HTC has quietly started to push the Android 7.0 Nougat update to the Desire 530 now available at Verizon, You can Check it here how to Update. Launched on the market last year, the HTC Desire 520 wasn’t supposed to be updated to Nougat since it’s rather a budget-friendly smartphone.
Surprisingly, HTC confirmed recently the Verizon Desire 530 is now eligible for an Android 7.0 Nougat upgrade. It even published a very short changelog that contains some of the most important new features and improvements included in the update.
According to HTC, besides Android 7.0 Nougat, the update adds the August security patch, a bit older than what we’ve been expecting, but that will do until the Taiwanese company releases another security update (if ever).
Before proceeding with the update, make sure your phone’s battery is charged to at least 35%. Also, the update should take around 20 minutes and requires around 1.5GB free storage. The smartphone will reboot multiple times during the upgrade process, so don’t worry about that.
Android 7.0 Nougat is likely to be the last major OS update that HTC Desire 530 receives, so if you’re hoping to get Android Oreo in the future you shouldn’t get your hopes up.
Google hasannounced a very limited beta program for Android Wear, allowing its flagship smartwatch, the LG Watch Sport, to test out some upcoming features based on Android 8.0 Oreo.
” Today, we are launching the beta of the next Android Wear update. As we mentioned at Google I/O, this will mainly be a technical upgrade to API 26 with enhancements to background limits and notification channels. “
The update is not significant from a consumer perspective at this point, since it doesn’t change the Android Wear 2.0 user interface that started rolling out earlier this year. Instead, it updates the core AW code to Oreo, giving it access to two important features phone users have been enjoying for some time: notification channels, and background limits.
The former lets apps on the watch follow the same rules as apps on the phone; if you limit a particular app from sending specific notifications, that behavior will be imitated on the watch.
” For notifications generated locally by Android Wear apps, users will be able to customise the notifications channel they want to see, right on their watch. “
Given that Android Wear is becoming more phone-independent, notification channels will likely benefit those who rely on apps that generate their own notifications rather than just forwarding them from the phone.
Background limits are battery-saving properties that should extend the battery life of some watches.
” There are increased restrictions on background services. Developers should assume services can no longer run in the background without a visible notification. In addition, the background location update frequency will be reduced. Battery-saving best practices such as using JobScheduler should be adopted to ensure your app is battery-efficient and able to perform background tasks when possible. “
There’s no word on when Google will make the Android Wear beta program available to more watches, but it’s good to see the company sticking with its development path nonetheless. You can sign up for the beta if you have the LG Watch Sport.
You can now develop Android O ROMs for selected unlocked Xperia devices via Sony’s Open Devices program. The recently released build guide gives developers the necessary tools and instructions to begin their development and the new software binaries adds support for Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia XZs, Xperia XZ, Xperia X Performance, Xperia X and Xperia X Compact. This means you can now build and flash your own version of Android O on all devices mentioned above.
Get started using the build guide for instructions on how to build AOSP for your device. Before you begin, you will need to download the necessary software binaries. You can find the corresponding binaries for each compatible device below:
As you may know, the Open Devices program is our way to provide access and tools to build and test your custom software on a range of Sony devices. You can access all the resources you need through our Open Devicespage on Developer World. We value our open source community and welcome you to participate in our projects via GitHub. Feel free to provide feedback on further resources you may need and where we can improve.
Check out the Xperia device list to find out if your device is a part of our Open Device program
Contribute to and find out more about our current open source GitHub projects
Read all blog posts covering Open Devices
Compared to other Android smartphone makers right now, Sony puts a lot of effort into the open source part of Android. The company contributes a lot of code to AOSP and they’ve been known to be quite friendly to developers as well. It was just last month when the company released build instructions on how to get Android 8.0 complied and running on the supported Xperia devices. Today, the company has officially announced that AOSP Android 8.0 Oreo is now available on Sony’s Open Devices program.
