Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.1 update to developers, just over one week after releasing the new watchOS 4 operating system to the public.
Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS 4 beta 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 needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 4.1 introduces support for streaming music from Apple Music or iCloud Music Library straight to the Apple Watch. There's also a new Radio app that offers up access to Beats 1 live or any Apple Music radio station on the new cellular Apple Watch Series 3 models.
Wednesday October 7, 2026 12:02 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Some Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 owners have experienced unexpected skin irritation with the new models, according to reports on the MacRumors forums and Reddit.
Affected users complain of a burning sensation and redness under the sensor area. The Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 measure heart rate every five seconds, and some people have wondered if that's the cause of the skin...
Friday October 9, 2026 10:20 am PDT by Juli Clover
For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Southern Straps to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Apple Watch Series 12 and a nylon band from Southern Straps to go along with it.
Southern Straps is a California-based company that has been making high-quality bands for the Apple Watch since the device first launched in 2015, and the company's selection of bands offer a an...
Tuesday October 6, 2026 6:09 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's $634 million patent loss to medical technology company Masimo has just gotten even bigger, after a federal judge ordered Apple to pay an additional $184 million in interest on what it owes (via Bloomberg Law).
The ruling takes Apple's bill to around $818 million, but that doesn't include any post-judgment interest continuing to accrue until the judgment is paid.
Judge James Selna ...
If they don't bring back the ability to manage your Music collection with the iPhone connected I will be livid. Why they removed this feature I will never understand. And please don't tell me to push people to get an LTE Watch. That's the last thing it will make me do.
Maybe i’m misunderstanding what you’re asking about, but if you’re playing music from your phone, the Now Playing app on the watch still works and you can control music either from your phone or your watch with it.
That is technically correct, but what you can do there is limited to pause, play, skip and adjust volume only after starting the song on the iPhone. On previous versions of WatchOS, you could browse the entire iPhone library to start playing and/or choose a different song all from the watch. You cloud also start a song playing on the iPhone by using Siri on the Watch. This functionality seems to be removed and is a fairly big deal for those of us who like to change songs in the car while keeping our eyes on the road.
