Microsoft Authenticator for Apple Watch will be discontinued in Jan. 2023

Microsoft's two-step verification app, Microsoft Authenticator, will be one of the latest apps to leave the watchOS App Store. The company will release an update next month to remove the companion app for watchOS. According to Microsoft, the Apple Watch operating system is "incompatible with Authenticator security features." If you already have the app on your Apple Watch, you'll still need to delete it since it won't work after January. The iPhone and iPad versions of the app will still be available for iOS users.

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Wristcam update lets you join a video call without the accessory

With watchOS 9's release coming up, Wristcam is getting a bit of an upgrade. According to Mark Gurman's Power On newsletter, the Wristcam's third-party app on the Apple Watch will allow you to receive video calls from an iPhone without the Wristcam attachment. This means you can send audio and receive video from the other person in the call without sending back video. Wristcam is a niche accessory that adds a video-chat camera to the Apple Watch.

Time to update your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch now

Photo by Laurenz Heymann on Unsplash

No, we aren't talking about iOS 15 or any other next-generation operating system upgrade from Apple. But you will need to update your devices to the latest updates to patch up a security flaw in your Apple gadgets. The company has released an emergency update to patch the security flaw that allowed Israel's NSO Group's Pegasus spyware to infect a target's Apple device, including all the devices we've mentioned in the title.

Security researchers from the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab discovered and released a report detailing the exploit. Apple was notified about the exploit on September 7 and worked out that fix until today's release. While you might not be a target of these malicious entities, it's best to update, so you don't leave your gadgets vulnerable.

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watchOS 7 will remind you to wash your hands properly

Nothing screams sign of the times quite like having a necessary and "handy" new feature coming to watchOS 7. During its WWDC 2020 announcement, Apple revealed that it'll be using machine learning to determine when you are washing your hands. When it detects that you are, it'll then set a 20-second timer that you'll see show up as you wash your hands. If you stop before the 20 seconds are over, it'll remind you to continue. You'll also see and feel when you've completed your handwashing. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging on, this feature is a much-needed one.

But that isn't all that's coming to watchOS 7. It's also finally getting sleep-tracking features as well as a new Wind Down mode to help you get to bed on time. It can even help power down your device for you and set your Apple Watch to dim, so it doesn't disturb your sleep. When you wake up, you'll see a visualization of your night's sleep, which includes the times when you're awake or asleep and your weekly sleep trends.

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