watchOS 8, which will be released later this year, will bring major health and communication upgrades to your Apple Watch You may have heard about the new "Mindfulness" app, the redesigned "Photos" experience, and editable dictation of messages, but there are a number of upcoming features that did not make it to the WWDC 2021 stage

Indeed, it may be the minor improvements in watchOS 8 that help the Apple Watch maintain its reputation as the best smartwatch overall; Apple Watch 7 should introduce select hardware upgrades, but sophisticated software is what gives this smartwatch its edge year after year

Some watchOS 8 features also align with iOS 15, such as digital ID in the Wallet app and new HomeKit controls; on the Apple Watch, the Tips app and the ability to send GIFS with #images in the Messages app, We can also expect more tools borrowed from the iPhone

MORE: How to Download the watchOS 8 Public Beta

And that's not all yet: some underrated watchOS 8 upgrades that seem equally promising for the Apple Watch user experience There are Here are the top five watchOS 8 features coming later this year that you may not yet know about

Setting timers on the Apple Watch is convenient, but you can only run one timer at a time, especially if you display a timer app complication on the watch face or have Siri set it for you If you want to start a new timer, you must stop the timer that is currently counting down

I frequently need multiple timers, whether it is to do laundry, cook dinner, or keep productivity on track But that could change with watchOS 8, which will bring multiple timers to my (and your) wrist

After multiple timers, the next watchOS 8 feature that should greatly improve the programs I use every day is expanded support for the Always-On display the Always-On display was introduced on the Apple Watch 5 and is brighter on the Apple Watch 6 and is therefore a tool to upgrade the Apple Watch experience

However, the Always-On effect is only available for the Home watch face If you have another app open for an extended period of time and trigger Always-On, the display will show the time by default watchOS 8 does not do this for some apps Alarms, maps, stopwatches, timers, etc will stay open The new Always-On API also allows developers to create Always-On experiences for third-party apps

No more getting caught in the rain without an umbrella Apple's native weather app adds new severe weather notifications, and watchOS 8 will let the Apple Watch tell you when it's about to rain the Apple Watch will also be able to tell you when it's raining, if applicable precipitation for the next hour, including intensity

Previously, if I wanted to be notified that rain was on the way, I had to use a third-party app like Dark Sky to push notifications to my wrist, though I may still use Dark Sky because its minute-by-minute weather forecasts are usually accurate, I'm looking forward to seeing how predictable the Apple Watch built-in weather app will be when watchOS 8 is released

The Apple Watch currently has a "Find My" app that allows you to see a person's location, but not the location of Apple devices that are actively connected to an iCloud account That will change in watchOS 8 with two new apps

First, the "Find Items" app will help locate any Apple AirTag-wearing objects through "Find My Network" Second, the "Find My Devices" app can locate a lost MacBook, iPad, or other Apple device as long as that device is signed in with the same Apple ID

The Apple Watch can already tell if ambient sound levels affect your hearing However, it cannot translate headphone audio levels into a real-time analysis of how sound is affecting your hearing

watchOS 8 will allow the Apple Watch's Control Center to display headphone volume, just like on the iPhone and iPad The same interface will allow the user to change the volume of the headphones, which would be useful if the volume is indicated as too loud for safe listening

Will all these underrated watchOS 8 features live up to expectations? Stay tuned for hands-on coverage of the new software ahead of its full release on the Apple Watch 7 this fall