For those who are unaware, Sony’s Open Devices program is something they set up a while ago for developers who are eager to experiment with Android on their supported devices. For those supported Xperia devices, Sony provides AOSP device configurations directly on GitHub for anyone who is interested, as well as the required binaries. This works both ways as it gives new developers access to the code that works on those devices while also providing experienced developers a way to contribute to the project.
Sony has been very supportive of the new Android 8.0 Oreo update and as mentioned, released build instructions for those who want to compile AOSP Android 8.0 for a supported device. As of right now, the list of supported devices from Sony includes the Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia XZs, Xperia XZ, Xperia X Performance, Xperia X, and the Xperia X Compact. Along with this build guide, having AOSP Android 8.0 included in the Open Devices program adds support for their convenient tools, projects, and more.
The company has also already announced which Xperia devices will be receiving the company’s official OTA update. Naturally, this includes all of the additional features that the company adds onto their devices which are not found in the AOSP builds. You can learn more about which devices will be receiving their official Oreo update here.
The OnePlus 5 may have come out, but that doesn’t mean the company has forgotten about the 3 and 3T. Earlier today, the two phones were updated to Oxygen OS 4.5.0, introducing a pile of new features like “lift up display,” Gaming Do Not Disturb, low priority notifications, and OnePlus‘ Slate font. Most of the changes in this release were already available on the OnePlus 5, but it’s great to see them trickle down onto older hardware.
The OTA update is hitting devices now, and it’s 197MB in size. If you root or have a need to download the full image, it’s closer to 1.5GB. As always, if you don’t see the update on your device just yet (it isan incremental roll-out), you can use a VPN set to Germany to trigger the download early, at which point you can then disable the VPN and download at full speed.
Most of the headlining changes in v4.5.0 were already present on the newer OnePlus 5. So if they sound familiar, that would be why. Thankfully the… questionable boot animation from the recent betas
did not make its way into this build.
All of these new changes in Oxygen OS also live in different places, but we’ve updated our own device and documented where all the most interesting bits live, in case you don’t have time to go digging around in Settings yourself.
Lift up display
“Lift up display” is poorly named, but descriptive. Just like the lift to wake on Pixel devices and the OnePlus 5, it allows your OnePlus3/3T to turn on the display and show a bit of black and white notification content when you grab it. All it requires is that the Ambient display just above it in Settings -> Display be enabled. And, of course, for you to lift your phone up while the screen is off.
Gaming Do Not Disturb
Gaming Do Not Disturb will come in handy for a lot of people, probably even outside of games. The feature allows you to block notifications and lock capacitive buttons while specific applications are open so that you don’t accidentally exit them when you don’t mean to. So if you get into a particularly intense gaming session, you won’t have to worry about accidentally exiting the app as you flail in frustration.
You can access Gaming Do Not Disturb in Settings-> Advanced -> Gaming Do Not Disturb, and from there it can be enabled or disabled for individual applications. You can customize the setting to block notifications (outside calls and alarms) and disable hardware buttons as you prefer. To exit Gaming Do Not Disturb mode, you’ll need to open the ongoing notification it creates and tap that to disable.
Low-priority notifications & others
Low-priority notifications are what you’d expect. They don’t trigger sounds, don’t peek, and don’t set the LED to cycle. They also won’t appear on the lock screen or overall status bar. So it’s a perfect setting for apps you might want to manually check notifications from, without being bothered by as they come in. The low priority notification option appears with all the other per-app notification options under each app in Settings -> Notifications.
The phone app UI has also been changed a bit, with a slightly tweaked tab layout. There are also a handful of other minor changes, like a “Shot on OnePlus” watermark for photos, a redesigned photo editor in the Gallery app, a new Dash Charge animation, scheduled night mode, and a “secure box” for the File Manager.
OnePlus‘ Slate font was originally introduced in an update to the OnePlus 5 at the beginning of this month. It might not be to everyone’s style, but it’s an inoffensive font compared to some that manufacturers include in ROMs.
