Apple is not trying to revolutionize the category so much as ensure it remains the default choice.
Each year, the devices closest to our bodies grow a little more attentive to the rhythms of our lives — our sleep, our heartbeats, the cadence of our running steps. At its 2022 developers conference, Apple unveiled WatchOS 9, a software update arriving this fall that brings sleep stage analysis, advanced athletic metrics, and a medications reminder app to the Apple Watch. The move is less a leap forward than a deliberate closing of distance — Apple, holding more than a third of the global smartwatch market, is ensuring that the device on 36% of the world's wrists can now speak the full language of health that rivals have long offered.
- Apple Watch has long led the smartwatch market in sales, yet lagged behind Fitbit, Garmin, and Samsung in granular health features — a tension WatchOS 9 is designed to resolve.
- Sleep stage tracking, the most conspicuous gap, finally arrives: the watch will now distinguish between REM, core, and deep sleep, giving users the architectural view of rest that competitors have offered for years.
- Serious athletes get a meaningful upgrade too — vertical oscillation, stride length, ground contact time, heart rate zones, and a seamless multisport mode for triathletes signal Apple moving beyond casual fitness into performance territory.
- A new Medications app lets users log prescriptions, set reminders, and check drug interactions — expanding the watch's role from fitness tracker to everyday health companion.
- With a developer preview live and a public beta coming next month, Apple is racing to ensure these long-awaited additions land before competitors can further sharpen their own platforms.
Apple used its annual developers conference to signal a shift in ambition for the Apple Watch: WatchOS 9, arriving this fall, is designed to make the device a more serious health instrument. For years, rivals like Fitbit, Garmin, and Samsung have offered capabilities the Apple Watch lacked. That gap is now narrowing.
The headline addition is Sleep Stages, which breaks nightly rest into REM, core, and deep sleep — a granular view of sleep architecture that competitors have provided for some time. Apple's entry into this space reflects how central sleep has become to the broader conversation about health. Runners also gain a significant upgrade: the watch will now track vertical oscillation, stride length, and ground contact time, while a redesigned workout view surfaces splits, segments, and elevation data in real time.
Heart rate zones translate raw cardiac data into exercise intensity levels, and a new multisport mode lets triathletes flow between swimming, cycling, and running without interrupting their tracking. Interval trainers get a custom workout option with built-in rest periods — signs that Apple is designing for people who train with intention, not just those counting steps.
On the health monitoring side, AFib detection grows more sophisticated, now tracking the frequency and patterns of irregular heartbeats over time. A Medications app lets users log prescriptions and vitamins, set reminders, and flag potential drug interactions — and it functions even when the watch isn't being worn.
The update also introduces four new watch faces, six additional keyboard languages, quieter notifications during active use, and a double-pinch Quick Actions gesture for answering calls or taking photos. WatchOS 9 will be available on Series 4 and newer, with a public beta next month.
Apple currently holds 36% of the global smartwatch market. These additions are less about reinventing the category than about ensuring the Apple Watch remains the obvious default — capable of everything a health-conscious buyer might expect, and a little more besides.
Apple took the stage at its annual developers conference on Monday with a message: the Apple Watch is becoming a more serious health device. WatchOS 9, the next major software update arriving this fall, will pack in a suite of new tracking capabilities that have long been standard on rival smartwatches from Fitbit, Samsung, and Garmin. The company is betting that these additions will cement its already commanding lead in the wearable market.
The most significant addition is Sleep Stages, a feature that breaks down your nightly rest into distinct phases—REM, core, and deep sleep. For years, competitors have offered this granular view of sleep architecture, and Apple's arrival in this space signals how seriously the company now takes sleep as a health metric. Alongside sleep tracking comes a raft of new running metrics designed to help athletes understand their performance and avoid injury. The watch will now measure vertical oscillation, stride length, and ground contact time. A redesigned workout view will display segments, splits, and elevation data at a glance, giving runners the kind of detailed feedback that serious training demands.
Apple is also introducing heart rate zones, which translate raw heart rate data into intensity levels during exercise. For triathletes, a new multisport workout mode will let athletes seamlessly switch between running, cycling, and swimming without stopping and restarting the tracking. There's a custom exercise option too, built for interval training with built-in rest periods. These features suggest Apple is thinking beyond casual fitness tracking and toward the needs of people who train seriously.
Beyond athletics, the company is expanding its health monitoring in other directions. The Apple Watch will gain improved atrial fibrillation detection, now with an AFib history feature that tracks how often irregular heartbeats occur and identifies trends over time. A new Medications app will let users log prescriptions and vitamins, set reminders to take them, and check for potential drug interactions. You can add medications by scanning a label or typing the name manually, and the app works even without wearing the watch.
The software update also brings four new watch faces—Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and Astronomy—along with support for six additional keyboard languages. Apple is refining the notification experience too, making alerts less intrusive when you're actively using the watch. A new Quick Actions feature lets you answer calls or snap photos with a double-pinch gesture, and the dock has been redesigned to prioritize the apps you actually use.
WatchOS 9 will roll out to Apple Watch Series 4 and newer devices. A developer preview is available immediately, with a public beta launching next month. The timing matters: Apple currently commands 36.1% of the global smartwatch market, up slightly from 35.9% a year earlier. By adding features that have become table stakes in the industry—sleep staging, advanced running metrics, medication tracking—Apple is not trying to revolutionize the category so much as ensure it remains the default choice for anyone buying a smartwatch. The question now is whether these incremental improvements will be enough to sustain that dominance as competitors continue to refine their own offerings.
Notable Quotes
Apple is betting these additions will cement its already commanding lead in the wearable market— Apple's strategic positioning with WatchOS 9
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Apple need sleep stages now? Fitbit and Samsung have had this for years.
Because the Apple Watch has become the default smartwatch for most people, and those people are starting to expect the features they see elsewhere. Apple's not trying to innovate here—it's trying to catch up and keep users from feeling like they're missing out.
But Apple Watch already tracks sleep. What's the difference?
Before, it just told you how long you slept. Now it tells you the architecture of that sleep—how much time in deep sleep versus REM. That's the difference between knowing you slept eight hours and understanding whether that sleep was actually restorative.
The running metrics seem more interesting. Vertical oscillation, stride length—those are things a serious runner actually cares about.
Exactly. Apple is signaling that it's not just for casual fitness anymore. These are the metrics that help you train smarter and avoid injury. It's a shift toward the athlete, not just the person who wants to count steps.
What about the medications app? That seems like it could actually save lives.
It could. Medication adherence is a real problem, especially for people on multiple drugs. A reminder on your wrist, plus visibility into drug interactions, is genuinely useful healthcare infrastructure. It's less flashy than sleep stages, but it might matter more.
Does any of this change the fact that Apple dominates the market?
Not immediately. But dominance only lasts if you keep delivering what people expect. These updates are Apple saying: we're not resting on our market share. We're going to keep being the smartwatch people want.