Apple today seeded the golden master (GM version) of watchOS 5 to developers following a beta testing period that saw the company release a total of 10 watchOS 5 betas. The golden master represents the final version of watchOS 5 that will be released to the public on Monday, September 17.
Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the watchOS 5 golden master can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update.
To install the update, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 5 is a major update to the watchOS operating system, introducing Activity Competitions so you can compete on workouts with friends, Walkie-Talkie with push-to-talk functionality for quickly communicating with the people you talk to most, and auto workout detection to make it easier to start and stop workouts if you forget.
Other new features include an improved Siri watch face with support for third-party apps through Siri Shortcuts, a dedicated Apple Podcasts app, new Workout types that include Yoga and Hiking, new features for runners, WebKit support for viewing some web content on Apple Watch, and enhanced notifications, which will make notifications on the Apple Watch interactive.
watchOS 5 betas are only available to developers and are not be provided to public beta testers because there's no way to downgrade Apple Watch software, so non-developers will need to wait until the software is officially released to try it out.
The watchOS 5 update runs on all Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, but it is not available for the first-generation "Series 0" Apple Watch models.
Apple plans to release watchOS 5 to the public on Monday, September 17, a few days ahead of when new Apple Watch Series 4 models will be available.
