Apple watchOS 10: How to download, new features & list of supported watches

After updating your iPhone to iOS 17, make sure your Apple Watch has more than 50 per cent battery since it might take some time for the update to complete. Also, both your phone and watch need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Once everything is set, open the ‘Watch’ app on your iPhone and navigate to the ‘My Watch’ tab.

Under the ‘General’ section, click on ‘Software Update’ and tap on the ‘Download and Install’ button. If you have turned on automatic updates, watchOS 10 may already be downloaded.

The new Smart Stack widget shows relevant information in real-time. (Image Source: Apple)

watchOS 10 new features

watchOS 10 is one of the biggest upgrades to Apple’s operating system for smartwatches in the last few years. Apart from visual UI changes, Apple has introduced numerous features to enhance the overall user experience.

Turning the Digital Crown will now bring up the widget Smart Stack which displays real-time information you might be interested in. Apple says the watch automatically changes the information throughout the day.

Unlike previous versions which required users to swipe to open the Control Center, it can now be accessed by pressing the side button. Users can also press the Digital Crown once to access all apps, while double press will open the list of recently used apps.

Apple’s watchOS 10 brings more than 100 new different animations for the Snoopy and Woodstock watch face, which can now respond to the time of day, workout activities and weather.

Newly introduced messaging features include the ability to view memoji or photos of contacts, pin favourite contacts, and edit and sort messages by unread. For those into cycling, the latest version of watchOS now supports Bluetooth-enabled sensors like power meters, cadence sensors, speed sensors and cadence metrics.

For children, Apple Watch will now measure time spent in daylight using the device’s ambient light sensor to cut down on the risk of myopia or nearsightedness. The tech giant also rolled out the ability to attend Group FaceTime audio calls and view FaceTime video messages on the watch itself. As for the recently introduced NameDrop feature, Apple says it will be available on watchOS 10 sometime later this year.

List of Apple Watches eligible for watchOS 10 update

Apple Watch Series 4

Apple Watch Series 5

Apple Watch Series 6

Apple Watch Series 7

Apple Watch Series 8

Apple Watch Series 9

Apple Watch SE

Apple Watch Ultra

Apple Watch Ultra 2