what are the new capabilities of live activities

The new capabilities of live activities, particularly for Apple Watch, were highlighted in several sessions at WWDC 2024. Here are the key points:

Integration with Smart Stack:
- In watchOS 11, live activities from your iOS app are available in the smart stack on Apple Watch. This means that when a live activity begins on your iPhone, it automatically shows up at the top of the smart stack on Apple Watch, allowing you to track its progress just by raising your wrist (Design Live Activities for Apple Watch).
Automatic Presentation:
- The smart stack is automatically presented when a live activity starts, and it remains visible even when you put your wrist down. This allows you to continue to glance at both the time and the live activity you are tracking (Design Live Activities for Apple Watch).
Customization:
- Developers can provide custom content for the smart stack on Apple Watch by specifying that their live activity supports the small supplemental activity family. This allows for a more tailored and glanceable experience (What’s new in watchOS 11).
Preview and Customization in Xcode:
- Developers can use the Xcode preview to see how their live activity will appear in the smart stack and customize it accordingly. This includes adding the supplemental activity families modifier to the activity configuration (Bring your Live Activity to Apple Watch).
Broadcast Updates:
- A new way to broadcast updates for a live activity to a large audience with a single push notification was introduced. This ensures that the live activity has the latest information by sending remote updates using push notifications (Broadcast updates to your Live Activities).

Relevant Sessions

These sessions provide a comprehensive overview of the new capabilities and how to implement them in your apps.