The partial changelog published by OnePlus includes:
System
Added lift up display
Added Gaming Do Not Disturb
Added low priority notification
Added network speed in status bar
Added scheduled night mode
Added OnePlus Slate font
Redesigned Dash Charge animation
System stability and battery improvements
Launcher
Added Shot on OnePlus wallpaper
Phone
Redesigned calling UI
Camera / Gallery
Added Shot on OnePlus watermark
Redesigned photo editor in Gallery
File Manager
Added secure box
It would appear that the BlueBorne vulnerability has even been patched. At first, we thought the device was still vulnerable since Oxygen OS 4.5.0 is still running the August security patches. But according to the BlueBorne Vulnerability Scanner by Armis, it has been patched for the vulnerability. I’m not entirely sure what detection method the application uses to determine that. But if it’s correct, that means OnePlus 3 and 3T users are just a bit more secure now.
Although the logs don’t mention it, and the security patch level would imply otherwise, the BlueBorne Vulnerability Scanner by Armis claims that the device has, in fact, been patched. We’ve updated the article to reflect that information.
Downloads have been posted, so if you haven’t gotten the OTA, or you prefer to flash manually, you can.
A Geekbench listing has been spotted today which mentions the Galaxy S8+ Android 8.0 Oreo update. It’s likely that tests are being performed on this firmware update as the development progresses.
Galaxy S8+ Android 8.0 Oreo update
In our report earlier this month, we mentioned that the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Android 8.0 Oreo update firmware versions could be G950FXXU1BQI1 and G955FXXU1BQI1, respectively.
It’s unclear at this point in time when Samsung is going to release Oreo for this year’s flagship smartphone. It’s likely that a Samsung beta program for the Oreo update might be launched at some point in the coming weeks.
Once the beta firmware has been thoroughly tested, it’s likely that we might see it being rolled out much faster worldwide as Samsung has now started using multi-CSC firmware. That means end users will be able to get a taste of Oreo on their 2017 flagships sooner rather than later.
The Galaxy S8+ has now been spotted on Geekbench running Android 8.0 Oreo. It’s not uncommon for us to see such benchmark listings ahead of an impending major firmware release. However, it doesn’t really clarify anything.
Samsung is yet to confirm its Oreo release roadmap. Until it does that, there’s only going to be more speculation about when the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Android 8.0 Oreo update might be released. One can only hope that it doesn’t make customers wait for a very long time.
Just a week after iOS 11 was launched to the public, Apple has quickly followed up with iOS 11.0.1, a small update intended to address bugs and fix various issues with the software.
Release notes accompanying iOS 11.0.1 simply state that the update “includes bug fixes and improvements for your iPhone or iPad.”
There are two builds of the software: 15A402 for current iPhones and iPads, and build 15A403 for the forthcoming iPhone X.
iOS 11 includes a new voice for Siri, as well as the ARKit tools that developers can use to create advanced augmented reality applications. It also boasts a redesigned App Store, and various features like Do Not Disturb While Driving and a revamped Music app.
On the iPad, iOS 11 brings an all-new app dock that can be used for multitasking and app switching, as well as dragging and dropping files in between applications.
iOS 11 is compatible with the iPhone 5s and newer, the iPad 2 and up, the iPad Air and newer, and all iPad Pros. It is also compatible with the sixth-generation iPod touch.
macOS High Sierra brings powerful, new core storage, video and graphics technologies to the Mac.
Apple today announced macOS High Sierra, the latest release of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system, is now available as a free update.
With macOS High Sierra, Mac users gain powerful new core storage, video and graphics technologies. A new file system ensures more efficient and reliable storage, and support for High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) brings stunning 4K video at lower file sizes. Metal 2 powers virtual reality content creation, faster performance and more. The Core ML developer framework makes it easy to create apps with powerful machine learning that predict, learn and become more intelligent. macOS High Sierra also includes a number of refinements to the apps Mac users enjoy everyday, including Photos and Safari.
An all-new file system makes common operations such as copying files and directories nearly instantaneous.
“macOS High Sierra is an important update that makes the Mac more capable and responsive, while laying the foundation for future innovations,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “High Sierra introduces new technologies for VR, high-efficiency video streaming, advances in storage technology and more, while apps such as Photos, Safari, Mail and Notes are refined to give users even more reasons to love their Mac.”
