• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 26, 2024

Many people quit their New Year's resolutions on Quitters Day, the second Friday in January.

But an Apple ad that debuted Thursday on YouTube outlines how the technology can help people quit Quitters Day.

The motivation is on your wrist, Apple says in the 30-second ad.

“What if we didn’t quit right after starting, cause it’s raining or something?” the narrator says. “What if we had some extra motivation?,” it continues as an image on the face of the watch lets the runner know she is behind her target pace.

The narrator goes on to explain that a little help from the motivation on your wrist could help more people to quit quitting.

The Apple ad is serving up as pre-rolls to all types of videos, including music videos from the Rolling Stones.

The new operating system for Apple Watch, watchOS, also now keeps an eye out for sleep apnea. It received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration, and then was made public in September.

Sleep apnea, a disorder that causes people to repeatedly stop and start breathing during sleep, uses the watch’s accelerometer to detect small wrist movements linked with breathing disturbances during sleep.

AI plays a role in many of Apple’s watch health and fitness, from health monitoring and fall detection to activity tracking.

It also supports improvements in Siri and photos on the watch face. Some of the AI processes can occur on the watch, but it also relies on a connection to the iPhone.

Handwashing detection, noise monitoring, personalized recommendations, and identification summaries are also available.
Speculation based on Apple job posts suggest that interactions with the Apple watch could anticipate a variety of user needs.

Jobs focused on human and computer interaction and on-device AI hint at more natural and seamless interactions with the Apple watch, potentially through advancements in gesture recognition, voice commands, and on-device processing for much more rapid responses.