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Apple today seeded the second watchOS 2 beta to developers, just over two weeks after announcing the new operating system update at its Worldwide Developers Conference.
watchOS 2 requires iOS 9 and can be downloaded over-the-air through the Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update.
watchOS 2 is the first major update to watchOS, the software that runs on the Apple Watch. The new software brings many new features that Apple Watch developers can take advantage of, including native apps that run on the Apple Watch itself instead of the iPhone.
It also allows developers to access the Taptic Engine and a number of other sensors in the Apple Watch, including the heart rate monitor, the microphone, and the accelerometer.
Along with these features for developers, which will lead to much more complex and full-featured third-party Apple Watch apps, the update introduces new watch faces (photo albums and time-lapse), third-party Complications, Time Travel for viewing upcoming events in a watch face Complication, and a Nightstand mode that's activated when the watch is charging, displaying the time.
New communication features include the ability to add more than 12 friends to your friends list and the ability to create sketches in multiple colors. Mail's also being updated, making it possible to reply to Mail messages using dictation, and FaceTime Audio support is included.
watchOS 2 is currently only available to registered developers who have also installed iOS 9 on their iPhones. Apple plans to release the software to the public in the fall.
Update: Apple has temporarily pulled watchOS 2 beta 2.
Update 2 6:30 p.m.: watchOS 2 beta 2 is available for download again.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)Trust me when I tell you that none of this beta process has been fun so far, especially iOS 9. Worst beta 1 release I've seen since iPhone OS 3.0 beta.
Sorry to hear about your experience but the consensus is that you're wrong. Plus iOS 7 beta all of the were almost unusable not to mentioned how bad the final release was.I just got the OTA update in my "Watch" App, for beta 2. It hasn't been there all day, but just checked and there it was!
Seconded, Thanks!I've had the "Cannot Verify" error all day. I just checked again and it's downloading a new version of the beta.
Beta 2 will play video from, for example, a conversation in messages. I don't recall this being possible on WatchOS 1 or WatchOS 2 Beta 1. Can anyone confirm that this is a new Beta2 addition?
Been there all along