Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 3.1.3 update to developers for testing purposes, more than a week after watchOS 3.1.1 was released and three months after the launch of watchOS 3.
watchOS 3.1.3 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 3.1.3 requires an iPhone running iOS 10 to install.
We don't know yet what new features or bug fixes might be included in the watchOS 3.1.3 update, but we'll update this post with any new discoveries. watchOS betas are often rather minor in scale, focusing on small bug fixes and performance improvements rather than major interface changes.
The watchOS 3.1.3 beta comes shortly after Apple pulled the watchOS 3.1.1 release after it was found to be bricking some Apple Watch Series 2 devices. Apple has not re-released an updated version of watchOS 3.1.1 that fixes the bug, so many users are still running watchOS 3.1.
Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website.
Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50.
We have outlined some examples below:
Device
New Value
Old Value
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Up to $630
U ...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device.
Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features.
Notification Summary Changes
Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines.
For...
Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app.
Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Thursday January 16, 2025 8:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is in talks with Barclays and Synchrony about becoming its new financial partner for the Apple Card, according to Reuters sources.
The report today added that Apple has also been holding discussions with Chase Bank owner JPMorgan since last year, so there are at least three potential companies in the running to take over the Apple Card from current partner Goldman Sachs.
Goldman...
Thursday January 9, 2025 5:45 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025:
More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
Wednesday January 15, 2025 8:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
There is a good chance that Apple's first product announcement of 2025 will be updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip.
Last month, Apple released macOS Sequoia 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models are coming this year (unsurprisingly).
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the new MacBook Air models will be announced "earlier" than some...
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report.
The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader.
Vapor chamber technology is already used...
Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by Joe Rossignol
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year.
Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
I found a solution to your (and my) problem, in case you haven't found one yet.
1. Delete the already downloaded watchOS update in the Watch app (if you haven't done so already). 2. Force restart your iPhone (hold power- and home-button until the Apple logo appears). 3. Force restart your Watch (hold side button and crown until Apple logo appears).
Now, after both devices are powered back up, you should be able to install the app-updates from the Watch app on your phone. Strangely, already updated iPhone apps with Watch apps were not pending automatically for installation - I had to manually start the update/reinstall process.
Although I am on a first day update the HW with the iPhone and the Macs, I do have concerns regarding Apple Watch. I stopped installing Betas on any device, too many problems, too much battery consumption and so on.
However the Watch - sacred me when I realised that Apple issues an update, it bricks your device and if it's not under Apple Care - you have to pay for their mistake....
No. They did not and never have charged for firmware flashes, especially when the update is what caused it.
I'm hoping Apple release this (or at least a fixed version of 3.1.1) very soon. I downloaded 3.1.1 and left it to update overnight. When I got up the next morning there was a message on my iPhone saying it couldn't install because I didn't have an internet connection. Of course the real reason was that Apple had pulled the release.
However this means I can no longer install apps on my watch. When I try it says something along the lines of "cannot install app because an OS update is in progress". This wouldn't be the end of the world but apps that are already installed on the watch that have been updated on the iPhone also can't be installed. Therefore even though the app is on the watch my iPhone doesn't think that app is installed on the watch and won't communicate with it. I have a couple of apps that I use very often (Hole 19 & Dark Sky) that I currently cannot use on the watch. I've deleted the 3.1.1 download from the watch and rebooted it but I still can't install or update apps on my watch. I could restore the watch from a backup to see if that solves it but then I would have to set up Apple Pay again and the whole process takes ages.
It's really annoying not to be able to use the watch (especially Hole 19 which I use whenever I play golf - which will be several times next week).
Part way through the install on a Series 0, no problem so far. One thing I've noticed (and never seen before) when the progress "ticks" are making their way round the dial, the last mark turns on an off about once a second.
