Apple Watch just got a great free update to help you get home safely

It's a big day for Apple users, with the highly-anticipated iOS 18.2 update imminent and bringing several extra Apple Intelligence features like Image Playground with it. We should also get Apple Intelligence in UK English at last, among several other languages.

But, spare a little thought for some of the extra updates that happen in and around the bigger software releases. Uber, for example, has made its Live Activity on Apple Watch significantly better over the last few days.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, Uber has tweaked its Live Activities interface so it now shows more useful information. Live Activities on Apple Watch appear at the top of the Smart Stack, which you get to by scrolling up with the Digital Crown.

They usually mirror what happens on iPhone, and for Uber, that meant simply showing the Uber logo and the ETA, which is what you see in the compact Live Activity view in the Dynamic Island on iPhone. That's no longer the case though, with users who take an Uber now seeing a circular progress icon, as well as the exact time you are due to be dropped off at your chosen destination.

As the driver is arriving, the Live Activity on Apple Watch will show an image of the car with the license plate too, so you know what car you should be getting into without having to get your iPhone out of your pocket or bag.

Uber discontinued its native app back in 2022, but this update goes to show that developers can still offer useful features even without a specific Apple Watch app.

Your Apple Watch will need to be running the latest version of watchOS 11 and you will also need to have the latest version of the Uber app running on your iPhone for the new Uber Live Activity information to show. You will also need to have an Apple Watch Series 6 or later.

If you tick all of those boxes however, you can enjoy a much better and richer Uber Live Activity experience on your Apple smartwatch.