Technologies

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.

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.

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.

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).

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

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

Technologies

Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’

Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.

Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle

Technologies

Qualcomm tumbles 13% as semiconductor stocks retreat from historic AI-fueled surge

Semiconductor equities reversed sharply after a broad AI-driven advance, with Qualcomm suffering its worst day since 2020 amid inflation concerns and rising oil prices.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, reversing course after an extensive rally that had expanded the artificial intelligence investment theme well past Nvidia and driven the industry to unprecedented levels.

Qualcomm plunged 13% and was on track for its steepest single-day decline since 2020. Intel shed 8%, while On Semiconductor and Skyworks Solutions each lost more than 6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF, which benchmarks the overall sector, fell 5%.

The sell-off came after a key gauge of consumer prices came in above forecasts, and as conflict in Iran pushed crude oil higher—prompting investors to shift away from riskier assets.

The preceding advance had widened the AI opportunity set beyond longtime industry leader Nvidia, which for much of the past several years had largely carried the market to new peaks on its own.

Explosive appetite for central processing units, along with the graphics processing units that power large language models, has sent chipmakers to all-time highs.

Market participants are wagering that the shift from AI model training to autonomous agents will lift demand for additional AI hardware. Among the beneficiaries are memory chip producers, which are raising prices as supply remains tight.

Micron Technology slid 6%, and Sandisk cratered 8%. Sandisk’s stock has surged more than six times over since January.