New features in macOS High Sierra:
Apple File System (APFS)
APFS is a new, advanced storage architecture providing an extensible foundation to support new features and future storage technologies on the Mac.
APFS brings support for the latest high-capacity storage devices and delivers enhanced performance, security and reliability.
With APFS, common operations such as copying files and directories are nearly instantaneous.
Data is protected from power outages and system crashes thanks to advanced data integrity features.
APFS currently supports every Mac with all‑flash internal storage — support for Fusion and HDD Mac systems will be available in a future update.
High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) Support
HEVC, a new video standard, enables 4K video streaming while requiring 40 percent less storage space.
HEVC (H.265) is a new industry standard that enables extremely efficient compression, streaming and playback of video.
HEVC enables users to watch 4K video files at full quality, while requiring 40 percent less storage space than the current H.264 standard.1
With HEVC, Apple is enabling high-quality 4K video streaming on networks where only HD streaming was previously possible.2
Hardware acceleration on the new iMac and MacBook Pro delivers incredibly fast and power-efficient HEVC encoding and playback.
Developers like Adobe, Blackmagic Design, GoPro and more are joining Apple in adopting HEVC.
Metal 2
Metal 2, Apple’s advanced graphics technology, enables machine learning, computer vision and more.
Metal is Apple’s advanced graphics technology and the fastest, most efficient way to tap into GPU power on the Mac.
Metal 2 supports next-generation experiences like machine learning used in speech recognition, natural language processing and computer vision.
Metal 2 features a refined API and improved performance that’s helping developers, including Unity, Epic, Valve, Pixelmator and more, accelerate their future apps.
With the combination of Thunderbolt 3 and Metal 2, the most demanding Mac users can now access powerful external GPUs.
Core ML
With Core ML, Apple brings the power of machine learning to all Apple developers, enabling the creation of entirely new kinds of apps.
Core ML takes full advantage of Metal and Accelerate, delivering incredible power, speed and efficiency to machine learning operations such as computer vision, natural language and support for convolutional and recurrent neural networks.
All of the computation and processing driven through Core ML is done on-device in a way that respects customers’ data and privacy.
Developers are already using Core ML to enhance apps like Pixelmator Pro, which uses machine learning to detect and understand various features within images and create intelligent editing solutions.
Virtual Reality Support
macOS High Sierra now supports VR content creation on the Mac.
macOS High Sierra adds support for VR content creation for the first time, enabling developers to create immersive gaming, 3D and VR content on the Mac.
Leading VR companies are working with Apple to drive VR innovation on the Mac with features coming later this year.
Valve is optimizing its SteamVR platform for macOS and enabling connection of the HTC Vive headset, while Unity and Epic are bringing their VR development tools to macOS.
Later this year, Final Cut Pro X will add support for professional 360-degree VR workflows with the ability to import, edit and export 360-degree video on the Mac.
Photos Update
Photos gets a significant update with a revamped UI, new editing tools and useful third-party integrations.
An updated, always-on sidebar and new filtering and selection tools make photo organization quick and easy.
A refreshed editing UI includes powerful new editing tools like Curves, for fine-tuning contrast, and Selective Color, for making adjustments to a specific color range.
Live Photos can now be edited with fun effects, like Loop, Bounce and Long Exposure, and users can also choose a different key photo.
Third-party editors like Photoshop, Pixelmator and other apps can be launched from Photos, with edits saved back to the Photos library.
Support for third-party project extensions provides access to printing and publishing services from Shutterfly, WhiteWall, Wix, ifolor, Mimeo and Mpix from right within the app.
macOS High Sierra brings refinements to everyday Mac apps, including Siri, Safari, Notes and more.
Additional app refinements:
Safari stops media with audio from automatically playing in the browser, and Reader can automatically open articles in a clean, uncluttered format.
Intelligent Tracking Prevention in Safari detects and eliminates cookies and other data used by advertisers for cross-site tracking, to help keep a user’s browsing private.
