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WatchOS 10: The Best New Apple Watch Features From the Public Beta

Here’s your preview of the most standout Apple Watch features coming later this year.

The Apple Watch gets a major software refresh every year, and the latest is WatchOS 10, which brings app redesigns, widgets and extra tools for cyclists and hikers. The WatchOS 10 public beta is now available for all Apple Watches starting with the Series 4 and later. The beta, along with iOS 17, gives us a preview of some of the new features ahead of its general release this fall.

I used WatchOS 10 over the past few days and tried out some of the best features. 

If you want to try it out, you need to install the iOS 17 public beta on your iPhone first, then install the WatchOS 10 beta on the Apple Watch. As with all beta software, tread carefully. Features are subject to change between now and the final release, and I strongly advise you to back up your Apple Watch and iPhone before installing. And know that you can’t revert back to WatchOS 9 if you do install the public beta.

The Apple Watch gets widgets

Apple has brought widget Smart Stacks from the iPhone home screen to your Watch. Smart Stacks update dynamically based on context, such as the time of day and how you use your watch. From the watch face, you simply turn the digital crown to see the Stack. You can also swipe up from the watch face. 

My Smart Stack usually shows upcoming calendar appointments, the weather and my activity rings. But like the iOS home screen, you can customize the Stack even further with a long press and either removing or pinning apps.

WatchOS 10 also changes how you bring up the control center. Instead of swiping up from the watch face, press the side button. This also works when you are in any app. With older versions of WatchOS, you either had to go back to the home screen, or long-press on the bottom edge of the screen when you were in another app. If you prefer the dock that comes up when you press the side button in WatchOS 9 and earlier, don’t worry. You can still access it by double-clicking the crown.

WatchOS 10 smart stack

All the stock Apple apps look better

Pretty much all of the stock apps have been redesigned to fit more information on the screen. But they also look significantly different in some cases:

  • Weather lets you tap through or turn the crown to see different views of air quality, wind speed, humidity and more. 
  • Activity still shows rings in the middle, but around the edge you get a weekly summary, awards and challenges. You can also swipe down to see the more granular time view of your rings’ progress.
  • Messages can show pinned contact names and photos on first open, rather than the list of messages.
  • Heart rate shows a new animation when reading your vitals.

One small change I really appreciate is how easy it is to switch between the Apple Watch list view and bubble app view. At the bottom of either list, you’ll see a prompt to switch to the other view. Previously you had to do a long press to switch views, or go into the Settings.

apple watch on wrist

New Apple Watch faces: Snoopy and Palette

It wouldn’t be an Apple Watch update without new faces. Snoopy and Woodstock can hang out on your wrist all day, and they have different animations depending on what you’re doing or the time of day. My favorite part of the Snoopy face is what happens when you activate the always-on display. I won’t spoil the surprise, but Snoopy reflects how I feel every day after lunch.

The Snoopy watch face doesn’t allow for complications, but if you want a new look with extra flexibility, the new Palette face is available. There are three different color layers that change depending on where the hour and second hands are located, with four slots for complications around the edge of the watch face.

p1050770-00-03-55-23-still001.jpg

WatchOS 10 brings more tools for cyclists and hikers

Apple already added lots of useful cycling features to the Watch like e-bike calorie calculations and auto-detecting bike workouts. With WatchOS 10 your iPhone turns into a bike computer, sort of.

When you start a cycling workout on the Watch and your iPhone will automatically show a Live Activity on the lock screen. You can mount the phone to your handlebars and see all your activity metrics on the big screen, including HR zones, splits, elevation and speed. You can even mark segments, pause the workout and lock the screen controls to avoid accidental presses.

There is a live view which I find super helpful because I love to ride, but I’m not quite serious enough to need a dedicated cycling computer. This iPhone/Apple Watch combo is also much safer, because you’re not having to lift your wrist to see stats all the time. You can just quickly glance down at the phone.

