Has Apple largely ignored the watchOS operating system for the Apple Watch in previous years? Then we have the perfect news for you. According to an increasing number of sources, it plans to make up for that oversight this year. 

In fact, following a recent discovery of this news by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has also confirmed major upgrades for watchOS. While Gurman’s sources, apparently coming directly from Apple, weren’t entirely specific in their post-watchOS 10 news, he does refer to the entire system as the biggest watchOS update since the introduction of the Apple Watch in 2015. 

One of the major upgrades is a major overhaul of the user experience, for example, which will change for the first time since the Apple Watch’s launch. At the same time, it’s unclear exactly how—some chatter backstage about integration between the display centre, app icons, and widgets. 

The Apple Watch could be similar in software, too, for example, iPhones. Apple will unveil the new watchOS 10, iOS 17 and other new OSes in June this year, with a public launch expected in September. 

So let’s hope the news it is predicted to bring arrives and makes the Apple Watch more attractive. After all, it has become a rather boring product in recent years due to a minimum of hardware and software updates. 

Apple’s watchOS has changed very little since its inception, which might not be entirely negative if Apple were to bring major upgrades year after year in terms of hardware. 

The Apple Watch, however, has advanced little in terms of hardware in recent years, and this year should be no different. Thus, Apple will want to make the Apple Watch as attractive as possible for this year, despite the minimal hardware upgrades. 

However, this makes one wonder whether the major software enhancements will primarily target something other than the latest models to boost their sales. However, we’ll know everything relatively soon — watchOS 10 will be revealed alongside iOS 17 at WWDC in June.

A major redesign of watchOS 10 is on the way

While such iOS changes substantially from year to year, watchOS has been de facto abandoned by Apple recently. It has added a few new features, and many users have become bored.

Fortunately, this year is set to be different, as most observers report the imminent arrival of probably the most significant system update to watchOS. According to the leakers, perhaps even more positively, however, it’s not supposed to force you into adopting new solutions. 

The watchOS 10 upgrade should largely consist of redesigning its home screen UI. This is because it’s currently cluttered, according to some users, and could use some tweaking. In addition to the options for displaying icons on the surface of the sphere and in the list, there should be a novelty in the form of a grid, which would bring the watchOS system somewhat closer to iPhones or iPads. 

However, there should also be new app folders, which will finally make it possible to hide apps of the same type together, making navigating the system easier. There are also whispers behind the scenes about adopting several other options in the form of widgets between icons. 

While this all sounds great, on the one hand, on the other hand, it’s clear that not everyone will be comfortable with this solution. After all, let’s remember, for example, the iOS App Library, which users criticise quite a bit, as many still haven’t found their way to it. 

Ultimately, this option could be turned off, and the problem would be over. And it is precisely the path of user choice that Apple will reportedly follow. Criticism for trying to push new solutions to users instead of proven old ones, according to the leakers, has already tired of it, so the redesign of watchOS 10 plans to largely get on the Apple Watch as an extension of the system, not a replacement of its part. 

So the new display options will be available alongside the surface icons on the sphere and the list, which is a positive. After all, it’s already clear that not everyone will like the redesigned watchOS. So let’s hope that this will be the first major swallow from Apple that will set the course towards user-friendliness.

Final summary

Leaker managed to find out specifically that Apple wants to go the iOS route with watchOS 10, at least partially. Thus, the plan is to implement some of the very elements from iOS that are popular and useful in the watchOS. 

This would be, for example, folders for grouping multiple apps of the same type. But widgets and the like are also supposed to be in play. Interestingly, the new watchOS design may be an option, according to the leaker, that will either replace the current list or be added as a third setup option. 

Users happy with the current design can remain calm, as Apple has no plans to remove their current options. As far as other information is concerned, according to his words, the leaker has a lot more about watchOS 10 and will gradually publish it.