what advantages does the newest Apple Watch have over my Apple Watch series 6?
Asked on 2024-07-30
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The newest Apple Watch, running watchOS 11, offers several advantages over the Apple Watch Series 6. Here are some of the key improvements:
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Live Activities:
- Integration with iOS: If you've adopted live activities in your iOS app, the system will leverage this work to offer a live activity experience on Apple Watch. This means that live activities from your iOS app are available in the smart stack on Apple Watch, providing a glanceable way to track the progress of an event or task (Platforms State of the Union, What’s new in watchOS 11).
- Customization: You can provide a custom live activity view for Apple Watch, enhancing the user experience (Bring your Live Activity to Apple Watch).
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Smart Stack Enhancements:
- Suggested Widgets: The system intelligently adds or removes widgets based on what's relevant at the moment, such as a precipitation widget appearing before it rains (Design Live Activities for Apple Watch).
- Interactivity: Widgets can now be interactive, allowing actions like turning on a light directly from the widget (Design Live Activities for Apple Watch).
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Double Tap Gesture:
- Navigation and Actions: The new double tap gesture can be used to navigate and take action in your app or widget, making interactions more efficient (What’s new in watchOS 11).
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Health and Fitness Enhancements:
- HealthKit and WorkoutKit: There are new enhancements in HealthKit and WorkoutKit, bringing new possibilities for apps in the health and fitness space (What’s new in watchOS 11).
These features make the newest Apple Watch more personal, intelligent, and convenient compared to the Apple Watch Series 6.

Bring your Live Activity to Apple Watch
Bring Live Activities into the Smart Stack on Apple Watch with iOS 18 and watchOS 11. We’ll cover how Live Activities are presented on Apple Watch, as well as how you can enhance their presentation for the Smart Stack. We’ll also explore additional considerations to ensure Live Activities on Apple Watch always present up-to-date information.

Platforms State of the Union
Discover the newest advancements on Apple platforms.

Design Live Activities for Apple Watch
Starting in watchOS 11, Live Activities from your iOS app will automatically appear in the Smart Stack on a connected Apple Watch. Learn how to optimize the layout of your Live Activity for the wrist, and provide the right level of information and interactivity at the right time.
