5 Apple Watch Improvements We Need in watchOS 4

On Monday, June 5, Apple will host its annual keynote address at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Jose, California. In addition to a myriad of potential product announcements, including a redesigned 10.5-inch iPad Pro and a premium, Siri-based speaker system, Apple’s top brass will also use the WWDC keynote to showcase all four of the company’s next-generation software titles — iOS 11, macOS 10.13, tvOS 11, and watchOS 4.

Presently in its 3rd installment, watchOS is now on the cusp of its 4th, which will be shown off at WWDC on Monday, June 5. As far as what the next major version of watchOS will bring to the table, rumors have been far and between. While Apple is likely to incorporate an advanced suite of health diagnostic apps and utilities, such as improved sleep monitoring technology for the health-minded, and even revolutionary new blood glucose monitoring for patients with diabetes, there really is quite a bit Apple could do to really bring watchOS 4 to the next level. Here are 5 features and improvements we hope make their way into Apple’s upcoming version of watchOS.

5. Speed and Fluidity Improvements

From the dawn of its debut as version 1.0, watchOS has come quite a long way in terms of expanding and developing on the concept of a wrist-hugging super-computer. But even for all the life-saving features, stability and battery improvements, and cool enhancements that watchOS receives with each successive update, there’s no argument that a healthy dose of stability and speed improvements, across the board, will help expedite and amplify the Apple Watch experience for newbies and veteran users, alike. That said, we would definitely like to see a bump in battery performance, overall fluidity, and increased speed when loading apps, for example.

4. Better Guidance for Exercise

The Apple Watch’s activity rings provide a unique new way to get Apple Watch owners on their feet more often and actively working to fulfill their daily fitness goals. Wouldn’t it be great, though, if the company were to implement a guidance-based system into watchOS 4 to help give customers some insight into what they should do? It’s one thing to stand up at work and take a jolly little jaunt around the office, slowly filling your activity rings with every step, but it’s something completely different to be given simple-yet-effective recommendations for core workouts and activities that can be done on your own terms.

3. Better Sleep Monitoring

More and more people are turning to standalone sleep tracking equipment to help them get to the bottom of their sub-conscious anomalies. Indeed, sleep is a vital factor — and even a precursor — to our overall state of body and mind throughout each day, so it would be super-cool to see Apple implement its own sleep monitoring app, system, or protocol that Apple Watch owners could use to get the job done. Fortunately, Apple’s recent acquisition of sleep tracking firm, Beddit, provides a glimmering ray of hope that Apple is up to something good in the sleep space.

2. Health and Diagnostic Tools

Among Apple late co-founder Steve Jobs’ most ardent wishes was that his company’s Watch would one day serve as a whole health apparatus and medical diagnostic tool. And in recent months, specifically, Apple has come out swinging in the fields of health, diagnostic, and medical research for applications on the Apple Watch. What the company may or may not have in store for watchOS 4, however, at least from a health and diagnostic vantage point, remains to be seen. But recent mumblings from the rumor mill suggest that Cupertino is in the advanced stages of developing an Apple Watch-centric diagnostic tool for diabetes patients to more painlessly and non-invasively monitor their blood glucose levels from their wrist.

1. Auto-Tracking Workouts

Anyone who’s ever taken their Apple Watch into the gym will tell you that while the device is an incredibly effective workout tracker, it also requires carrying out a bunch of manual, extraneous tasks to get all your workout apps up and running properly before you do. While the feature seems like a bit of a moon shot, we certainly do hope that Apple incorporates some kind of auto workout-tracking feature in watchOS 4, so users can just get up and go, do their thing, and not have to worry about what data is or is not being logged.

What features are you hoping for in watchOS 4?
Let us know in the comments!