Ahead of the NFL and college football (NCAAF) seasons, Apple has announced updates to its sports-specific apps, including live activity from every league, a new “Dynamic Drive Tracker” that visualizes the ball's position on the field, and support for live football gameplay.
Launched in February, Apple Sports is a free iOS app for sports fans that provides all the latest updates, scores, and stats for 15 of the most popular leagues, including NCAA Basketball, MLS, MLB, NBA, WNBA, NHL, and the Premier League.
Apple recently added support for the NFL and NCAAF ahead of the start of their seasons.
The most notable new feature is Live Activities, coming with iOS 18 and watchOS 11 this fall.
Live Activity in the Sports app allows users to quickly check live scores on the lock screen and never miss a beat. Currently, fans can watch live activity from the game through the Apple TV app, which will automatically carry over to the Sports app when iOS 18 is released.
Image credit: Apple
The Dynamic Drive Tracker is another handy feature added to the sports app, allowing football fans to easily track and see exactly where the ball is on the field at any given time. Like other leagues, NFL and college football fans can also see betting odds that are updated during the game.
Apple has also improved live play-by-play to help football fans keep track of all the action, including a filter view specially designed to highlight scoring drives, ensuring fans never miss the game's most important moments.
Additionally, the company announced that its Sports app will be updated later this year to introduce new drop-down navigation and improved search functionality in the main scorecard view, and Apple said more leagues will be added soon, starting with the Champions League and Europa League in the league phase in September.
Apple Sports is available in the US, UK, and Canada.