025

Popular Stories

WWDC25 Live Coverage Feature 1

WWDC 2025 Apple Event Live Keynote Coverage: iOS 26, macOS Tahoe, and More

Monday June 9, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) starts today with the traditional keynote kicking things off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. MacRumors is on hand for the event and we'll be sharing details and our thoughts throughout the day. We're expecting to see a number of software-related announcements led by a design revamp across Apple's platforms that will also see the numbering of all of...
maxresdefault

Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2025 in 9 Minutes

Monday June 9, 2025 5:21 pm PDT by
At today's WWDC 2025 keynote event, Apple unveiled a new design that will inform the next decade of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS development, so needless to say, it was a busy day. Apple also unveiled a ton of new features for the iPhone, an overhauled Spotlight interface for the Mac, and a ton of updates that make the iPad more like a Mac than ever before. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
liquid glass

Apple Announces All-New 'Liquid Glass' Software Redesign Across iOS 26 and More

Monday June 9, 2025 10:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a complete redesign of all of its major software platforms called "Liquid Glass." Announced simultaneously for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, visionOS, and CarPlay, Liquid Glass forms a new universal design language for the first time. At its WWDC 2025 keynote address, Apple's software chief Craig Federighi said "Apple Silicon has become dramatically more powerful...
iPadOS 26 Apple Newsroom

Apple Says iPadOS 26 is Compatible With These iPad Models

Monday June 9, 2025 11:22 am PDT by
Apple today announced that iPadOS 26 will be compatible with the iPad models listed below. iPadOS 26 features a new Liquid Glass design, a menu bar, improved app windowing, and more. iPadOS 26 supports the following iPad models:iPad Pro (M4) iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later) iPad Air (M2 and later) iPad Air (3rd generation and...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Says These 13 Vehicle Brands Will Soon Offer iPhone Car Keys

Monday June 9, 2025 2:38 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote today, Apple said that 13...
Apple WWDC25 iOS 26 hero 250609

Apple Announces iOS 26 With 'Liquid Glass' Design, Live Translation, Overhauled Phone App, and More

Monday June 9, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
Apple at WWDC announced iOS 26, introducing a comprehensive visual redesign built around its new "Liquid Glass" concept, alongside expanded Apple Intelligence capabilities, updates to core communication apps, and more. Liquid Glass is a translucent material that reflects and refracts surroundings to create dynamic, responsive interface elements, according to Apple. The new design language...

Top Rated Comments

markgpearse Avatar
52 months ago
I still don’t understand why deleting texts on my iPhone or my iPad or my MacBook don’t cause those same texts to be deleted from my Apple Watch. Why is this so difficult?
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
52 months ago
Not much of a WatchOS update.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
otternonsense Avatar
52 months ago
Not so much of an update after another year that was already not so much of an update.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
User 6502 Avatar
52 months ago
Really underwhelming update…
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SegNerd Avatar
52 months ago
So far the new watchOS does look like a fairly modest update, but let’s not forget that most new AppleWatch features are generally hardware-based, so the “big news” might have to wait for S7.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JackieTreehorn Avatar
52 months ago
I love enchantments

Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)