Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 5 update to developers, two weeks after releasing the second beta and a month after introducing the software at the Worldwide Developers Conference. watchOS 5 is the newest version of the software that runs on the Apple Watch.
To install the beta, you'll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 5 beta can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update.
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To update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. It would be wise to install the beta on a secondary device instead of a primary device given that this is an early version of the watchOS 5 software that still has bugs to be worked out.
watchOS 5 is a major update to watchOS, introducing Activity Competitions so you can compete on workouts with friends, Walkie-Talkie with push-to-talk functionality for quickly communicating with the people you talk to most, and auto workout detection to make it easier than ever to start and stop workouts.
Other new features include an improved Siri watch face with support for third-party apps, a dedicated Apple Podcasts app, new Workout types that include Yoga and Hiking, new features for runners, WebKit support for viewing some web content on Apple Watch, and enhanced notifications, which will make notifications on the Apple Watch interactive.
Early software betas often introduce new functionality, so we'll update this post if anything new is found in the third beta of watchOS 5. The second beta brought full support for the Walkie-Talkie feature, which was unavailable in the first beta.
watchOS 5 is only available to developers and will not be provided to public beta testers (because there's no way to downgrade Apple Watch software), so non-developers will need to wait until the software is officially released in the fall to try it out.
The watchOS 5 update runs on all Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, but it is not available for the first-generation "Series 0" Apple Watch models.
What's new in watchOS 5 beta 3: As of today's beta, the "Raise to Speak" feature that lets you talk to Siri is now working. To use it, make sure Raise to Speak is enabled in the Settings app by going to General --> Siri and toggling it on. From there, you can speak into your wrist to activate Siri without needing to say "Hey Siri." The trick to get it to work seems to be holding it very close to your mouth, but it doesn't always successfully activate.
Top Rated Comments
(View all)I imagine it's because there aren't many developers who care much about this operating system. I've personally been busy developing all sorts of neat watch faces for Samsung and Fitbit watches, and Pebble before that, because Apple STILL will not let you develop a ****ing WATCH FACE!
That escalated quickly.Gee, Tim, should I buy this $400 super-computer to wear on my wrist just so I can watch Mickey Mouse spin his arm around and occasionally check my heart rate? Or should I buy this reasonably priced SMART WATCH which I can program to display useful information that I actually want to see AT A GLANCE?
I have to say, I tried three different smart watches (Samsung Gear Sport, Garmin Vivoactive 3 and a Ticwatch) in the month I walked away from the Apple Watch. For the most part, the quality of the third-party watch faces were awful. Back to the Apple Watch I came.
Longest ever delay without a comment on one of these things?
I imagine it's because there aren't many developers who care much about this operating system. I've personally been busy developing all sorts of neat watch faces for Samsung and Fitbit watches, and Pebble before that, because Apple STILL will not let you develop a ****ing WATCH FACE!Gee, Tim, should I buy this $400 super-computer to wear on my wrist just so I can watch Mickey Mouse spin his arm around and occasionally check my heart rate? Or should I buy this reasonably priced SMART WATCH which I can program to display useful information that I actually want to see AT A GLANCE?
I had all the betas last year for both iOS and WatchOS - boy this thread just reminded me of all the headaches... If WatchOS 5 had some new watch faces I would have made the jump (damn I'm tired of the current ones) but it doesn't so I'll just wait.
It’s funny I just had the same deja vu thought thninking that maybe somehow the forums server has linked the posts from last year to this new thread.And it’s a holiday as well. Very odd timing for a new drop. I personally know that place is shut down for basically the rest of the week.
Any way around the "you are not connected to the internet" message? I've tried rebooting phone + watch, positioning the phone on a Curry line, etc, but to no avail.
as removing beta profile + reboot won't fix this issue, only unpair will bring it back to connect to Internet. but if you install beta profile it will immediately bring back the issue. so I tried this way in 42mm s1 and finally succeeded in upgrading to beta 3: when pair the watch, using recovery to first image of 5 beta 1 and then install beta profile and then uninstall profile, then install beta profile again--this time it can connect to Internet and update will show up.