I’m also excited about support for Bluetooth accessories like power meter pedals, which is big news for enthusiast and serious cyclists. To add one, go into the Settings app, tap Bluetooth and then scroll down to see a new category called Health Devices. Just like any other Bluetooth device, once the Apple Watch discovers the device you can connect. I tested this out with some power meter pedals on my stationary exercise bike and it worked seamlessly. Depending on what device you connect, your Watch will show metrics like cadence (displayed as RPM) or power (watts).

Power meter pedals and WatchOS 10

I have wanted topographic maps in Apple Maps ever since I reviewed the Apple Watch Ultra, rather than relying on a third-party app. Less than a year later, WatchOS 10 supports them, and not just for the Ultra. Any Apple Watch that can run WatchOS 10 will be able to view topo maps.

Zoom in with the digital crown to see contour lines, trails, rivers and valley details. For now it’s limited to the US. You’ll also be able to find trails nearby and see their difficulty levels. Plus if you start a hiking workout, the Apple Watch will give you elevation alerts on your wrist.

Offline maps will also be available on the watch for turn-by-turn navigation and ETA, but you will need to have the connected iPhone with you. The Compass app gets a new 3D view so you can see cellular connectivity waypoints that show the last place you had a signal and SOS waypoints where you can make an emergency call.

apple watch with SOS notification on compass

Optimized charging for more Apple Watches

WatchOS 10 also lets the Apple Watch learn about your usage and decide when it is a good time to get to a full charge. This is called Optimized Charge Limit, and it was already included on the Apple Watch Ultra, but WatchOS 10 adds it to the SE, and Series 6, 7 and 8.

When this feature is active you’ll see an open charge ring appear as the Apple Watch sits on its charger. If you want to charge beyond this optimized time, tap the circle with the green or yellow charge icon, then press «Charge to full now.» This might not appear immediately, as it takes some time to learn your charging habits and will only activate when you are in certain locations where you charge the Apple Watch often, like at home or work.

These are some of my favorite new features in the WatchOS 10 public beta, but there is more to explore, including logging moods in the Mindfulness app, measuring time in daylight with the ambient light sensor, and NameDrop, which lets you share contact details when someone else’s iPhone is brought close to the Apple Watch.

Technologies

Zelle App Is Gone. Use These Alternatives to Send Money Digitally

You still have lots of free ways to send money to friends and family electronically.

If Zelle has been your go-to app for sending money digitally, it’s time to find a new method. The digital payment app shut down on April 1.

That doesn’t mean you can’t use Zelle altogether, however. Zelle has only discontinued its standalone app. You can still send money using Zelle if your bank belongs to the Zelle network. You’ll just need to do it through your bank’s app or website. You also have other services to choose from. Here’s what you need to know about this change and your options moving forward.

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Why the Zelle app is shutting down

When Zelle launched in 2017, only about 60 US financial institutions offered the service by the end of that year. Today, that number exceeds 2,200. As a result, less than 2% of Zelle transactions occur through the standalone app. Zelle has been phasing out the ability to make transactions on its mobile app since October 2024.

«Today, the vast majority of people using Zelle to send money use it through their financial institution’s mobile app or online banking experience, and we believe this is the best place for Zelle transactions to occur,» Zelle said in an October 2024 press release

In December, Zelle was in the spotlight when the Consumer Financial Protected Bureau sued the company and three of the largest US banks for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud on the peer-to-peer payment network. The lawsuit has since been dropped.

Other ways to send money digitally

You can still use Zelle through your bank’s app or website if it belongs to the Zelle network. You can also switch to another digital payment app, such as:

  • Apple Wallet
  • Cash App
  • PayPal
  • Venmo

Take some basic precautions when using Zelle or any other digital payment service. These apps are a frequent target for scammers, and Chase Bank has started blocking some Zelle payments it believes could be fraudulent. Only send money to people you know and trust, and watch for red flags like an urgent message claiming to be from your bank or an online ad for concert tickets that seem impossibly cheap.


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Technologies

Marvel Rivals Season 2 Starts Next Week, Devs Drop Big News

Emma Frost and Ultron are joining the Rivals roster in season 2, and developers are upping the pace to one new hero per month starting with season 3.

