Apple Releases watchOS 8.5.1 With Security Updates and Bug Fixes

Apple today released watchOS 8.5.1, a minor update to the watchOS 8 operating system that came out in September. watchOS 8.5.1 comes two weeks after the launch of watchOS 8.5.

watchOS 8 on Apple Watch feature
‌‌watchOS ‌8.5.1 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.

According to Apple's release notes for the update, watchOS 8.5.1 adds security updates and bug fixes for the Apple Watch.

Related Roundups: watchOS 11, watchOS 26
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

Gator5000e Avatar
43 months ago
Waiting for an option to clear all text message in masse from the watch. The process now is arduous at best.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BuffaloTF Avatar
43 months ago

Waiting for an option to clear all text message in masse from the watch. The process now is arduous at best.
I’d just be happy if what I delete on my phone mirrored over to the watch. It does for every other device from iPad to Mac… just add this in already.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iStorm Avatar
43 months ago

Waiting for an option to clear all text message in masse from the watch. The process now is arduous at best.
You might already know this, but the watch only keeps the last 30 days of messages. Because of this, I’ve stopped managing messages on my watch since they’ll eventually get cleared out anyway.

I agree though, there needs to be better syncing with the phone.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nmcordeiro Avatar
43 months ago
Hopefully this fixes the Series 7 charging issue. I can have my watch on the charger for 3 hours and only go up 10%.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nabby Avatar
43 months ago

Waiting for an option to clear all text message in masse from the watch. The process now is arduous at best.
You're being too kind with that description, even using "at best". Least user friendly process I can recall having to use. And coming from a company that managed to make messaging so easy my mom could do it without asking for help tells me that they could make it SO much better.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gomichaelgo Avatar
43 months ago
I don't see this available.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)