iOS 18 and watchOS 11 will bring live sports scores to the Lock screen on iPhone and Apple Watch, Apple announced ahead of the company's key product event on September 9.
The news will be a welcome boost for NFL fans who use iPhone or Apple Watch, as the football season is set to kick off on September 5 with the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Baltimore Ravens.
For football fans, Apple has also confirmed that the Champions League and Europa League will be coming to the Apple Sports app in September. These competitions will join the NFL and 14 other leagues across football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey and soccer that will be supported on the lock screen.
In a press release, Apple detailed how a free update to the Apple Sports app in iOS 18 and watchOS 11 will bring a number of new features, the most notable of which will be the ability to check live scores without unlocking your device.
Scorecards, delivered via Apple's Live Activities feature, will also include brief play-by-play updates, and you'll be able to follow multiple games at the same time.
As ZDNET reports, the update will also bring these features to the top 25 American college football teams, and this list will be updated weekly.
The update introduces drop-down navigation for the main scorecard views, which Apple says will speed up switching between My Leagues, My Teams, and favorite leagues. Additionally, an improved search feature for games in leagues other than the ones you already follow is on the way.
Apple Sports is available in the US, UK, and Canada, and there's no indication that Apple plans to add more countries in the near future.
The Apple Sports app offers results, updates and betting data from these leagues throughout their respective seasons. Live betting odds can be turned off at any time in the settings.
However, Apple TV owners hoping to watch the results live on the big screen will be disappointed: the fine print in the press release confirms that Live Activities will not be available on Apple TV with the introduction of iOS 18.
Apple is expected to reveal the iPhone 16 lineup and Apple Watch Series 10 at the company's 'It's Glowtime' event on September 9. For details on how to watch the iPhone 16 launch event and what we expect to see, check out our dedicated Apple events page and more general iPhone coverage.
