Apple is planning to make some big changes to the Activity Rings on Apple Watch so that it’s more kid-friendly.
Leaked code from iOS 14 reveals that Apple plans to tweak how the move ring works when Apple Watch is in Kid Mode, allowing parents to set goals from their own iPhones. Instead of tracking calories burned though, the feature will focus on just movement.
According to the leaked iOS 14 code obtained by 9to5Mac, the move ring will be changed to encourage kids to move for a certain amount of time throughout the day. The activity ring currently sets a goal for wearers to burn 500 calories per day. That goal can be adjusted to whatever the Apple Watch wearer wants, which will be the same case with the kids’ movement goal.
The US Department of Health and Services currently encourages kids between the ages of 6 and 17 to move for at least 60 minutes a day. Those 60 minutes can be split up throughout the day.
With the new move ring, parents will be able to track how much exercise their kids are getting. This could be used to incentivize rewards like video game time. It’d be awesome if Apple somehow integrated the move rings into the Screentime app so that certain apps are lock or unlocked until a kids’ goals have been met.
watchOS 7 is also expected to add a new “Schooltime” feature that will allow parents to block applications and complications from running on a child’s Apple Watch during the school day. It will also allow parents to limit who their child communicates with while at school. Full details on watchOS 7 and iOS 14 will be revealed in June at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference with the public launch slated for this fall.
