Apple Seeds Second Beta of watchOS 8 to Developers

Apple today seeded the second beta of the upcoming watchOS 8 update to developers for testing purposes, with the second beta coming a little over two weeks after Apple first revealed watchOS 8 at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

watchOS 8 on Apple Watch feature
To install ‌watchOS 8‌, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌watchOS 8‌ can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update.

To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌iPhone‌‌. It's not recommended to install ‌watchOS 8‌ on a main Apple Watch as the software may be unstable at this early date.

watchOS 8 has several new features that are extensions of new features introduced in iOS 15. There are improvements to Wallet that allow it to hold keys for unlocking hotel, car, and home doors, plus Apple will let U.S. users add their IDs to Wallet later this year.

Apple overhauled the Home app, and for the Workout app, there are new Tai Chi and Pilates workout types, and the Breathe app has been renamed to Mindfulness thanks to a new Reflect session that invites users to get into a positive state of mind. When sleeping, the Apple Watch now measures respiratory rate.

Focus mode from iOS 15 syncs to the watch so users can stay on task, and in the Messages app, Scribble, dictation, and emojis can be combined within the same message, making it easier to communicate. Dictated text can be edited, and GIFs can be sent right from the watch.

There's a new Portrait watch face, and the Photos app has been updated with support for Memories and Featured ‌Photos‌. A new Find My app lets items be located right on the wrist, and there are also new updates for Music, Weather, Timers, and more, along with a new Contacts app.

‌watchOS 8‌ is only available to developers at the current time, but a public beta will be released at some point in July.

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

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
iPadOS 26 App Windowing

Apple Explains Why iPads Don't Just Run macOS

Friday June 13, 2025 7:46 am PDT by
iPadOS 26 allows iPads to function much more like Macs, with a new app windowing system, a swipe-down menu bar at the top of the screen, and more. However, Apple has stopped short of allowing iPads to run macOS, and it has now explained why. In an interview this week with Swiss tech journalist Rafael Zeier, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi said that iPadOS 26's new Mac-like ...
iphone 16 pro models 1

17 Reasons to Wait for the iPhone 17

Thursday June 12, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models simultaneously, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you skipped the iPhone...
Logitech Logo Feature

Logitech Announces Two New Accessories for WWDC

Friday June 13, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Alongside WWDC this week, Logitech announced notable new accessories for the iPad and Apple Vision Pro. The Logitech Muse is a spatially-tracked stylus developed for use with the Apple Vision Pro. Introduced during the WWDC 2025 keynote address, Muse is intended to support the next generation of spatial computing workflows enabled by visionOS 26. The device incorporates six degrees of...
iOS 26 Screens

Here Are All the iOS 26 Features That Require iPhone 15 Pro or Newer

Thursday June 12, 2025 4:53 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has introduced some major changes to the iPhone experience, headlined by the new Liquid Glass redesign that's available across all compatible devices. However, several of the update's features are exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, since they rely on Apple Intelligence. The following features are powered by on-device large language models and machine...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Apple to Let iPhone Users Watch Videos on CarPlay Screen While Parked

Thursday June 12, 2025 6:16 am PDT by
Apple this week announced that iPhone users will soon be able to watch videos right on the CarPlay screen in supported vehicles. iPhone users will be able to wirelessly stream videos to the CarPlay screen using AirPlay, according to Apple. For safety reasons, video playback will only be available when the vehicle is parked, to prevent distracted driving. The connected iPhone will be able to...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Hate iOS 26's Liquid Glass Design? Here's How to Tone It Down

Wednesday June 11, 2025 4:22 pm PDT by
iOS 26 features a whole new design material that Apple calls Liquid Glass, with a focus on transparency that lets the content on your display shine through the controls. If you're not a fan of the look, or are having trouble with readability, there is a step that you can take to make things more opaque without entirely losing out on the new look. Apple has multiple Accessibility options that ...
iOS 26 Feature

Apple Seeds Revised iOS 26 Developer Beta to Fix Battery Issue

Friday June 13, 2025 10:15 am PDT by
Apple today provided developers with a revised version of the first iOS 26 beta for testing purposes. The update is only available for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models, so if you're running iOS 26 on an iPhone 14 or earlier, you won't see the revised beta. Registered developers can download the new beta software through the Settings app on each device. The revised beta addresses an...
Mac Studio Feature

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished Mac Studio With M4 Max and M3 Ultra Chips at a Discount

Thursday June 12, 2025 10:14 am PDT by
Apple today added Mac Studio models with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips to its online certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and many European countries, for the first time since they were released in March. As usual for refurbished Macs, prices are discounted by approximately 15% compared to the equivalent new models on Apple's online store. Note that Apple's ...