After surviving the endless night in New York City with the Fantastic Four, Marvel Rivals players are getting invited to the shores of Krakoa for the start of season 2 on April 11. The game dropped the first trailer for the new season, giving us our first official look at the new heroes, and a developer vision video dropped major news about the future of hero releases. 

The trailer features the former foe and sometimes-leader of the X-Men, Emma Frost, inviting people from across Rivals’ various timelines to the mutant nation of Krakoa, where everyone gets dressed up for a fancy gala — even Wolverine puts on a white tux. The event, however, is unceremoniously interrupted when Ultron shows up preaching extermination. 

We also got a look at some of the cosmetics in season 2, though it’s unclear which are from the shop and which might be in the battle pass. In addition to the dressed-up Wolverine, we also got looks at Magik and Psylocke in the traditional X-Men blue and yellow. Nonmutant guests are also getting in on the fun, with fancy attire for heroes like Cap, Widow and Luna Snow. 

New Heroes and balance changes in Marvel Rivals Season 2

Emma Frost joins the roster as a Vanguard. We don’t have detailed information about her abilities yet but expect that information to drop ahead of next week’s season launch. Ultron is coming in the season 2.5 update, which should be in late May. 

Some team-ups are changing in season 2, including three new team-up abilities that were previewed in the newest developer vision video. 

  • Emma Frost allows Magneto and Psylocke to create illusions of themselves.
  • Doctor Strange teams up with Scarlet Witch allowing her to use small portals to seemingly increase her damage output via a rapid-shooting alternate fire.  
  • Cap finally teams up with Bucky, allowing the Winter Soldier to leap to allies.

A few existing team-ups are getting adjustments, with Psylocke, Winter Soldier and Doctor Strange being removed from older team-ups in favor of new ones, and Namor moving from working with Luna’s anchor to Hulk’s to empower his ultimate with gamma energy. Two team-ups are being removed entirely: Magneto can no longer team up with Scarlet Witch, and Thor is no longer anchoring Cap and Storm.

The developers vaguely teased other balance changes, including buffs to Peni, Mister Fantastic and Moon Knight, with Strange trading offensive pressure for more survivability and Rocket getting more utility while Loki and Adam Warlock receive nerfs to their Regeneration Domain and Soul Bond abilities.

Future seasons will be shorter, which means more new heroes

One of the most surprising moments in the developer video was the announcement that, beginning with season 3, seasons will be two months long instead of roughly three. There has been a lot of discussion online about whether Rivals’ pace of new heroes (about eight per year based on three-month seasons) was sustainable. Well, apparently the Rivals devs took that personally and are cranking up that pace to a new hero every month, meaning 12 new heroes per year. 

This feels borderline ludicrous compared with other hero shooters that average about three new heroes per year, or even MOBAs like League of Legends, which has averaged about four new champions per year over the past five years. Rivals benefits from having an overflowing stable of Marvel characters to pull from rather than inventing their own hero concepts, and compared with Overwatch, the developers seem less worried about mechanical overlap in their heroes, as seen with many support ultimates. Still, a new hero every month feels unheard of for a hero shooter.

New Krakoa map and competitive changes

A new Krakoa-themed domination map is being added in season 2, and Yggsgard: Royal Palace (domination) and Tokyo 2099: Shin-Shibuya (convergence) will rotate out of the map pool for ranked modes, though they’ll still be available in quick play and custom games.

The threshold for competitive picks and bans, which currently only happen in diamond-ranked lobbies, will be lowered to gold 3. Players in Eternity or One Above All ranks will only be able to duo queue, instead of queuing with larger groups — a measure that’s likely intended to keep high-level teams from stomping lobbies. 

Speaking of ranks, season 2 will drop everyone by 9 divisions, which is equal to 3 ranks. That means players in Eternity will drop to diamond, and any players at platinum 3 or below will start their climb from bronze 3 again. (AGAIN… AGAIN.)

