Apple Invites Retail Employees in Wheelchairs to Test watchOS 3 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Invites Retail Employees in Wheelchairs to Test watchOS 3

by

Apple last week sent out a memo to employees, inviting those in wheelchairs to help the company test an upcoming watchOS 3 feature that adds a dedicated wheelchair mode to the Apple Watch.

With the wheelchair setting, Activity options can be customized for wheelchair users. Wheelchair pushes contribute to all-day calorie goals, there are wheelchair-specific workouts, and the "time to stand" reminders are replaced with "time to roll" reminders.

During the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple said wheelchair tracking had been in development for months through a partnership with the Lakeshore Foundation and the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which saw 300 people in wheelchairs participating in more than 3,000 hours of activity research, and the beta testing period will give Apple more time to refine and perfect the feature.

watchoswheelchair
In its memo to employees, Apple said it is committed to improving the Apple Watch experience for users in wheelchairs, which is why retail employees in wheelchairs are being invited to test watchOS 3. While retail employees have been invited to test iOS and macOS betas in the past, watchOS 3 betas are restricted to developers and internal corporate testers because downgrading from a watchOS beta is not possible without a proprietary adapter.

It is not clear if employees testing the feature are receiving the same watchOS 3 beta updates as developers, but it seems likely. With the retail beta test and developer testing, Apple is hoping to collect more data on movement and better optimize the new wheelchair exercises available in the workout app.

Apple offers some of the best accessibility features available in smartphones, smart watches, and other devices, and along with wheelchair activity tracking, the company's latest operating system updates bring a range of accessibility improvements to iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 12
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

Surprise and Shine Live Coverage Article

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, and More

Wednesday September 9, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where we're expecting to see the foldable iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models, new AirPods 5 earphones, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We...
Read Full Article • 1305 comments
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium

New Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 Features Revealed

Sunday August 30, 2026 7:54 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today further outlined what to expect from the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 set to be unveiled on September 9. While it was initially rumored that Touch ID may be coming to the Apple Watch this year, Gurman reiterated that he does not expect the Series 12 or Ultra 4 to have any major design changes compared to the current Series 11 and Ultra 3 models. ...
Read Full Article • 157 comments
apple surprise and shine event

Apple Event Today: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo Cheat Sheet

Tuesday September 8, 2026 10:24 am PDT by
Apple's biggest event of the year is almost here, and all eyes are on Cupertino. With the first foldable iPhone expected to headline Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the rumor mill has been running full throttle, fuelled by the biggest single design change in the life of the iPhone. To get you up to speed, here's a quick reference...
Read Full Article • 36 comments

Top Rated Comments

MH01 Avatar
MH01
133 months ago
The wheelchair features of the Apple Watch are a great idea. Well done apple
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
drumcat Avatar
drumcat
133 months ago
Apple's unwavering commitment to Accessibility is a truly amazing, and very under-appreciated approach. As a regular user, I absolutely appreciate it. The work they do in this area trickles into usability improvements for everyone.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lupend88 Avatar
lupend88
133 months ago
Very good.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brinary001 Avatar
brinary001
133 months ago
This is good stuff. As far as I know, Apple is the only company doing wheelchair fitness tracking now. It always amazes me how much attention Apple pays to accessibility features.
Same! When people don't understand why I love Apple so much, I always say that it's not just because they make the best products (for the most part anyway) it's because no other company will invest nearly as much time and money into things like helping those with disabilities, protecting your privacy, or helping the environment.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mrgraff Avatar
mrgraff
133 months ago
Pretty sure the dub dub presentation said it would change to "Time to roll!" for wheelchair users.
They did. And the picture here does too. In this rotated and zoomed crop, you can see the word "ROLL"
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
amycishere
133 months ago
Apple last week sent out a memo to employees, inviting those in wheelchairs to help the company test an upcoming watchOS 3 feature that adds a dedicated wheelchair mode to the Apple Watch.

With the wheelchair setting, Activity options can be customized for wheelchair users. Wheelchair pushes contribute to all-day calorie goals, there are wheelchair-specific workouts, and the "time to stand" reminders are replaced with "time to roll" reminders.

During the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple said wheelchair tracking had been in development for months through a partnership with the Lakeshore Foundation and the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which saw 300 people in wheelchairs participating in more than 3,000 hours of activity research, and the beta testing period will give Apple more time to refine and perfect the feature.



In its memo to employees, Apple said it is committed to improving the Apple Watch experience for users in wheelchairs, which is why retail employees in wheelchairs are being invited to test watchOS 3. While retail employees have been invited to test iOS and macOS betas in the past, watchOS 3 betas are restricted to developers and internal corporate testers because downgrading from a watchOS beta is not possible without a proprietary adapter.

It is not clear if employees testing the feature are receiving the same watchOS 3 beta updates as developers, but it seems likely. With the retail beta test and developer testing, Apple is hoping to collect more data on movement and better optimize the new wheelchair exercises available in the workout app.

Apple offers some of the best accessibility features ('http://www.apple.com/accessibility/') available in smartphones, smart watches, and other devices, and along with wheelchair activity tracking, the company's latest operating system updates ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/06/15/accessibility-wwdc-2016-roundup/') bring a range of accessibility improvements to iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

Article Link: Apple Invites Retail Employees in Wheelchairs to Test watchOS 3 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/06/28/apple-employee-watchos-3-wheelchair-beta-test/')
Me and my wheels would have loved to have been part of this beta! Still waiting to hear about the next step in my Apple retail journey...(in the interviewing process)
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments