Technologies

The Biggest Apple Watch Features I Want to See in WatchOS 10

Apple is expected to announce its WatchOS 10 update at WWDC. I’m hoping to see deeper sleep insights, more uses for the temperature sensor and more.

The Apple Watch has evolved into a comprehensive fitness tracker and a handy smartphone companion in the years since its launch. But at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, I hope to see new features that make it more useful while helping it catch up to rivals.

The Apple Watch already has a bevy of exercise options and can measure more health data data points than I personally know what to do with. Yet it still lags behind competitors when it comes to delivering insights related to sleep and workout recovery. Fitness aside, I’d love to see more changes to the user interface that make it easier to get information quickly without making multiple taps and swipes.

Apple rarely discusses products or updates before formally announcing them, but it traditionally introduces new features for the Apple Watch at its developer conference. Software updates have become even more important for the Apple Watch in recent years, bringing upgrades that are arguably more meaningful than new hardware — like more running metrics and low power mode.

But there’s plenty of opportunity to further refine the Apple Watch’s software, especially by making more sense of all the health data it can gather.

Sleep chronotypes

Apple Watch Series 8 next to Oura ring on a blue patterned background — The Oura ring can tell whether you’re a morning or night person, unlike the Apple Watch

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

Your Apple Watch can show how long you slept and how much time you spent in specific stages of slumber, like deep and REM sleep. But brands like Oura and Citizen aim to take that a step further by issuing a chronotype based on your sleeping patterns and other data.

The term chronotype refers to whether your body has a natural preference for the morning or the evening. Oura measures this by analyzing your activity, sleep-wake cycle and body temperature; while Citizen crunches sleep data and alertness scores (which are generated after taking a test in the app).

I don’t expect Apple to mimic this exact approach, but it would be helpful to see more insights around how sleeping patterns tie into my overall energy levels throughout the day. There’s a lot more Apple could do when it comes to sleep tracking in general. While introducing sleep stage detection was a much-needed addition last year, I’d also still like to see some type of sleep score that summarizes the quality of my rest at a glance.

Recovery metrics

The Apple Watch is effective at getting me to move — maybe a little too effective. I obsess over closing at least one Activity Ring on a daily basis. But as I’ve written in the past, the Apple Watch could use more features aimed at workout recovery.

Apple Watch Series 7 showing activity tracker and move rings — The Apple Watch’s Activity Rings motivate me to move. Now I just need a reminder to take a break.

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

The Apple Watch can encourage you to relax, get to bed on time or start moving when you’ve been inactive for too long. However, it doesn’t have any meaningful insights on how much rest you may need after a tough workout or a night of inadequate sleep.

Oura, Whoop and Fitbit all offer some type of recovery metric that helps you understand whether you’re ready for a big workout or need to take a rest day. They generally do this by examining sleep, activity and heart rate variability data among other factors. In the past, scores like these have helped me shake the guilt that comes with skipping a workout on days when I’m just not feeling up to it.

More customizable activity goals

My workout routine and activity levels vary by the day depending on how well rested I am, my workload, whether I’m commuting to the office and other factors. I wish I could adjust my activity goals to match. While you can easily change your activity goals by simply tapping the «Change Goals» button at the bottom of the activity summary on your watch, there’s no way to customize it according to the day. For example, I’d love to set a higher goal on days when I know I’ll get more steps in (i.e. the days I work from the office ) and at times when I’m usually well rested (the weekend), and lower it otherwise (i.e. my work-from-home days).

More QWERTY keyboard support

The Apple Watch Series 7 felt very similar to the Series 6 when I reviewed it in 2021. But there’s one feature that debuted on the Series 7 I miss when switching to older watches: the QWERTY keyboard. Yes, I know typing on such a tiny screen seems like more trouble than it’s worth, but hear me out.

There are plenty of times I’d like to quickly respond to a text message without reaching for my phone, such as when I’m waiting for the elevator at the office and my phone is buried in my bag, during a run or when my phone is across the room. The QWERTY keyboard has surprisingly become my favorite way to fire off a quick text in those circumstances.

The Apple Watch Series 7 with its keyboard on screen against a purple background — The Apple Watch Series 7’s keyboard

Lisa Eadicicco/CNET

The QWERTY keyboard is currently available on the Apple Watch Series 7, Series 8 and Ultra because those watches have larger screens. While the bigger screen certainly makes it easier to tap and swipe, I could imagine the keyboard fitting just fine on the 44-millimeter version of older Apple Watches. It’s the one feature I really miss when switching back to an older watch like the Series 6. After all, even the Pixel Watch, which has a relatively small screen, has an on-screen keyboard.

