Yelp updates Apple Watch app with compass support for Apple Watch Series 5

What you need to know

  • Yelp has updated its Apple Watch app for watchOS 6.
  • The update also brings compass support for Apple Watch Series 5.
  • Those on earlier versions of Apple Watch still get a new interface and iPhone features.

If you have an Apple Watch Series 5 you can now put your built-in compass to use by finding the nearest restaurant or coffee shop with the updated Yelp app. Yelp announced the update in a press release in which it

"Now, with the Apple Watch Series 5, you'll find a new compass feature that points you in the right direction of a local business. The compass will appear on the bottom right-hand corner of Yelp business listings. Based on where you're facing, the compass will turn with you in real-time, providing updated estimates of how many miles or feet a business is away from you."

Yelp's new Apple Watch app

This isn't the only new feature in the update. Yelp has redesigned its watch app to bring over a lot of the functionality of its app for the iPhone. The Apple Watch app will now show a person's personal preferences and favorite locations, as well as being easier to navigate with a new scrolling interface:

"Additionally, if a user has indicated their personal preferences on the Yelp iOS app, then the Yelp app on watchOS 6 will also reflect their personalized results. These businesses will be labeled "for you," using the same recently introduced heart icon found in the iPhone app. Users with watchOS 6 will also notice that the Yelp app has a new modernized look, with an updated scrolling user interface."

While Apple Watch Series 4 and earlier won't be able to use the compass feature, anyone using watchOS 6 will get to use the newly designed interface as well as enjoy the personalized experience brought over from the iPhone.

The new Yelp app is available on the App Store now.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.