Apple Releases watchOS 4.2 With Support for Apple Pay Cash

Tuesday December 5, 2017 10:07 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released watchOS 4.2, the second major update to the watchOS 4 operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 4.2 comes a little over one month after the release of watchOS 4.1, the first major update to watchOS 4 that brought Apple Music streaming over LTE.

watchOS 4.2 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone.


The watchOS 4.2 update introduces support for Apple Pay Cash, Apple's new peer-to-peer payments service designed to let users transfer money to one another. Apple Pay Cash, which is also available in iOS 11.2, can be used to send and receive money through the Messages app on the Apple Watch. Apple Pay Cash started rolling out yesterday and is officially available for all U.S. users as of today.

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Payments are sent using a linked credit or debit card (or an existing Apple Pay Cash balance), while money received is stored within a new Apple Pay Cash card that's available in the Wallet app. For more on Apple Pay Cash, make sure to check out our how to.

Along with support for Apple Pay Cash, the watchOS 4.2 update also adds support for HomeKit sprinklers and faucets, plus it introduces a new workout type that allows third-party apps to track distance, average speed, number of runs, and elevation descended for downhill snow sports with Apple Watch Series 3.

The update addresses a bug that could cause the Apple Watch to sometimes restart when asking Siri about the weather, it fixes an issue that could cause scrolling to be disabled in Heart Rate for some users, and it resolves an issue that prevented simultaneous timers or alarms from being dismissed independently.

For more on the watchOS 4 operating system, make sure to check out our dedicated watchOS 4 roundup.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 6
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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IxRich
28 months ago
Everyone or everyone in the US? At least try to remember that there's an entire planet outside the USA.
Rating: 26 Votes
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IxRich
28 months ago

get over it.



Asking for clarity. How about you get over it
Rating: 24 Votes
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MacknTosh
28 months ago
And by ’available for everyone’, you naturally mean ‘available for US customers’ (which for some people means the same thing).
Rating: 16 Votes
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Jaylay14
28 months ago
They need to bring back the way you could browse through your music that is on your iPhone! I miss it so much :(
Rating: 13 Votes
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zhang96
28 months ago
Come on, what does it take for you to add "(US only)" in your damn title?
Rating: 12 Votes
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cal6n
28 months ago
That’ll be three hours of my life gone while it downloads and installs. ☹️
Rating: 9 Votes
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ghostface147
28 months ago

That’ll be three hours of my life gone while it downloads and installs. ☹️


That is so true. These watches are so sloooooooow to update.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Starship67
28 months ago

Everyone or everyone in the US? At least try to remember that there's an entire planet outside the USA.



get over it.
Rating: 7 Votes
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Starship67
28 months ago

Series 0 owners:

If you are on 3.x.x Stay on it.

4.x.x runs horrible on series 0.


Complete nonsense my 0 runs fine with watchOS 4 the betas took some battery life, but this final should correct that.
Rating: 5 Votes
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WarHeadz
28 months ago
That band is so lopsided and terrible.
Rating: 5 Votes

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