Additional uses for the temperature sensor

Apple Watch Series 8 and iPhone with Health app showing temperature readings — Temperature sensing shows up in the Health app. Readings are relative, so you’ll only see increases or decreases, not absolute numbers.

Scott Stein/CNET

Apple debuted overnight temperature sensing in the Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra. Right now, the technology is primarily used for providing retrospective ovulation estimates and improved period predictions. You can also view changes in your nighttime wrist temperature in Apple’s Health app, although there isn’t really a way to make sense of those numbers.

Apple should explore other ways to tie temperature data into new metrics. Oura, for example, uses temperature as one factor in determining that aforementioned readiness score. While I wouldn’t expect Apple to clone exactly what other gadget makers are doing, it would be interesting to see it somehow tie temperature readings into other insights.

Ahead of the Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra’s arrival last year, Bloomberg reported that the Series 8 would be able to detect fevers. We haven’t seen such functionality yet, but if Bloomberg’s report is accurate, it suggests Apple is certainly thinking about future use cases.

An updated interface

The Apple Watch has existed for nearly a decade. While Apple has made many tweaks and additions to the software over the years, the general user interface remains the same. You still have two options for how apps are displayed, either in a list or a honeycomb format. Many interactions either come in the form of responding to a notification, tapping an app, or complication or dictating a request through Siri.

apple-watch-se-5 — Apple Watch SE (2022)

In 2023, it’s time for a change. Precisely what that change is has yet to be determined, but I’d like to see any improvement that makes it easier to get things done with fewer taps and swipes. I also think the software could be more proactive. Imagine if your watch could suggest new customized watch faces decked out with complications based on your usage habits? The iPhone has gotten better at surfacing apps, contacts and other content intuitively, and I’d love to see more of that infused throughout the Apple Watch’s software too.

Bloomberg reports that some changes may indeed be coming in WatchOS 10. An April report said Apple is planning a big refresh that will make widgets a core part of the operating system, with the goal being to make it easier to see information at a glance.

Apple already gets many things right with the Apple Watch’s software; it’s one of the reasons why it’s the most popular smartwatch in the world. But additions like these could make it even easier to use while making it a more capable wellness tracker.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, July 20

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 20.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I’ll admit, I was thinking of a different kind of chip for 5-Down, and it threw me for a loop. I figured it out thanks to my deep knowledge of nacho toppings for 7-Across. Need a hand with today’s Mini Crossword? Keep reading. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: The heart of summer?
Answer: EMS

4A clue: Emotional request
Answer: PLEA

5A clue: Word before aching or dancing
Answer: BELLY

6A clue: Many fans of Premier League clubs
Answer: BRITS

7A clue: Nacho topping that rhymes with 3-Down
Answer: QUESO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Leading role on «The Last of Us»
Answer: ELLIE

2D clue: Gooey diner sandwiches
Answer: MELTS

3D clue: Authoritative approval
Answer: SAYSO

4D clue: Country on one side of Lake Titicaca
Answer: PERU

5D clue: Orange-and-brown chip flavor, for short
Answer: BBQ

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 20, #300

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 20, No. 300

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Football fans should cruise through today’s Connections: Sports Edition. The purple category isn’t too challenging. I figured that one out first for a change. Check out our hints and the answers for today’s game.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: All about the numbers.

Green group hint: Catch and run.

Blue group hint: Hello, Hollywood.

Purple group hint: In the hole.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Statistic.

Green group: NFL wide receivers.

Blue group: Football movies, with «The.»

Purple group: What «ace» could mean.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is statistic. The four answers are datum, figure, number and stat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL wide receivers. The four answers are Chase, Lamb, Nabers and Waddle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is football movies, with «The.» The four answers are Express, Longest Yard, Replacements and Waterboy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is what «ace» could mean. The four answers are pitcher, playing card, tennis serve and WNBA player.

Technologies

Warframe’s The Old Peace Expansion Revealed: A Perilous Trip to Tau Unfolds Soon

The Tenno are traveling the cosmos to end up in a different star system — and getting their hands on some sweet new gear along the way.

Warframe’s last few updates have been a narrative tour de force through time and space, weaving together disparate threads from the far-flung past of the year 1999 and the fairytale void-dimension of Duviri.

Core to these expansions is the conflict with the Eldritch threat known only as the Indifference. As it comes closer to piercing the veil of our reality and escaping the void, it’s up to the Tenno to navigate lost memories — rediscovering forgotten allies, a peace that was doomed to fail and a path to a star system beyond our own.

