Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of watchOS 9.4 to Developers

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 9.4 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software update coming one week after launch of the third beta.

Apple watchOS 9 Feature
To install the watchOS 9.4 update, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center.

Once installed, ‌watchOS 9.4 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 has to be placed on the charger, and it will need to be in range of the ‌‌iPhone‌‌ it is paired with.

watchOS 9.4 gains support for new emoji characters that include donkey, goose, black bird, shaking head, hyacinth, pea pod, and more, with 31 new characters available in total.

Through iOS 16.4, the update adds support for Web Push notifications that are sent to an ‌iPhone‌, with the notifications able to be set up for a website that is added to the ‌iPhone‌'s Home Screen.

watchOS 9.4 will go through a few more rounds of beta testing, and it is expected to see a launch in the spring alongside iOS 16.4.

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

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

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. 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...
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
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...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...

Top Rated Comments

williamkey123 Avatar
30 months ago
I wish they actually made a watch that shade of purple!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IIGS User Avatar
30 months ago

Apple makes a significant change for runners with watchOS 9.4 ... new this year in 9.0 was "Running Power" a complex algorithm that helps create a numerical value and graph that quantifies the effort you make while running while accounting for grade, wind and more. Basically the watch knows you are working harder running uphill or against the wind and gives you credit even if you are running slower, etc. It's a powerful way to train because you can workout to a given Power value and the number should equate to effort no matter if you are running on the flats, downhills or uphills if you just keep the number the same etc. The problem? Apple unlike competitors only created this value for RUNNING and just dropped the value to 0 if you began walking. The problem was twofold... 1) walking still takes effort and 2) many runners might walk portions such as during intervals, or when on a particular steep incline etc. This "0" Apple gave you skewed the effort value for the entire run as you can imagine. With 9.4 Apple fixes this and now begins giving appropriate Running Power effort values EVEN if walking, which makes it far better to understand the overall effort of a workout.
I wish I could run like I used to. I used to do two miles a day. I couldn't figure out why my aerobic capacity would never get better no matter how hard I pushed myself. I used to run myself almost stupid trying to get better. I often felt like a failure, or even lazy.

Then I was diagnosed with a defective mitral valve with severe regurgitation in my late 40's. They put a "clip" on it because I was too sick for open heart surgery at the time. It worked great at first, but its effectiveness has diminished with time and the clock is ticking on a full valve replacement. I'm not really comfortable with exercising the way I did in my 30's and 40's given my heart condition. My job can be physically stressful at times so I get a lot of exercise there. My cardiologist said he was amazed I never had a full blown heart attack doing what I do and exercising at the level I did. And none of the standard heart screens caught it. I had several that were job related over the years and passed every one. He also said I'm healthy enough for the standard robotic valve replacement surgery now. so this thing bought me time to get better.


Hopefully this fixes battery life on my Ultra. I averaged 51 hours with Sleep tracking on the last beta.
I'm generally happy with my Ultra. It's my favorite gadget right now. The altimeter is a bit buggy. The battery life isn't as good as I thought it would be, but it's pretty good. It was spendy, but I think it was worth the money over the regular watch. If you have a big enough wrist.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xDKP Avatar
30 months ago

It better fix the slow charging issue!!! I only bought a Series 7 because it supports fast charging.
Is there a slow charging bug? Haven’t noticed?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ProfessionalFan Avatar
30 months ago

Hopefully this fixes battery life on my Ultra. I averaged 51 hours with Sleep tracking on the last beta.
How many hours should it average?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
canyonblue737 Avatar
30 months ago
Apple makes a significant change for runners with watchOS 9.4 ... new this year in 9.0 was "Running Power" a complex algorithm that helps create a numerical value and graph that quantifies the effort you make while running while accounting for grade, wind and more. Basically the watch knows you are working harder running uphill or against the wind and gives you credit even if you are running slower, etc. It's a powerful way to train because you can workout to a given Power value and the number should equate to effort no matter if you are running on the flats, downhills or uphills if you just keep the number the same etc. The problem? Apple unlike competitors only created this value for RUNNING and just dropped the value to 0 if you began walking. The problem was twofold... 1) walking still takes effort and 2) many runners might walk portions such as during intervals, or when on a particular steep incline etc. This "0" Apple gave you skewed the effort value for the entire run as you can imagine. With 9.4 Apple fixes this and now begins giving appropriate Running Power effort values EVEN if walking, which makes it far better to understand the overall effort of a workout.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)