Apple and the National Hockey League (NHL) have announced that they are collaborating to equip on-ice officials with Apple Watches that will run an app designed to help officiate games.
The Verge reports that the NHL Watch Comms app allows referees to receive in-game updates by syncing with the NHL’s Oasis system. Ice Zebras can track the game clock and receive alerts for key game events without diverting their focus, relieving refs of the need to locate video boards while officiating.
The app allows referees to receive haptic alerts for when NHL players leave the penalty box or when time is running out in a period. The app provides differing haptic patterns for each timer, avoiding confusing for the officials. The Apple Watches will be synced to the NHL’s cloud-based Oasis feed, which offers game telemetry, player tracking, and other data. This will ensure that all officials receive the same information at the same time.
“We wanted to make sure that the officials had really good awareness and were able to keep their eyes on play,” says Andres de Corral, vice president of digital services at Presidio, a tech firm that helped develop the app. “So by enabling haptic responses, we were able to provide non-visual cues to the officials.”
The NHL will issue all of the Apple Watches used in games, referees will have the option of receiving and Apple Watch Ultra or the Series 10. (Pssst… Go for the Ultra guys, it might stand up to the rough and tumble world of the rink a bit better than the Series 10.)
The Apple Watch isn’t the first Apple device used by the NHL, as the league has integrated iPads and Macs into coaching and player workflows since 2017. They provide teams with real-time access to both game footage and analytics.
The NHL is also not the first sports league to use Apple devices. In 2023, the World Surf League adopted the Apple Watch as its official wearable. Apple Watches deliver real-time scoring, wave priority, and heat times to competitors, even while in the water.