Warframe’s The Old Peace expansion gives us our first real look at Tau, introduces a frame that follows closely on Oraxia’s heels and expands players’ arsenals with a familiar Prime Warframe and new Operator abilities.

At this year’s TennoCon convention, studio Digital Extremes outlined what’s coming in the next year of Warframe, including its next expansion landing in the coming months and the big plans for next year.

Here’s everything you need to know about the next chapter of Warframe — as we once more delve into the past to prepare for future battles.

Read more: How Warframe Balances Bleakness With Quirky Foes to Stay True to Its Universe

What is Tau? Traveling to Warframe’s promised land

For Warframe lore junkies, the upcoming opportunity to actually see the long-teased Tau for the first time is a mind-boggling prospect. This is the star system that the Orokin Empire created the Sentients to colonize. It’s the very place that the Zariman Ten Zero was en route to before its accident created the Tenno, the void-powered player characters.

The turbulent rise and fall of the current major factions can be attributed to a greedy superpower wanting to get its paws on the resources in this star system, making it arguably one of the most important set pieces in the Warframe universe. And now we’re getting our eyes on it for the first time in the game’s 10-year history.

Note that players won’t actually get to properly explore Tau until 2026 — most of the system’s mysteries will remain intact for now, with players grappling with the past as they run and gun across a single planetary moon.

In the lead-up to Tau, The Old Peace will be the next expansion — another time-bending adventure, as the Tenno use funky void powers (and sensory deprivation tanks) to explore repressed memories.

Though the new narrative doesn’t necessarily retcon anything we know about the old war between the Orokin and the Sentients, it does call into question how much we truly know about that time period. The Tenno, Orokin and Sentients all made it to Tau and at one point established a tenuous peace — you’ll even find out about a forgotten childhood best friend, a Sentient named Adis.

The Old Peace will surely be a tragic tale, because we know this story ends in bloodshed. Even if the Tenno enforce the peace by cutting down Orokin Dax warriors who are currently violating the agreement, war will inevitably break out and history will run its course. Although we won’t be able to make a difference on Tau’s moon of Perita, there are hidden truths to uncover — ones that will help us prepare for the approaching war with the Indifference.

The Devil’s Triad: An Orokin story that introduces visually stunning zealots

The Old Peace introduces three characters who might as well be the physical embodiment of Catholic guilt. I love decking my Warframes out to look a bit medieval, so this gothic squad is right up my alley.

The Devil’s Triad is a group of Orokin enforcers — religious zealots and confessors — who seem to be involved in some way with Albrecht Entrati, the scientist who made first contact with the Indifference, created the Warframes and hid in the 1999 time loop.

Father Lyon Allard and Marie Leroux are new protoframe variants of Harrow and Wisp, expanding on the concept introduced with the Drifter’s Hex allies. Their colleague has been fully consumed by the Infestation’s steelskin, becoming the next Warframe: The devil Uriel.

These characters match the darker vibe of The Old Peace — their striking visuals call to mind the religious zealotry of the Warhammer’s Inquisitors, and they fit right in with Harrow’s original lore as Rell’s Warframe protector in the Red Veil faction.

Caliban Prime, focus system upgrades and more

A mental traipse through Tau reveals old Tenno powers born anew. A temporary alliance with the Sentients created hybrid technologies lost to time — but now we’ll have the chance to bring them back to the present.

The next Warframe to get the prime treatment will be Caliban — which slots perfectly into the lore for the upcoming expansion. Prime Warframes are more powerful versions of the biomechanical suits that were created in the heyday of the Orokin Empire, and Caliban is the amalgamation of the Infestation and Sentient technology.

It only makes sense that Caliban Prime is the product of the titular old peace, and so the recently reworked ally-summoning frame will get its chance to shine in your arsenal very soon.

The other big change to Warframe’s power scaling won’t come in the form of traditional weaponry. The Tenno’s void powers are getting upgrades, as players who are fully invested in the five core focus schools (Operator skill trees) will soon be able to wield powerful ultimate abilities. Though there aren’t many details yet about what the Tauron focus expansion will look like in practice, developer Digital Extremes has promised to elaborate on the feature in future Devstreams.

Other big TennoCon announcements that will shape the way you interact with your Warframes and weaponry throughout the rest of the year include a long-awaited Oberon Warframe rework, a new mod-related story quest that teaches new players how to properly ramp up their power, and special skins for Valkyr and Lavos.

The Old Peace expansion will launch later in 2025, with continual content updates slated to come out in the following months. Tau is set to become the key story driver for Warframe next year, so this will become an important expansion to familiarize yourself with postrelease.