The World Surf League (WSL) today named the Apple Watch as its official wearable, with the device set to be used as official competitor equipment in a sports environment for the first time.
During the 2023 Championship Tour, WSL athletes will use the WSL Surfer app on the Apple Watch Series 8 and the Apple Watch Ultra to get updates while they're surfing in the competition. The app is designed to sync with the WSL Scoring System in real time, offering athletes important details on scores, wave priority, and time remaining in the heat.
Each competitor will receive an Apple Watch before each heat, with the watch to come preloaded with the WSL app. The app has been in testing with Championship Tour surfers during the prior two tours to make sure that it meets the needs of competitors. Apple's Director of Apple Watch Product Marketing Eric Jue said the company is "thrilled" the WSL is adopting the Apple Watch.
"We're thrilled the WSL is utilizing Apple Watch for the Championship Tour, making it simple and easy for surfers to quickly glance at their wrist for instant access to vital information," said Eric Jue, Apple's Director of Apple Watch Product Marketing. "This innovative solution leverages many of the advanced features of Apple Watch -- bright high-resolution display, durability, water resistance, cellular connectivity, and a powerful platform for organizations to build custom apps -- and the new WSL Surfer app will empower surfers competing at the highest level with the information they need while in the water."
The 2023 Championship Tour includes 10 events in seven countries, and is set to kick off in January with the Billabong Pro Pipeline. Tour events will be broadcast in the WSL app, on the WSL YouTube channel, and on the website. Apple TV+ surfing documentary "Make or Break," which covers the WSL Championship Tour, is set to return on February 17, 2023.
Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below.
Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important.
Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped.
The new ...
Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year.
Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
...
Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out.
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas.
The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device.
The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
The design sounds ok for surfing, as long as one stands up fast enough: "if you've been immobile for about a minute, it will make the call automatically."
I had Watch 7 stainless steel gold. My Ultra is much better.
Surfers are fit athletes. If the weight of an Ultra is a problem for a surfer then that's the least of his/her problems.
It’s not the added weight, it’s something different on their body. Professional athletes are fine tuned, so much so that, the smallest difference in their equipment can really throw them off. I’m nowhere near their level, but if I’m wearing a different watch, or bracelet, or whatever when I play pickup games, it bothers me and is a distraction.
Surf's up for the Apple Watch! Product placement for Apple, and expanding the brand exposure to more people is a good thing for all Apple customers and shareholders.
