Apple Seeds Third WatchOS 2.2 Beta to Developers

Monday February 8, 2016 9:48 am PST by Juli Clover
watchos2Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 2.2 update to developers, two weeks after seeding the second watchOS 2.2 beta and two months after releasing watchOS 2.1, the first major update to the watchOS 2 operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 2.2 has been in testing since January 11.

The third watchOS 2.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on an iPhone running the iOS 9.3 beta by going to General --> Software update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the Apple Watch charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone.

watchOS 2.2, along with iOS 9.3, introduces support for pairing multiple Apple Watches with a single iPhone. Both updates are required, with each watch running watchOS 2.2 and each iPhone running iOS 9.3. watchOS 2.2 also includes a revamped look for the built-in Maps app on the Apple Watch with access to the Nearby feature first introduced with iOS 9 and new buttons for quickly accessing directions to home and work.

There are were no other obvious outward-facing changes introduced in the first two watchOS 2.2 betas aside from the changes to the Maps app, but the update undoubtedly includes under-the-hood performance updates and bug fixes to address issues that have been discovered since the release of watchOS 2.1.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 6
Tag: watchOS 2.2
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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plastixmith
52 months ago
Multiple watches on one phone? Who has multiple watches?
How about an update that supports multiple phones on a single watch? I'd love to be able to include my calendar notifications from my work iPhone on my watch too.
Rating: 6 Votes
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Mainyehc
52 months ago

Hope they will add an option to keep your watch display on (dimmed) in night stand mode, really want to use it as a clock and just be able to glance at it instead of fumbling around in the night to try and touch it...


You don't really have to touch the watch per se. A gentle tap on the night stand is enough to trigger the motion sensors on the Watch, which in turn fires up the screen.

That has been my experience, and it seems to be an ingenious idea by Apple (especially with a somewhat flexible metal nightstand by IKEA and a firm dock like the NightStand by ElevationLab; since the dock is well anchored to the nightstand, the slightest touch will do the trick).
Rating: 3 Votes
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lmjabreu
52 months ago

You don't really have to touch the watch per se. A gentle tap on the night stand is enough to trigger the motion sensors on the Watch, which in turn fires up the screen.

That has been my experience, and it seems to be an ingenious idea by Apple (especially with a somewhat flexible metal nightstand by IKEA and a firm dock like the NightStand by ElevationLab; since the dock is well anchored to the nightstand, the slightest touch will do the trick).


FWIW: the motion sensor is so sensitive that you usually don't even need to touch the stand, knocking on the floor or table does the trick.
Rating: 3 Votes
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x5tuu
52 months ago

Multiple watches on one phone? Who has multiple watches?


Me for a start, I have a 42mm rose gold sport and a 42mm Hermes single tour and debating on a 38mm space grey sport as well ... It's hardly inconceivable, they serve different purposes to me
Rating: 2 Votes
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ipedro
52 months ago

How about a change so that the watch face is always on. If Huawei can do it Apple should be able to.

http://m.huawei.com/enmobile/consumer/wearables/detail/huawei-watch.htm


Enjoy your half day battery life.

I don't get why people need the watch face on when they're not looking at it. My Watch turns on without fail every time I turn my wrist or just slightly lift my arm to look at it.
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You don't really have to touch the watch per se. A gentle tap on the night stand is enough to trigger the motion sensors on the Watch, which in turn fires up the screen.

That has been my experience, and it seems to be an ingenious idea by Apple (especially with a somewhat flexible metal nightstand by IKEA and a firm dock like the NightStand by ElevationLab; since the dock is well anchored to the nightstand, the slightest touch will do the trick).


Thats my experience as well. I just lightly tap my side table and the watch face turns on briefly. I also have an Elevation dock.
Rating: 2 Votes
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simbo123
52 months ago

How about a change so that the watch face is always on. If Huawei can do it Apple should be able to.

http://m.huawei.com/enmobile/consumer/wearables/detail/huawei-watch.htm

How about sensible suggestions? A different display would be required with poorer brightness and colours and better energy efficiency
Rating: 1 Votes
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sjinsjca
52 months ago

me too but that could burn-in the clock's slow-moving digitis in the oled matrix...


This. The dirty secret of OLED displays. (Plasma TVs too, remember those?)

It was brought home to me with one of the high-end Nokia phones from just before Microsoft bought the company. The phone was on display at an AT&T store, and I played with it. Lovely bright vivid OLED retail-content display... until I touched it and the menu appeared, with the retail content remaining in burned-in form on the screen. Horrible.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Analog Kid
52 months ago

Don't meeting rooms usually have wall clocks you can look at?

Maybe if you work for a fancy enough company...
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That sounds more like a problem with your attitude rather than the watch. Or maybe you should just get a different watch if you want to sneak a peak at the time like that.

Yes, of course. It's my attitude that's the problem. I would be wise to take attitude advice from a person who goes ad hominem when someone suggests a minor feature they'd like to see in their tech gear.

I suppose I should be fair: a watch that displays the time really is a radical request and suggesting it probably does mark me as a sociopath...
Rating: 1 Votes
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nicho
52 months ago

Does watch beta 2.2 work with iOS 9.2.1?


If you read the article

The third watchOS 2.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on an iPhone running the iOS 9.3 beta


No.
Rating: 1 Votes
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mistafro
52 months ago
Hope they will add an option to keep your watch display on (dimmed) in night stand mode, really want to use it as a clock and just be able to glance at it instead of fumbling around in the night to try and touch it...
Rating: 1 Votes

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