Rivals developers also announced that individual player performance will be weighted higher when determining competitive progress after a match, meaning if your stats outperform your team’s, you’ll earn more for winning and drop less for losing. This change can help elevate smurfs and other high-skill players in lower-ranked lobbies by getting them into their appropriate ranks faster. However, it can also lead to players stat-farming, instead of playing in a way that is most effective for winning games. Overall, given that Rivals doesn’t use any sort of competitive placement matches, this should be a net positive for the game.

Other announcements

Rivals is adding new skin recolors to certain hero skins and (finally) giving players the option to gift costumes to their friends so they can surprise someone for their birthday, which you definitely did not forget about.  

Missions are changing a bit, with the addition of weekly missions and a redistribution of where battle-pass-progressing chrono tokens are earned. The devs framed this as creating a «smoother expectation» of how to earn chrono tokens, but the surface-level description sounds like they’re just making it harder to earn battle pass progress over the season by tucking away more progress under missions with shorter time limits.

The developer vision update also gave us our first look at the competitive distribution, showing how many Rivals players are in each tier as of season 1.5. 

The Hellfire Gala trailer says season 2 will start on April 11. While it doesn’t give a specific start time, expect the between-seasons maintenance to finish sometime in the middle of the night in the US.

For more on Marvel Rivals, check out which heroes and roles you should play and how to get free skins.

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Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 vs. Switch 1: Every Detail Compared

The Nintendo Switch 2’s official specs aren’t too different, but the new console has a lot of upgrades on the original Switch.

The Nintendo Switch 2 may look like its predecessor, but there’s been a lot of changes to its features and under the hood. The new console has «10x the graphics performance» compared to the original Switch, says Nvidia, which built the custom processor powering the Switch 2.  

The Switch 2, with a release date on June 5, is priced at $450 alone or $500 in a bundle with Mario Kart World, the headliner of the console’s launch games. Here’s all the info on how to preorder the Switch 2.

Note that we’re mostly comparing the Switch 2 to the original Switch 1 released in March 2017, because looping in the Switch Lite and Switch OLED gets complicated.

Design

Broadly, the Switch 2 is a larger version of its predecessor, with everything looking slightly inflated: bigger footprint, bigger screen, bigger Joy-Cons. 

Original Switch: The original Switch, with Joy-Cons slotted into the side rails, is a little over 9.4 inches wide, 4 inches tall, a little over half an inch thick and weighs about 10.5 ounces (297 grams). The Joy-Cons slide into place from the top of the device’s sides, while a thin wedge of plastic pops out of the back of the console to serve as a kickstand.

The Switch also came with a dock, which the console could slot into to for recharging and outputting to a TV or large display via HDMI port.  

Switch 2: The new Switch 2 is bigger in every way, but it has the same overall shape and layout as the original. The new Joy-Cons will indeed be held in place on the console magnetically, and connect to the console via pins. The new console also sports a wide U-shaped kickstand that spans almost its entire rear width, which can be moved around to prop up the Switch 2 at a variety of angles. Nintendo says the console has more powerful speakers, which we’re looking forward to testing.

The Switch 2’s dock is largely similar in function though it has rounded edges and an internal fan to cool down the console during long game sessions. More importantly, it can output games in 4K to TVs, but only for select games. 

Joy-Cons

The Joy-Cons were a marvel when they arrived on the first Switch, and while they’re functionally similar in its successor, there have been upgrades in the Switch 2’s controllers.

Original Switch: The Switch Joy-Cons are simple but powerful controllers that slid on and off the console via plastic rails, connecting and recharging via pins on the side. Detach and they become their own micro-controllers, with little shoulder buttons to boot.

Switch 2: The new console’s Joy-Cons are larger to fit the Switch 2, and lock into the side of the console via powerful magnets — there are small inward-facing buttons to the side of ZR and ZL to detach the controllers from the console. The larger-size Joy-Cons have longer L and R outside shoulder buttons, as well as much wider SL and SR internal shoulder buttons, which are accessible when detached from the console. 

