Apple Seeds Second Beta of watchOS 8.4 to Developers
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 8.4 beta to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming three weeks after the launch of the first betas and a month after the release of watchOS 8.3.

To install watchOS 8.4, 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.
We don't yet know what's new in the watchOS 8.4 update, and no new features were found in the first beta. We'll update this article should anything new be found in the second beta.
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