Top Rated Comments

Braderunner Avatar
52 months ago

The rating isn’t that accurate. I always got well over 18 hours on the original, series 2 and series 3. The battery life has gotten lower and lower for me with the series 4 and then 5. I guess I’ve just been unlucky, if some of you are getting such amazing battery life. They’ve said the same thing for years because it allowed them to add more features without having to say the battery life is lower. At least, that’s how I see it. They knew that previous models got well over 18 hours. Reviewers have said the same thing.

I’ll grant you that I don’t like my batteries to get under 30%. To me, once it’s in the 20s, it’s too low to keep using. I don’t want to be running it close to battery saver mode every day. So, in my mind, the watch should remain over 20% until I go to bed. I don’t ever run the watch until it’s almost dead.

I don’t mean to derail this thread. I was just shocked by the battery life comment.
Nobody...is getting 2 full days (some people have claimed more) from a single charge on their Watch. Not if they are using it. Not on Series Anything. They are either lying, or leaving something out. Like not wearing it for hours at a time. No way anyone is wearing their Watch for 2 full days on a single charge. No way.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RayIshido Avatar
52 months ago
I hope it will fix the battery problem on my serie 5...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MauiPa Avatar
52 months ago

The series 3 has a bigger battery. It got the best battery life of any series I’ve had. The series 2 was pretty good, too. They made the watch thinner with the 4 on, which made battery life lower along with eventual AOD.

I used to always have at least 50% left at the end of day with the series 3.

I didn’t switch to my series 5 until after 10am, and I’m not at 44%. That included a 50minute outdoor walk workout. No music or LTE use. Doing nothing but getting the occasional notification. I don’t use hardly any third party apps and I almost never open an app other than weather or workout.
You probably know already that battery size on older tech does not necessarily equate to longer life. Advances in the soc, display and other components result in lower energy demands, thus same size battery equals more life, smaller battery means same life. Both the series 6 and series 3 are rated the same for battery life. I just got a series 6 and I’m getting 2 days as well. Obviously it is based on your use and options set
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Braderunner Avatar
52 months ago

You probably know already that battery size on older tech does not necessarily equate to longer life. Advances in the soc, display and other components result in lower energy demands, thus same size battery equals more life, smaller battery means same life. Both the series 6 and series 3 are rated the same for battery life. I just got a series 6 and I’m getting 2 days as well. Obviously it is based on your use and options set
I agree with you…except for the 2 days part…not if your using it. No way. Maybe…if you’re only using it to check the time. Not if your reading messages, checking weather, and just one other thing. Nope.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PaladinGuy Avatar
52 months ago
You probably know already that battery size on older tech does not necessarily equate to longer life. Advances in the soc, display and other components result in lower energy demands, thus same size battery equals more life, smaller battery means same life. Both the series 6 and series 3 are rated the same for battery life. I just got a series 6 and I’m getting 2 days as well. Obviously it is based on your use and options set
The rating isn’t that accurate. I always got well over 18 hours on the original, series 2 and series 3. The battery life has gotten lower and lower for me with the series 4 and then 5. I guess I’ve just been unlucky, if some of you are getting such amazing battery life. They’ve said the same thing for years because it allowed them to add more features without having to say the battery life is lower. At least, that’s how I see it. They knew that previous models got well over 18 hours. Reviewers have said the same thing.

I’ll grant you that I don’t like my batteries to get under 30%. To me, once it’s in the 20s, it’s too low to keep using. I don’t want to be running it close to battery saver mode every day. So, in my mind, the watch should remain over 20% until I go to bed. I don’t ever run the watch until it’s almost dead.

I don’t mean to derail this thread. I was just shocked by the battery life comment.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chacocliff Avatar
52 months ago

I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I didn’t have the portrait option in the first beta. I have it now.
I didn’t either, but I do now. Also the fire animation when you close your rings is back.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)