Apple Seeds Third Beta of watchOS 3.1 to Developers

Apple today seeded the third beta of watchOS 3.1 to developers for testing purposes, just over one week after seeding the second beta and a month after releasing watchOS 3 to the public. watchOS 3.1 has been in testing since September 21.

watchOS 3.1 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. watchOS 3.1 requires an iPhone running iOS 10 to install.

watchos3-1beta
watchOS 3.1 appears to focus on bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements rather than outward-facing changes, as no new features were discovered in the first two betas. Should any changes be found in the third beta, we'll update this post.

watchOS 3 brings a new interface to the Apple Watch, with a dedicated App Dock and instant launch apps. There are new Activity sharing features, a "Breathe" app guides you through daily deep breathing sessions to cut down on stress, and there are new Reminders, Find My Friends, and Heart Rate apps.

Three new watch faces are included, and an SOS feature can automatically call emergency services. A revamped Messages app makes it easier to reply to incoming texts, plus there's a new "Scribble" feature for writing replies on the Apple Watch face with a finger. For more details on what's new in watchOS 3, make sure to check out our watchOS 3 roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

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Top Rated Comments

Jeremy1026 Avatar
117 months ago
Did you guys know that:

watchOS 3 brings a new interface to the Apple Watch, with a dedicated App Dock and instant launch apps. There are new Activity sharing features, a "Breathe" app guides you through daily deep breathing sessions to cut down on stress, and there are new Reminders, Find My Friends, and Heart Rate apps.

Wait, you probably do since MR posts this paragraph in every watch article, and has been doing so since June.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
117 months ago
Why do watch updates get chucked into the front page sidebar, but Note 7 and amazon music news gets front and centre?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SlaunchaMan Avatar
117 months ago
Did you guys know that:

watchOS 3 brings a new interface to the Apple Watch, with a dedicated App Dock and instant launch apps. There are new Activity sharing features, a "Breathe" app guides you through daily deep breathing sessions to cut down on stress, and there are new Reminders, Find My Friends, and Heart Rate apps.

Wait, you probably do since MR posts this paragraph in every watch article, and has been doing so since June.
You should get your money back.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
117 months ago
I hope it'll soon be released. Bought the Series 2 with hopes of a blazing fast smart watch. Instead I get messages that don't always send or receive, apps crashing repeatedly or apps that take forever to load. Not what I had imagined before buying this.
Strange, I get none of this on my series 2 (or my series 0 that I sold). Have you tried un-pairing and re-pairing?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
117 months ago
Did you guys know that:

watchOS 3 brings a new interface to the Apple Watch, with a dedicated App Dock and instant launch apps. There are new Activity sharing features, a "Breathe" app guides you through daily deep breathing sessions to cut down on stress, and there are new Reminders, Find My Friends, and Heart Rate apps.

Wait, you probably do since MR posts this paragraph in every watch article, and has been doing so since June.
Feel free to ignore that paragraph if you've seen it! I include it for readers who maybe don't catch every post we do and aren't as familiar with the new operating system updates.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbeagle Avatar
117 months ago
I hope it'll soon be released. Bought the Series 2 with hopes of a blazing fast smart watch. Instead I get messages that don't always send or receive, apps crashing repeatedly or apps that take forever to load. Not what I had imagined before buying this.
Strange. I've NEVER experienced this on my original Apple Watch since moving to WatchOS 3.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)