watchOS 3.2 will bring Theater Mode and SiriKit to Apple Watch

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Apple Watch 38mm
Theater Mode is coming to Apple Watch first.
Photo: Apple

The first beta for watchOS 3.2 hasn’t even been made available yet, but developers are eagerly anticipating two new features that will come with it: Theater Mode and SiriKit.

Apple revealed in the release notes for watchOS 3.2 beta 1 this morning that the new Theater Mode for Apple Watch is actually included in watchOS 3.1.3. However, users can’t activate the feature until Apple drops the first watchOS 3.2 beta — which should be available soon.

With the new Theater Mode, users can quickly mute the sound on their Apple Watch and turn off the raise-to-wake display feature. While in Theater Mode, users will still get notifications with haptic feedback. They can then view their notifications by tapping the screen or pressing the Digital Crown.

SiriKit for Apple Watch

To help compete against Alexa and Google Assistant devices, Apple is expanding Siri so that it plays well with third-party apps on Apple Watch. The new SiriKit gives developers the ability put Siri commands in their apps.

With the new feature, Apple Watch owners can now use Siri to book a ride, send messages, make payments and more. Apple says the following services are supported by SiriKit out of the gate, with more coming later:

  • Messaging
  • Payments
  • Ride booking
  • Workouts
  • Calling
  • Searching for photos

It’s unclear when watchOS 3.2 beta 1 will be made available to registered developers. iOS 10.3 beta 1, tvOS 10.2 beta 1 and macOS 10.12.4 beta 1 were all released to devs this morning.

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