Siri on the Mac responds with a more natural voice and learns music preferences, creates custom playlists and answers music trivia when using Apple Music.
Touch Bar on MacBook Pro gets new Control Strip options plus an improved color picker and more video controls.
Notes adds simple tables, allowing a user to type in cells, make edits and move rows and columns.
Spotlight provides flight status information, including departure and arrival times, delays, gates, terminals and even a map of the flight path.
Touch Bar on MacBook Pro gets even more Control Strip options.
Pricing and Availability
macOS High Sierra is available as a free update starting today from the Mac App Store. macOS High Sierra supports all Macs introduced in late 2009 or later. Some features may not be available in all regions or languages. For more information, visit: apple.com/macos/high-sierra.
While most users should update to iOS 11 using the standard software update mechanisms within Settings app or iTunes, another more technical option is available that utilizes device-specific firmware (IPSW) to install iOS 11 onto an iPhone or iPad.
In general, usingIPSW to update iOS system software is considered advanced and is therefore only appropriate for more technically competent individuals. Nonetheless, it’s not terribly complicated and just about anyone can perform the procedure should they need to, if they follow instructions properly.
Why use IPSW to install iOS 11?
It’s important to point out that most users should just update to iOS 11 using the usual Software Update approach detailed here. But for those who use firmware, the primary reasons most individuals may use IPSW to install any new iOS versions are:
Storage considerations: You can update a storage constrained device since the firmware is not downloaded to the iPhone or iPad as it is through the Settings OTA method
Bandwidth considerations: You can download an IPSW file once from anywhere (either with higher speed internet access, or without a bandwidth cap) and then use the IPSW file to update
Updating multiple same devices: You can multiple devices compatible with the same firmware file with a single firmware, thus preventing the need to re-download the update. For example, if your household as three iPhone 7 Plus devices, a single IPSW can be used to update all three
Troubleshooting bricked devices: if an iPhone or iPad fails to properly install iOS 11 or the device is in an unusable state brought on by a failed software update (often referred to as being “bricked” because it is inoperable), you can often restore a device with IPSW via Recovery or DFU mode
There are other reasons to use IPSW as well, but we’ll assume if you’re going the route of installing iOS 11 via firmware then you already know why you’re doing so and have a compelling reason to proceed.
Updating to iOS 11 Manually with Firmware and iTunes
This walkthrough demonstrates using IPSW firmware files for updating an iPhone or iPad to iOS 11 that is operating as usual. Note that you can also use IPSW files when a device is in recovery mode or DFU mode if need be, but that is not specifically covered here.
Back up the iPhone or iPad before beginning, do not skip a device backup otherwise you may suffer permanent data loss
Download the iOS 11 IPSW file corresponding to the device you wish to update, and save it somewhere easy to find like the desktop
Launch iTunes and connect the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the computer using a USB cable
Select the device in iTunes by clicking the little device icon in the iTunes
Select the IPSW firmware file by performing the following in iTunes:
Mac: OPTION + Click on the “Update” button in iTunes
Windows: SHIFT + Click on the ‘Update’ button in iTunes
Locate and select the IPSW file you downloaded earlier
Confirm that you want to install iOS 11 by choosing ‘Update’ when requested
Let iTunes update and install iOS 11 on the device
When completed, the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch will reboot with iOS 11 successfully installed.
Regardless of whether you update to iOS 11 using IPSW as shown here, or using the simpler traditional software update methods in Settings or through iTunes, the device will be on iOS 11 and ready to go.
For most users, iOS 11 goes well and they are able to enjoy the new interesting features available in iOS 11. There are mixed reports of poor battery life after iOS 11 update, but most of those energy issues can be resolved with a few simple tips if need be.
Although it received no special mention at last week’s event, Apple quietly released tvOS 11 yesterday alongside its considerably larger updates to iOS 11 and watchOS 4. While it’s a surprisingly minor update considering the new version number, tvOS 11 does add a few small and interesting improvements that help enhance the Apple TV experience.