And yes, you can use the Switch 2 Joy-Cons as mice by placing their inner edges flat on a surface. During the Nintendo Direct, we saw it being used to control active action games like the wheelchair basketball-simulating DragXDrive and strategy games like Civilization VII. 

Display size

Original Switch: The original Switch has a 6.2-inch LCD screen with 1,280×720-pixel resolution, which was reasonably impressive at launch in 2017 but has been outclassed by newer handhelds with sharper displays. The Switch OLED upgraded this with a larger 7-inch display showing deeper blacks and colors, but no upgrade in resolution. The Switch Lite has a 5.5-inch LCD screen.

Switch 2: Unsurprisingly, the Switch 2’s larger size means a larger display. The new console has a 7.9-inch 1080p LCD screen that can get up to 120Hz refresh rate in handheld mode, or up to 4K when docked and outputting to a TV. 

Why no OLED display? Possibly to save on costs… or possibly to give Nintendo room to release a Switch 2 OLED version down the line.

CPU/GPU

Original Switch: The original Switch runs on an Nvidia custom Tegra X1 processor split into four ARM Cortex A57 CPU cores, and according to Hackaday, there are four extra A53 cores that aren’t used. 

Switch 2: Once again, Nintendo hasn’t released any official info on the Switch 2’s specs, even after the Nintendo Direct reveal stream — and they most the company reveals is that it has a «custom processor made by Nvidia» on the Switch 2’s official specs page. Nvidia confirmed it also has a custom GPU, claiming that the new console has «10x the graphics performance» of the Switch 1, and the custom processor’s AI-powered features include Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), face tracking and background removal for video chat and real-time ray tracing.

We do still have more supposed details from previous leaks. Months ago on X (formerly Twitter), leaker Zuby_Tech posted that the Switch 2’s CPU will be an eight-core Arm Cortex A78C. They also suggested that the GPU will be an Nvidia T239 Ampere, aligning with years of similar rumors reported on by Eurogamer and others about the custom chip, which derives from Nvidia’s Tegra line of chips for smartphones and mobile devices.

RAM and storage

Original Switch. The Switch has 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, expandable up to 2TB via microSD cards in the slot beneath the kickstand.

Switch 2: Even after the reveal stream, Nintendo didn’t release official specs for RAM. Leaker Zuby_Tech posted on X back in September suggesting the Switch 2 will have 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. That leak also suggested the new console will have two internal fans, up from the single one in the original Switch. 

Nintendo did confirm that the new console will have 256GB of onboard storage, which can be expanded with special microSD Express cards — sorry, your old Switch-compatible microSD cards won’t work on the Switch 2.

Battery life

Original Switch: The original Switch packs a 4,310-mAh battery, which gives between 4.5 and 9 hours of battery life depending on screen brightness and other factors.

Switch 2: Though Nintendo didn’t release details on the Switch 2’s capacity in the reveal stream, the company does list specs on its website, showing it packs a 5,220mAh battery. While that’s notably larger than the one in its predecessor, Nintendo estimates this will only get players between an estimated 2 and 6.5 hours, depending on games played.   

Ports

Original Switch: The first Switch sports a single USB-C port out the bottom, a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top and Wi-Fi 5 plus Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity. On the top is a slot at the top for Switch game cartridges as well as the microSD slot beneath the kickstand on the rear of the console.

Switch 2: The Switch 2 retains the original’s USB-C port on the bottom and 3.5mm jack on the top while adding another USB-C port topside, and now we know what it’s for: to connect with accessories like the Nintendo Switch Camera, a webcam-like camera on a stand to let you do Nintendo’s version of FaceTiming while you play games with your friends.

Nintendo hasn’t clarified the console’s connectivity options, and rumors are scarce on the subject. 

As for cartridges, Switch 2 will play some original Switch games in physical versions. The cartridge slot is to the right of the headphone jack in the above image, which is where the slot is on the original Switch. You can tell game cartridges from the two console generations apart by color: ones for the new Switch 2 are red, while older Switch 1 games are black.

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