Apple Seeds Second Beta of watchOS 8.6 to Developers

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 8.6 beta to developers for testing purposes, with the new software coming two weeks after the release of the first beta.

watchOS 8 on Apple Watch feature
To install ‌‌‌watchOS 8‌‌‌.6, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌‌‌watchOS 8.6 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 included in the watchOS 8.6 update, and no new features have been discovered in the beta so far.

Related Roundup: watchOS 26
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. At the time,...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils First New Products of 2026

Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch. Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
apple unsold web store

Retail Accessories Apple Won't Sell You Now Available via New Site

Friday January 30, 2026 8:46 am PST by
A newly surfaced resale operation is seemingly offering Apple Store–exclusive display accessories to the public for the first time, potentially giving consumers access to Apple-designed hardware that the company has historically kept confined to its retail environments. Apple designs a range of premium MagSafe charging stands, display trays, and hardware systems exclusively for displays in ...

Top Rated Comments

twocents Avatar
50 months ago

Apparently the first watchOS version shipped with the original Apple Watch was based on iOS 8.2 or something so they didn’t reuse that version number to avoid confusion. I forget exactly, but yeah I just looked it up and watchOS 1.0 was indeed based on iOS 8.2 so it’s probably something along those lines.

Kind of a fun, random, and interesting Apple fact. ;):apple:
Nice catch! Watch has really matured since those days..
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tridley68 Avatar
50 months ago
This is the most updates for an iOS that I have ever seen.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sorgo † Avatar
50 months ago

Whatever happened to watchOS 8.2?


Apparently the first watchOS version shipped with the original Apple Watch was based on iOS 8.2 or something so they didn’t reuse that version number to avoid confusion. I forget exactly, but yeah I just looked it up and watchOS 1.0 was indeed based on iOS 8.2 so it’s probably something along those lines.

Kind of a fun, random, and interesting Apple fact. ;):apple:
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Davelfc Avatar
50 months ago
Rather than this ridiculous rush to bring out a new version of the operating system, just provide updates and improvements each month. What we end up with is an ok operating system that has taken almost a year to iron out issues, then being replaced with a new one with a load more bugs.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
50 months ago
Whatever happened to watchOS 8.2?



Attachment Image
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sir_Macs_A_Lot Avatar
50 months ago
I'm having the hardest time pairing an Apple Watch Series 1 to an iPhone 11. Apple is no help. They've moved on to bigger and better things. :oops:
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)