Apple Announces Offline Maps In WatchOS 11

At today’s Apple Event, while they didn’t announce an Apple Watch Ultra 3, they did unveil that the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is now available in black titanium. Also announced is that watchOS 11 will offer offline maps (which was one of my complaints since first buying my Apple Watch Ultra 1). While details are sparse at the moment, watchOS 11 offers turn-by-turn directions — as well as features like Waypoints and backtrack GPS data in the Compass app. Users can also create and save custom hiking routes in iOS 18 and sync them to Apple Watch.

I’m curious to try this feature out, but worried that the full benefits will be only available in the U.S. Maps offers hikes for all 63 U.S. national parks, but nothing about Canadian content has been mentioned.

watchOS 11 will be available for Apple Watch Series 6 or later on Monday, September 16th, and requires iPhone Xs or later, running iOS 18. Not all features are available on all devices and in all regions.