IOS 18 adds Live Activities to Stopwatch

In the first iOS 17 update, the iPhone's Clock app received a new feature that lets you set multiple timers and keep track of them on the Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Dynamic Island.

The iOS 18 software update has brought us an equally exciting feature for the stopwatch.

iOS 18 Clock Stopwatch Feature

In the first beta of iOS 17.4, Apple previewed the Live Activities interface for the stopwatch tool in the Watch. This Live Activities feature is not available in the final versions of iOS 17.4 and iOS 17.5.

While it could still appear in some future iOS 17 update, it's more likely to work on iOS 18, which is currently available in beta.

Step 1: On iOS 18, simply open Clock, tap “Stopwatch” in the tab bar, and tap “Start” on the digital or analog watch face to begin timing.

Step 2: Alternatively, you can also ask Siri to start the stopwatch, activate it from search or tap and hold the Clock icon on the Home screen or App Library and launch it from quick actions.

You can view the stopwatch's Live Activities from the Lock screen or Notification Center as time passes. It also appears on Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, and iPhone 15 and 15 Plus.

Similar to the Clock app, you can pause the stopwatch and record laps. Once paused, you can stop and exit the stopwatch and Live Activities.

This feature works on the Lock Screen, Notification Center, and even on the expanded Dynamic Island (press and hold the Dynamic Island to see the controls). If you want to see the analog interface, you can swipe to it in the Clock app, but it won't show up like that in Live Activities.

While the Clock timer feature has been compatible with Live Activities since Live Activities were introduced in iOS 16.1, there's no way to view the stopwatch outside of the Clock app.

Adding support for Live Activities reduces the chance of accidentally activating the stopwatch and forgetting it's running. It also lets you use other apps without having to return to the Clock every time you want to interact with the stopwatch.