Apple Seeds watchOS 7.1 Release Candidate to Developers

Apple today seeded the release candidate version of an upcoming watchOS 7.1 update to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the fourth beta and more than a month after releasing the watchOS 7 update.

applewatchse
To install the ‌watchOS 7‌.1 beta, developers need to download the proper configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the ‌‌‌watchOS 7‌‌‌ beta can be downloaded through the dedicated ‌Apple Watch‌ app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.

To update to the new software, the ‌Apple Watch‌ needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌.

The watchOS 7.1 update introduces new hearing health protections, with the watch able to send a notification when music is too loud and could damage hearing. It also brings the ECG app to South Korea and Russia. Apple's full release notes are below:

watchOS 7.1 contains new features, improvements, and bug fixes.
- Adds the ability to be notified when your headphone audio level could impact your hearing
- Adds support for the ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 or later in the Republic of Korea and Russia
- Adds support for irregular heart rhythm notifications in the Republic of Korea and Russia
- Resolves an issue that prevented some users from unlocking a Mac with Apple Watch
- Fixes an issue where the screen may be dark on wrist raise for some Apple Watch Series 6 owners.

watchOS 7.1, like watchOS 7, is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 3 and later.

Related Roundup: watchOS 26
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
airtag purple

Apple's Website Lists AirTag 4-Pack at Shockingly Low Price [Updated]

Friday November 7, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag. This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked. Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
ikea smart home devices

IKEA Debuts 21 HomeKit-Compatible Smart Bulbs, Sensors, and Controls

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:08 pm PST by
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered. There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
Early Black Friday Deals 1

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals on MacBook, Apple Watch, iPad, and More

Saturday November 8, 2025 6:16 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple fitness plus feature

Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

Sunday November 9, 2025 5:30 am PST by
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue. Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
maxresdefault

In-Depth iPhone Battery Experiment Pits Slow Charging Against Fast Charging

Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time. Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged. Another set of iPhones underwent...
apple watch se 3 always on

Apple to Remove iPhone-Apple Watch Wi-Fi Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

Thursday November 6, 2025 4:37 am PST by
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report. Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...

Top Rated Comments

Marshalus Avatar
66 months ago
FINALLY can unlock my MacBook Pro with my Watch again. This has been bugging me for weeks, and none of the previous workarounds posted anywhere online were working for me.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gorms Avatar
66 months ago
Does anyone know if this will finally resolve the work out/map issue? I really hope it does
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Axiboy Avatar
66 months ago

Only seeing watchOS 7.1 Public Beta 4, so apparently the RC is not available for Public Beta testers yet.

BTW. Does an update to watchOS 7.1 require iOS 14.2?
RC is out now for Public beta. I'm not sure if you need 14.2 or not - I installed it on Saturday.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Braderunner Avatar
66 months ago

FINALLY can unlock my MacBook Pro with my Watch again. This has been bugging me for weeks, and none of the previous workarounds posted anywhere online were working for me.
Are you running Big Sur on your Mac? I didn’t have this problem until the last Big Sur beta. This Watch update didn’t fix it. Probably have to wait for next Big Sur beta release.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ladyc0524 Avatar
66 months ago
Are you running Big Sur on your Mac? I didn’t have this problem until the last Big Sur beta. This Watch update didn’t fix it. Probably have to wait for next Big Sur beta release.
I’m having this issue. I should have stayed on beta beta 10 of Big Sur instead of updating to 11.0.1. Oh well, I’ll wait for the next update.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DinkThifferent Avatar
66 months ago

Does anyone know if this will finally resolve the work out/map issue? I really hope it does
For me this has already been fixed after the latest update.
I'm running WatchOS 7.0.3 on a Series 3 with an iPhone 8Plus on iOS 14.1
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)