Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of watchOS 6.1 to Developers

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 6.1 beta to developers, just under a week after seeding the third watchOS 6.1 beta and a month after releasing the watchOS 6 update with full App Store, new Apple Watch faces, and more.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.

applewatchseries5
To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have over 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the ‌iPhone‌.

There were no major changes found in the first three watchOS 6.1 betas, so it's not entirely clear what's included in the update, but we'll update this article should new features be found in the third beta. The update may be focused on bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements.

watchOS 6.1 does work with the Series 1 and Series 2 Apple Watch models, which were excluded from the watchOS 6 release.

Apple said that watchOS 6 would come to the older Apple Watch models at a later date, so it's possible watchOS 6.1 will be the first version of watchOS 6 to work with the Series 1 and Series 2 Apple Watches.

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

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
maxresdefault

iOS 26 Code Leak Reveals Apple Smart Home Hub Details

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:02 pm PST by
Apple is working on a smart home hub that will rely heavily on the more capable version of Siri that's coming next year. We've heard quite a bit about the hub over the last two years, but a recent iOS 26 code leak provides additional insight into what we can expect and confirms rumored features. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Macworld claims to have access to an ...

Top Rated Comments

Tony_YYZ Avatar
80 months ago
And still no Siri Shortcuts fix I bet
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dizbuster Avatar
80 months ago
I would just like it if I could delete sms messages on my phone and they would automatically delete on my watch Like iMessages does. I assume Apple could do that.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tony_YYZ Avatar
80 months ago

This is the only thing I’m interested in. I can’t believe Macrumors etc haven’t had a news article on how there’s currently no Siri Shortcuts on either Apple Watch or HomePod. Insane.
Yeah it's incredibly surprising how no outlets made any noise about this. Especially since Apple themselves have released no information about it. They are just hoping people will accept and move on?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WilliamG Avatar
80 months ago

And still no Siri Shortcuts fix I bet
This is the only thing I’m interested in. I can’t believe Macrumors etc haven’t had a news article on how there’s currently no Siri Shortcuts on either Apple Watch or HomePod. Insane.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Braderunner Avatar
80 months ago

I don’t know what Thermo Watch is. But are you confirming that Siri Shortcuts created in the Shortcuts app are now working on Apple Watch with this update?
Yes. They are for me. I also just tested it with a shortcut for Dark Sky.
The Thermo Watch shortcuts were created in that app. But, they have not been working. Been getting message, "Sorry, shortcuts aren't available on Apple Watch...".
The Dark Sky shortcut was created in the Shortcuts app.
Yeaaahhh! Now, I have to get used to using them on the Watch, again. Been so long...I was starting to get used to their absence from the Watch.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sasparilla Avatar
80 months ago
Nice to see them moving forward with the next release.

Frankly, I want to keep 6 off of my Series 3 for as long as possible (seems like mostly performance downsides). I woke up to the notice (last weekend) that there wasn't enough space to install 6.xx the on the prior night and I was so thankful for that situation.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)