United brings popular app feature to Apple's newest Watches

02.10.2024 - 21:15 / thepointsguy.com

United Airlines travelers who wear one of the newest Apple Watches will have one less excuse for missing their flight.

The Chicago-based airline announced this week that it's adding support for Live Activities on the Apple Watch. This feature allows travelers to conveniently access flight information — such as live boarding times, gate assignments and a countdown clock to departure — just by glancing at their wrist.

Live Activities automatically shows the most convenient and timely information needed during your travel day with United. To find Live Activities, you'll need to view the Smart Stack on your Apple Watch. You can access this by swiping up from the bottom of the watch screen.

In the Smart Stack, the United compilation will automatically become the first and most prominent thing you see during your travel day. The widget will automatically display the most important information that you need in real time, such as your gate number, seat assignment or baggage carousel number.

Tapping the Live Activity notification will open the United app, where you can view your boarding pass and even more detailed flight information.

United became the first airline to debut Live Activities on its top-notch iPhone app back in 2023. These widget-style notifications pop out of the Dynamic Island on the latest iPhone devices. United says that the notifications have already helped "millions of travelers" since their debut.

This year, Apple added Live Activities support to the Apple Watch as part of WatchOS 11. To see Live Activities, travelers need an Apple Watch that supports this latest operating system and the most up-to-date United app. Apple's new Watch Series 10, which debuted last month with the company's largest-ever display, comes preinstalled with the new operating system.

I haven't been able to try the new feature on a flight yet, but the airline showed off what the widget looks like before departure in an exclusive media demo.

I was able to see a live countdown until my flight and a notification reminder to check in. Clicking the widget opened the United app on my iPhone, and it immediately displayed my boarding pass without an issue.

"United is always looking for ways to leverage technology to improve our customers' travel journey, and this new feature is a game changer for United flyers," the airline said in a statement shared with TPG.

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