Automatic Dark Mode
tvOS 10 introduced a new Dark Mode to the Apple TV — a welcome change in our opinion from the garishly bright white background that heralded the fourth-generation Apple TV UI. We’ve generally been pretty content to use Dark Mode on our Apple TVs all the time, but we can understand some users may want to switch back and forth, using the original Light Mode during the daytime, but switching the more subdued Dark Mode at night, so tvOS 11 now allows for this with a new “Automatic” option.
You’ll be prompted to enable Location Services the first time you switch this on, as tvOS will use your current location to figure out sunrise and sunset times. Once enabled, the Apple TV will switch into Dark Mode at sunset, and back into Light Mode at sunrise.
iCloud Home Screen Sync
It seems that one of Apple’s goals with its new releases this year is to sync even more information via iCloud; iOS 11 users will gain the ability to sync Messages and Siri information between devices using iCloud, and tvOS 11 isn’t left out of the iCloud game either — you’ll be able to store your Home screen layout in iCloud, along with your installed apps, so that this information can be synced across multiple Apple TVs, and restored should you ever have to reset or replace your Apple TV. It was a feature that was kind of conspicuously missing in tvOS 10, so it’s good to see Apple finally addressing it.
The option to enable this can be found in the your iCloud account settings (Settings, Accounts, iCloud) as “One Home Screen,” and is simply an on/off toggle.
AirPlay
The AirPlay Settings now include an additional setting that allows you to decide whether users can stream to your Apple TV via AirPlay from any device within Wi-Fi range, or whether AirPlay devices have to already be joined to the same Wi-Fi network as your Apple TV.
The Security options available will also depend on which Access option you choose: “Same Network” allows you to select “None” as an option, relying simply on your normal Wi-Fi access controls; however if you choose to grant access to “Everyone” then you’ll need to at least require a first-time passcode as the minimum security, to prevent just anybody in the neighbourhood from randomly broadcasting to your Apple TV.
This will make it easier to allow guests and visitors to stream to your Apple TV without having to first join your Wi-Fi network, and we can see this being especially useful in conference room or classroom environments.
Video Playback
The standard video player has received a couple of interesting tweaks. While a single tap on the Siri Remote touchpad brings up the scrubber timeline as before, tapping a second time will now switch to a time-of-day display, showing the current time by the playback position and an estimate of what time the video will finish at the end of the timeline.
You can also now double-tap on the Siri Remote touchpad to zoom in and out when viewing 4:3 or 2.35:1 content, and a triple-tap will toggle subtitles on and off, if available; this could previously be accomplished with an accessibility shortcut, however now it’s built-in and works independently of the accessibility shortcut option, which remains assigned to a triple-click of the Menu button, as before.
Computers
The Computers tvOS app — used for accessing content stored in your local iTunes library — has been something of an anachronism in the Apple TV environment, maintaining a UI that was far more reminiscent of the third-generation Apple TV, with vertical hierarchical menus for navigating content. tvOS 11 finally brings the Computers app into line with the rest of the tvOS experience, adding a top navigation bar for content types such as Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, and Audiobooks, as well as a new “Search” option. As before, only available content types will be listed here, so if you don’t have any movies in your iTunes library, you won’t see the “Movies” heading.
The Music section basically inherits the style of the Music app redesign from tvOS 10, while the other sections such as Movies and TV Shows now match the style of the TV app and corresponding iTunes apps. Individual movie and TV show items also gain the same type of info screens found in the tvOS iTunes apps.
Music
The tvOS Music app gains the new social features found in iOS 11 and iTunes 12.7, with the ability to search for and follow other Apple Music profiles and see what your friends are listening to.
You can search for other users from the standard search window, and you can access your own profile by swiping up to your profile picture in the “For You” section.
The Music settings (Settings, Apps, Music) gain the additional “Use Listening History” setting, similar to the option found in iTunes 12.7, to allow you to choose whether the music you listen to on your Apple TV will be visible to your followers on Apple Music and influence your “For You” recommendations. If multiple family members listen to your Apple TV music library, you’ll probably want to turn this option off unless each family member normally switches to their own Apple ID before listening.
