 The Glances feature on the original Apple Watch. Photographer: Dickson Lee/South China Morning Post/Getty Images Apple Inc. is set to give its watch lineup one of the biggest software updates since the original version — with a new focus on widgets and fundamental changes to how the device works. When the company launched the original Apple Watch in 2015, watchOS was built around four main areas: the watch faces, a widgets interface called Glances, the home screen filled with app icons, and an area to access frequent contacts. Within a few years, Apple adjusted the strategy, ditching widgets and frequent contacts in favor of highlighting notifications and multitasking capabilities. Through the changes, apps remained core to the Apple Watch. The best way to get information on the device — besides viewing watch-face complications — is still to launch apps. To make that as easy as possible, the home screen is accessible with a single press of the Digital Crown, the watch's most prominent button. But now Apple is trying something different. As part of watchOS 10, the company is planning to bring back widgets and make them a central part of the interface. This new strategy will debut at WWDC in June, alongside the unveiling of iOS 17, macOS 14, the 15-inch MacBook Air, and, of course, the much-anticipated mixed-reality headset.  Siri watch face (left) discussed at WWDC in 2018. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg The new widgets system on the Apple Watch will be a combination of the old watchOS Glances system and the style of widgets that were introduced in iOS 14 on the iPhone. The plan is to let users scroll through a series of different widgets — for activity tracking, weather, stock tickers, calendar appointments and more — rather than having them launch apps. The new interface will be reminiscent of the Siri watch face (shown above) introduced in watchOS 4, but it will be available as an overlay for any watch face. It's also similar to widget stacks, a feature in iOS and iPadOS that lets users pile many widgets into one and scroll through them. As part of the overhaul, Apple is testing the idea of changing the functions of some of the watch's buttons. Currently, a press of the Digital Crown launches the home screen. For the next version of watchOS, Apple may have that open up widgets instead. The move is an admission that the iPhone-like app format doesn't always make sense on a watch — a place where you want as much information as possible with the least amount of poking around.  Apple Watch apps. Photographer: Anthony Kwan/Bloomberg Seven years since their introduction, Apple Watch apps have barely caught on. The company also hasn't gotten enough third-party developers on board, especially when you compare with its other platforms. A recent filing in Europe illustrates this point. The watch App Store has fewer than a million monthly users in the region, Apple disclosed, versus 101 million on the iPhone. In light of that, watchOS 10 will give people what they want: even quicker access to bits of information. Still, the shift may be jarring for some longtime Apple Watch users. That's why I wouldn't be surprised if the company considers making the new interface optional, at least at first. This software update is likely to be the most significant change to the Apple Watch this year. When the device's new models are unveiled this fall, they're expected to be fairly similar to last year's lineup. That's understandable since 2022 brought major hardware changes. Apple upgraded both its standard and SE models, while adding the rugged Ultra version. As an Apple Watch Ultra user, I hope that watchOS 10 will accomplish something else, too: taking advantage of the larger, flatter display. The current crop of apps and watch faces don't feel like they were optimized for the Ultra's additional real estate.  Apple's health app on the iPhone. Source: Apple Apple plans AI-powered coaching, health app for the iPad, and new tools for mood and vision management. The company is looking to further lock users into its ecosystem with major new health initiatives, including the AI coach. The paid offering, planned for next year and codenamed Quartz, will essentially be a trainer built into your iPhone and Apple Watch. It will use AI and data from your devices to build personalized wellness plans. The iPad health app, meanwhile, will look like a larger version of its iPhone sibling. It's designed to make the app more popular in health-care settings, where iPads are already at the forefront. Apple, after many years of development, is also getting into mood and emotion tracking, aiming to put people in better touch with how they feel on a daily basis. The vision management feature will be geared toward nearsightedness, one of the most common vision conditions on the planet and a problem that's especially prevalent in Asia. Separately, I am told Apple's blood pressure work for the watch has hit some snags and may not arrive until 2025 at the earliest — on the later side of its timeline target.  The Steve Jobs Theater. Photographer: Nic Coury/Bloomberg Apple earnings on May 4. The company has warned investors to keep expectations in check for its fiscal second quarter, which ran through the end of March. Apple has said that it anticipates a sales decline roughly equivalent to the December period, when revenue dropped about 5%. The iPad and Mac are expected to see especially steep decreases, while the iPhone may improve somewhat — helped by the resolution of supply chain snags. In terms of new products, Apple launched a tweaked HomePod as well as MacBook Pro and Mac mini refreshes during the quarter. WWDC 2023: June 5 to June 9. The next Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off in-person at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The first day will be the big keynote address, followed by developer sessions online throughout the week. This event is where Apple's planning to debut its new headset, alongside the initial version of xrOS and fresh MacBooks, plus updates to iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. Q: What do you think about Amazon discontinuing its Halo fitness trackers? And what does that mean for the Apple Watch?
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