WatchOS 2 for Apple Watch comes out next week

Apple will release watchOS 2 for the Apple Watch next week. The manufacturer announced this at its own event in San Francisco. WatchOS 2 includes native apps on the watch.

Apple already released test versions of the operating system for its watch last summer and the release will follow next week. Presumably, the update will be available over-the-air to Apple Watch users via the Apple Watch app, but Apple didn’t specify that.

Apps that have now appeared for the Watch run entirely on the phone, after which the iPhone forwards the interface to the Watch via bluetooth. Because users have to wait for the connection between the phone and the Watch after, for example, tapping the app to open, there is often a delay. Adding native apps would presumably counteract that.

In watchOS 2, users can change a watchface into their own photo or photo album, among other things. There’s a watchface that adjusts the image of a time-lapse to the time of day and the user’s location, and there’s a new feature called Complications, which allows developers to add info from other apps.

HomeKit works on the Watch, allowing users to control their lights and thermostats from the watch, provided they’re connected via Apple’s home automation standard. There will be a night mode, which displays the clock in a green font horizontally during loading. In addition, the Watch can serve as an alarm clock. In addition, the Digital Touch function, to send drawings to other Watch users, is provided with multiple colors. It is also possible to make a Facetime Audio call. Developers also get more options, including access to the microphone, accelerometer, vibration motor, speaker, the digital crown and HealthKit with data about, among other things, the heart rate and pedometer.

In addition to the update, Apple is introducing new colors and finishes in its lineup of watches, including a rose gold variant and a variant with a red strap.