If you don’t want to use any of the Apple Music sharing services on your Apple TV, the Restrictions settings include a new option to hide music profiles and posts entirely.
TV App
Apple has expanded its TV App internationally with the release of tvOS 11, with Canada and Australia gaining access to the new app this week (albeit with a limited number of content providers thus far), and France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK expected to get the TV app later this year. Beyond the wider availability, the app itself doesn’t appear to have gained any significant enhancements, however.
This week Apple released watchOS 4, the fourth major update to its flagship wearable device in the two years since it’s been available. While the Apple Watch had a fairly basic start with the first iteration of its operating system, Apple provided more frequent updates, with watchOS 2 redefining the experience and watchOS 3 significantly increasing performance and interactivity. With watchOS 3 having finally established a solid foundation for the wearable user experience, watchOS 4 seems to begin an era of more iterative improvements that refine, rather than redefine, the user interface.
Installing the Update
As with prior watchOS updates, you’ll need to start the update process from the Watch app on your iPhone, and you’ll need to already have iOS 11 installed to do so. You can check for new updates by opening the Watch app and choosing General, Software Update.
The installation process will first download the update to the Apple Watch, and then — providing your Apple Watch has at least a 50 percent charge and is connected to power — proceed to install the update from there. Note that this one takes a while; in our experience it was about a 30 minute install, and some users have reported it taking even longer than that, likely depending on how busy Apple’s servers are.
System Changes
While watchOS 3 made some major changes to the Apple Watch user interface — introducing the Dock and Control Center and completely eliminating “glances” from the original design — watchOS 4 focuses more on adding polish in those areas. Everything remains where it was before, however Apple has redesigned the Dock with a vertical “stacked cards” style interface. Swiping to the left on an individual app in the Dock displays a “Remove” button that can be used to cast that app out of the Dock.
Unlike before, where the Dock combined recently used and favourite apps, watchOS 4 also now requires you to choose one or the other from the Dock settings in the iPhone Watch app. Selecting “Recents” will include only those apps in the Dock that you’ve recently used, ordered by when they were last opened. “Favorites” lets you specify which apps are included in the Dock, in which case only the single most recently used app will be included at the top, with a “Keep in Dock” button below to allow you to add it permanently to the Dock right from your watch.
Users who aren’t fans of the now-traditional app launcher on the Apple Watch will also appreciate that Apple has finally added an option to display your apps in a simple list view. This is accessed by pressing down on the app launcher screen and selecting “List View.” The Apple Watch will remember the last setting as your default, so if you prefer the list view, you can stick with it. Sadly, the list view is fixed to an alphabetical order with no visible way to customize it, although it will remain at the last-used position each time you return to it.
A new “flashlight” option has also been added to the Control Center, which turns the watch face into an LED light, with three modes available — simple white light, a flashing white light, and a red light.
Watch Faces
No Apple Watch update would be complete without a selection of new Watch Faces, and this year’s release doesn’t disappoint.
Siri Face
The Siri face attempts to bring Siri’s “proactive assistant” to your wrist, displaying relevant data such as reminders, calendar appointments, weather, and alarms, as a series of vertical cards. It can be a useful option for those who are always on the go, but right now the data sources are limited to Apple’s own built-in apps,
The Siri faces only offers two complication slots, one of which is used by default to trigger Siri, and customizability is limited to choosing which data sources will be included.
Toy Story Faces
Last year’s update gave us Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and with watchOS 4 this year, we get the cast from Toy Story. Four new faces are available, featuring Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Woody, and all three as the main faces, which will change slightly each time you look at your watch, and are each also backed by a set of unique animations that can be accessed by tapping on the watch face. Unlike Mickey and Minnie, these don’t announce the time — or play any other sounds — but they’re cute and fun nonetheless, and add a bit of personality to your Apple Watch.
Kaleidoscope Face
The new kaleidoscope face leans more to the artistic side, allowing you to choose from one of seven photos — or your own custom photo — and three patterns to create a round kaleidoscope background behind an analog watch. Turning the Digital Crown will rotate through the kaleidoscope patterns.
