Are you ready for some football? The Apple Sports app is

Macworld

The 2024 college football season is underway and the NFL season starts on September 5. If you’re looking for a way to keep on top of all the action, Apple just updated its Sports app to better keep you up to date on the games. The updates bring it closer to apps like ESPN, Fox Sports, and others for live game info, and away from the basic “simple and fast way to stay up to speed” the Sports app had when it was originally released back in February.

The Sports app will now have play-by-play, handy for when you aren’t able to watch a video stream of the game (stupid blackout rules). It also has a “dynamic drive tracker” so you know where the ball is on the field. The app also provides real-time scores and stats, and live betting odds.

In an update on September 16, Apple also added support for Live Activities in iOS 18 and watchOS 11. Live Activities, introduced in iOS 16.1, are lock screen notifications that continuously update. The new Sports notifications also include live scores and play-by-play info. The version 2.0 update also includes the following features per Apple’s release notes:

Added a new drop-down menu that makes it faster and easier to jump between your leagues and a new search page to browse the ones you want to check in on.

With new optimizations for the WNBA and MLB playoffs, Apple Sports is the best place to stay up to speed all postseason.

Follow live as last year’s MLS and Liga MX champions compete for Campeones Cup.

More features are “coming in an app update later this year.” Sports will get a drop-down menu for the main scoreboard views so it’ll be easier to switch between the scores you are following. And the search will be improved so that it’s easier to get info on games and leagues that are not favorited.

You can download the Sports app in the iOS App Store for free.