Apple watchOS 4 release date, news and features

Update: watchOS 4 should now be on your wrist and we've updated this article with in-depth details on what is brings.

Apple’s wearable software is a big part of why the Apple Watch, Apple Watch 2 and now, the Apple Watch 3, are among of the best smartwatches on the planet and keeping pace with the best Android Wear watches out there.

With watchOS 4 the software is better than ever, and you can nab the software right now.

It includes a lot of updates, from new watch faces to improved health and fitness tracking. Here's everything you need to know about it.

How to download watchOS 4 to your Apple Watch

Cut to the chase

What is it? The next software upgrade for the Apple Watch
When is it out? Released September 19
What will it cost? It's free for existing Apple Watch devices

watchOS 4 release date

The full release of watchOS 4 is live, having launched alongside iOS 11 for iPad and iPhone devices. That means you can grab it now if you haven't already. Check out our full guide to updating to watchOS 4.

watchOS 4 interface

As well as adding new features (detailed below) Apple has tweaked the interface for watchOS 4.

For example, the dock now displays icons vertically rather than horizontally, and you can choose to have it show your most recently used apps rather than your favorites if you prefer.

There's also now a flashlight option in Control Center, which can be toggled to display a white light, a red light or a flashing light - the last of which could be handy to alert motorists to your presence if you're out in the dark.

watchOS 4 faces

As part of watchOS 4 Apple has created several new watch faces, one of which has Siri built-in.

The face will show you cards with upcoming calendar events, traffic alerts and other relevant information throughout the day. It can pull in data from the likes of Breathe, Maps, Wallet, Activity and Alarms, and you can also tap on a complication in the top left corner to launch Siri.

There's also a new Toy Story watch face. This includes Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear, each of which has their own animations. You can pick which character you want displayed or select to cycle them at random. If you choose that option you'll also find some other Toy Story characters are thrown in from time to time.

This isn't the first Disney watch face to hit Apple's wearable's, as there's already one which lets you choose between Minnie or Mickey Mouse.

The third and final new watch face is a kaleidoscope one, which lets you choose a picture and have it transformed into a kaleidoscope pattern. With various photos to choose from and several different kaleidoscope styles there's a lot of variety here.

watchOS 4 fitness

Other than new watch faces, watchOS 4 has also brought monthly challenges to the activity app. These are personalized and based on what you achieved the previous month.

It also brings intelligent coaching, which Apple says will allow you to reach your goals quicker. You'll get a notification if you're close to an achievement, along with suggestions on how to reach it and words of encouragement.

Whenever you do hit a goal or close an activity ring the watch screen will burst into a full screen celebration.

The Workouts app is getting some small upgrades to make it easier to use too.

For example, if you rest at the end of the pool while swimming it will identify how many lengths you've done and record the information. In all the swim tracker can now automatically log your sets, rests, pace for each set and your distance for each stroke type.

There's also a new workout type for high-intensity interval training, and you can get into workouts quickly, starting them with a single tap.

You can also do multiple workouts at the same time and swipe to the side to switch between the exercises you're doing. It should make tracking triathlons much easier than before.

Plus, you can pair your Apple Watch with a wide range of gym equipment, to keep your fitness stats in sync.

And when you start working out the Apple Watch can automatically enable Do Not Disturb mode, so you won't get interrupted.

The heart rate app has also been improved. It now shows a graph of your heart rate throughout the day, as well as showing averages when resting or walking, and alerting you if your heart rate rises higher than it should when you're inactive.

watchOS 4 music and more

The Apple Music app on Apple Watch will now automatically sync music. That means you can get Apple Music playlists like New Music Fix, Favorites Mix and your most listened to music downloaded directly to your watch offering you more options to listen to music while on the go.

Apple is also bringing native core Bluetooth with watchOS 4. That will let you pair accessories with your watch and means you can pair other trackers such as a glucose monitor.

watchOS 4 also allows you to make person to person payments with Apple Pay. This is part of new Apple Pay upgrades for iOS 11, but also works on your Apple Watch too.

Plus, you can now control your iPhone's video camera from your wrist, while the timer app can display seconds rather than just minutes.

You can also now get Apple News on your wrist, showing you the latest headlines (though you'll still need a larger device to read the full stories), and the Mail app has been reworked slightly, giving you more control. The Control Center also now has a flashlight function.

watchOS 4 compatibility

The watchOS 4 update is available for all Apple Watch, Apple Watch 2 and Apple Watch 3 devices. In other words it's available for every model of Apple's wearable.

However, you will also need an iPhone with iOS 11, and some older handsets can't get that update. Check out our iOS 11 compatibility guide for full details.