On Monday, Apple Watch owners could now enjoy bug fixes and cutting-edge health-related features for Siri thanks to the release of WatchOS 10.2 update. Siri can now respond to queries for various categories of health information. The Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, the newest smartwatches from Apple, are the only ones with the cutting-edge features.
Only now is Apple officially releasing the new software update to its wearables after first announcing it in September and releasing a beta version earlier. The new health features are exclusive to the newest smartwatches, and there's a good reason for that. Only those wearables make use of Apple's recently released S9 chip.
With the help of the chip, some data can be processed by the smartwatch without having to be transferred to the cloud in order to be read. The company's health products and their privacy, as well as data minimization, transparency, control, and security, depend on on-device processing, as Katie Skinner, senior manager for user privacy engineering at Apple, notes before CNET.
When using the Watch Series 9 or Ultra 2, Siri should initially be able to respond to queries for roughly 20 different types of health data. These comprise information on the number of steps taken, the quality of sleep from the previous night, and more.
The potential for Siri to handle requests pertaining to health could be a big step in the direction of making Apple's Health app and navigation better. Supporting health requests has been a highly-desired feature, according to Deidre Caldbeck, Apple's senior director of product marketing for the Apple Watch and Health divisions, in an interview with CNET. He continues, saying:
"We will definitely continue to explore adding additional data types and offering more accessibility to our health features through Siri, as we're always looking for ways to improve and enhance our features."
Inquiries concerning information obtained by unaffiliated health apps ought to be answered by Apple's voice assistant as well, providing users with real-time monitoring of their blood pressure and glucose levels without requiring them to touch their watch face. The wearable's health app ought to be linked to these third-party apps. Users should now be able to ask Siri to log their prescriptions, weight, and women's health information. The feature removes the requirement for manual data entry.
