Apple Seeds First watchOS 9 Public Beta

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 9 update to its public beta testing group, allowing non-developers to experience the new watch software ahead of its fall release.

watchOS 9 Feature
The watchOS 9 update can be downloaded after upgrading your iPhone to the public beta version of iOS 16. After installing iOS 16, the proper watchOS 8 profile from Apple's beta software website must also be installed.

The software can be accessed by going to General > Software Update in the Apple Watch app on ‌iPhone‌. To update, ‌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.

watchOS 9 expands the sleep tracking feature to add sleep stages, allowing the watch to track when users are in REM Core, or Deep sleep, plus it supports a Medications app for managing and getting reminders for medications, vitamins, and supplements.

There are four new watch faces, including Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and Astronomy, and the ECG app supports AFib History for tracking how long a person has been in atrial fibrillation.

Custom workouts have been added to the Workout app, and there are fitness improvements for runners, triathletes, and swimmers. Other new features include a CallKit API that allows VOIP calls to be answered on Apple Watch, Apple Watch Mirroring for controlling the Apple Watch with an ‌‌iPhone‌‌, Quick Actions for doing more with a double pinch gesture, and updates to the Reminders and Calendar apps.

More on everything that's new in the watchOS 9 update can be found in our dedicated watchOS 9 roundup.

Related Roundup: watchOS 11
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple Glasses Purple Feature

Apple Smart Glasses Launching in 2026

Thursday May 22, 2025 12:22 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week. Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
maxresdefault

OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's AI Startup to 'Completely Reimagine What It Means to Use a Computer'

Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices. In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...
iPod shuffle generations

Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle

Thursday May 22, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The big news in the technology world this week is that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working more closely with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on a futuristic AI device. The company is remaining tight lipped about the device, but Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared some alleged details about its design. In a social media post today, Kuo said the device will be "slightly larger" ...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...

Top Rated Comments

robd003 Avatar
38 months ago

Please can someone post a list of what is not working on SE.
Most interested in Running Metrics like Power.
Thank you
I'll test it tomorrow and report back
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
terrapinjess Avatar
38 months ago

I’m loving the new watch faces. Metropolitan is my fav with the pride color wheel.
I just checked out a video of how that looks... That looks so nice! I'm tempted to add this public beta to my watch... I really want these new faces. Astonomy with the Earth on the lower half and time upper center looks like what I want the most. Can't wait for this release!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
_Spinn_ Avatar
38 months ago

I'm excited to try the sleep stages tracking.
Same here!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Caviar_X Avatar
38 months ago
I’m loving the new watch faces. Metropolitan is my fav with the pride color wheel.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Camel993 Avatar
38 months ago

I'd love to know what doesn't work on an SE...as I'm looking to pick one for cheap.
SE got the new running metrics do to the always on sensors, even the 5 doesn't have it hence they have the same processor
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
terrapinjess Avatar
38 months ago
Is it sad that I’m only looking forward to the new WatchOS because I want the new lunar face?
For the other analog faces, specifically Infograph, I’m hoping that by some rare miracle there will be an option to turn the watch hands completely off at some point. It’s so … well, stupid….when the hands cover up the complications. Maybe make them just fade out/become opaque just in the areas over the complications, Apple?

EDIT: I’ve already submitted this as a feature request to Apple in the past. I’ll be so happy when/if they implement it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)