Siri

Siri is able to respond to more requests and do additional tasks with watchOS 2, like starting specific workouts with the command "Siri, start an 30-minute indoor run," or "Siri, start a 45-minute outdoor walk." Siri is also able to open specific Glances, even those that are not present in the Glances menu. If you want to get a quick look at Twitter but don't have the Glance activated, you can still ask Siri to open the Twitter Glance.

iOS 9 brings transit information to Maps, and with watchOS 2, Siri is able to provide directions that include transit routes, as long as you're in one of the cities where transit directions are available. Transit directions are available in the following places: Baltimore, Berlin, Chicago, London, Mexico City, New York City, Philadelphia, Montreal, Sydney, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington D.C., Seattle, Portland, Boston, Los Angeles, and several cities in China.

Siri can also look up words in the dictionary and calculate tips on command.

Mail

In the original version of watchOS, Apple's Mail app only allows users to view and organize email. With watchOS 2, Mail supports dictation, so you can send replies to email messages directly from your wrist. You can also reply with emoji or preset responses like in Messages.

Social Features

watchOS 2 expands the number of friends you can add, allowing you to send sketches, heartbeats, emoji, and more to a longer list of contacts. This is done through multiple Friend screens, with each screen housing 12 contacts. Swapping between screens is done with a swipe. Each friend group can have a different name, with the organizing done through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone.

When using Digital Touch to send sketches, you can use more than one color with watchOS 2 instead of being limited to a single color.

FaceTime Audio

You can now accept FaceTime Audio calls on your Apple Watch, just as you would a regular phone call. You can't answer FaceTime video calls, but you can send them to the iPhone or reject them. With the first version of watchOS, the Apple Watch simply ignored FaceTime.

New Achievements

watchOS 2 adds new health and fitness achievements, with new trophy icons that can be shared with friends over social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Display Sleep Period

During the beta testing period, Apple added a feature to the Apple Watch that keeps the display active and turned on for 70 seconds after it's tapped. This new 70 second setting accompanies the original feature that kept the Apple Watch display on for 15 seconds after being tapped.

Music

The Music app on the Apple Watch has been updated in watchOS 2 to take advantage of features in Apple Music, with a new interface that makes it easier to heart songs and control what's playing. There's also "Quick Play" setting that gives users an easy and fast way to access music on the iPhone.

iOS 9 Features

New features being introduced alongside iOS 9 are also be available on the Apple Watch, including improvements to both Maps and Apple Pay. Though watchOS 2 introduces native apps, the new operating system and iOS 9 are still heavily linked.

As mentioned earlier, the Maps app in iOS 9 has transit routing information, and that information is also available on the Apple Watch. Any directions obtained on the Apple Watch with watchOS 2 include transit directions in supported cities.

In iOS 9 and watchOS 2, the Passbook app is renamed "Wallet" to reflect Apple's efforts to replace the traditional wallet with its Apple Pay initiatives. Apple Pay is now ableto support both store loyalty cards and store credit cards.

With the Apple Watch, it is be possible to make payments in participating stores with supported store credit cards and scan supported loyalty cards.