Activity
The Activity app has been enhanced to get a little bit more personal and proactive, with additional notifications that provide a bit more encouragement and coaching, and include full-screen “ring of fire” animations when you close your rings.
New monthly challenges have also been added that are customized based on your previous activity levels, and can include things like setting a new daily average move goal or daily average exercise goal, rather than simply hitting set milestones.
Workout
The Workout app has also gotten a nice redesign, with quick start “Open Goal” options for each workout type, and a menu button in the top-right corner to choose specific goals such as distance, calories, or time.
Workout controls can now be accessed from a workout by swiping over to the screen on the left, and music controls can be found on the screen to the right of the main workout status display. On the Apple Watch Series 1 or later you can also now automatically start a synced playlist when beginning a workout. A new option under Do Not Disturb settings in the iPhone Watch app also allows you to automatically enable Do Not Disturb during your workouts, although unfortunately this cannot be customized based on workout type.
watchOS 4 also adds a new High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout mode, and updates Pool Swim workouts with auto sets to track distance for each stroke type and pace for each set.
Heart Rate
The Heart Rate app now includes visual graphs that chart your heart rate throughout the day, as well as your heart rate during workouts and walks, and recovery time. Users with an Apple Watch Series 1 or later also get a resting rate chart.
A new option in the Notifications section of the iPhone Watch app lets you enable alerts if your heart rate suddenly rises to a user-specified threshold while you appear to have been inactive for ten minutes or more.
The Health app on the iPhone also now tracks additional heart rate details, such as Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and VO2 Max.
Music
The Music app probably represents the most significant change in watchOS 4, with a complete redesign that basically takes it from what it was before — basically a combination of an iPod shuffle and iPhone remote — into a standalone Music app in its own right.
You can now sync multiple playlists — as well as whole albums, artists, genres, and compilations — to your Apple Watch, and Apple Music subscribers can automatically add their curated playlists. Music syncs when the Apple Watch is charging, and is stored locally on the Apple Watch so it doesn’t need to be in range of your iPhone to listen to your music, although of course you’ll still need to use Bluetooth headphones with the Apple Watch.
Unfortunately, with these advances the Music app also loses the ability to start music playback directly on your iPhone, so you’ll only be able to search for and play music that’s on your Apple Watch — although Apple Music subscribers will soon gain the ability to stream any content directly from Apple Music, that feature hasn’t yet been rolled out, and it’s unclear whether it will be limited to the new cellular-capable Apple Watch Series 3 or available on older Apple Watch models.
Although the Apple Watch can’t directly access your iPhone’s music library, the “Now Playing” app still retains the ability to control music that’s already playing on your iPhone. “Now Playing” will come up automatically by default on your watch whenever you begin playing anything from the iPhone Music app, however you can turn this off by going your iPhone Watch app and toggling off “Auto-launch Audio Apps” under General, Wake Screen. The Now Playing app can also always be found in the Dock whenever music is playing on your iPhone.
Mail
The Mail app in watchOS 4 gains the ability to compose messages directly from your wrist. You can address messages by dictating a name to Siri or choosing one from your contacts, and fill in the subject and body using any of the usual watchOS data entry techniques — canned messages, Siri dictation, scribbles, or emoji.
Additional left and right swipe gestures in the Mail app also provide options for trash, flag, and mark as unread. Sadly, like the macOS Mail app, these options are fixed rather than customizable as they are in iOS.
Conclusions
Unlike last year’s watchOS 3 update, we wouldn’t say that watchOS 4 breathes new life into older Apple Watch models; it’s a mostly iterative update that adds some nice improvements to the experience, particularly for health and fitness users. It also makes the Apple Watch into a more usable portable music player. The good news, however, is that even if you’re still wearing an original first-generation Apple Watch, you’ll find that watchOS 4 still performs very well and offers a host of new benefits, with only a few relatively minor features limited to the newer models. While most users won’t find themselves in a rush to update to watchOS 4, we can’t find any reasons to avoid the update either. It’s a solid update regardless of which model of Apple Watch you own.
