With production issues reportedly resolved, more and more people are getting their hands on an Apple Watch. Needless to say, Apple is also looking at what software and hardware enhancements it will bring next to the next generations of its Apple Watch. According to 9to5Mac and a “proven source,” Apple has a few new features under development. Whether all of these get rolled out remains to be seen though as Apple is facing significant hurdles for a few of them.
One new feature Apple is looking to add is something called “Find my Watch.” As the name implies, it would let you locate your Apple Watch much in the same way that Find my iPhone lets you locate your iPhone. Given that the Apple Watch relies on a paired iPhone for most of its connectivity, the feature will work by using its wireless signal to establish its location relative to the iPhone. It could also warn you if you’re about to leave your watch behind. It appears that Apple is still looking to have the feature work reliably. If it cannot, it may not be rolled out until a future Apple Watch model with a better wireless chip.
Apple is also looking to use its heart rate monitor to warn its user about an irregular heart beat. While this may be simpler to implement, Apple may not be able to do so without obtaining the necessary approvals from governmental agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Potential liability concerns are another factor that could derail its availability.
In the meantime, Apple is looking to add a blood pressure monitor and sleep tracking features. Glucose and blood sugar sensors could be added in the future as well (and replace third party solutions such as DexCom’s solution).
One feature that Apple could get out to the Apple Watch sooner is watch face complications. In traditional watch-making, complications refers to any feature on a watch that does more than display the hours and minutes such as a chronograph or a date display. In this case, they would be small widget that could indicate everything from activity and battery levels to upcoming calendar events or a count of unread Twitter mentions.
There is no word yet on when Apple could offer up these new features. With WWDC 2015 not so far off, an update to Watch OS could certainly be among Apple’s announcements.
Source : 9to5Mac