Apple Seeds Third Beta of watchOS 6.2.8 to Developers

Apple today seeded the third beta of an upcoming watchOS 6.2.8 update to developers, three weeks after releasing the second beta and a over month after releasing the watchOS 6.2.5 update with new Pride Apple Watch faces.

watchos6ewatchfaces
watchOS 6.2.8 can be downloaded for free 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.

It's not clear what's included in watchOS 6.2.8, but it likely focuses on under-the-hood performance improvements and bug fixes for issues that weren't able to be addressed in the prior update, as well as adding support for Car Key, the feature that allows an Apple Watch to be used in lieu of a physical key for compatible cars.

No new features were found in the first two betas of watchOS 6.2.8, but we'll update this article should anything new be found in the third beta.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

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