Apple Seeds First Beta of watchOS 10.4 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 10.4 update to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming a week after the release of watchOS 10.3.

Apple Watch Faces watchOS 10 Feature Blue
To install the ‌watchOS 10.4‌ update, developers need to open the Apple Watch app, go to the Software Update section under "General" in Settings, and toggle on the watchOS 10 Developer Beta. An Apple ID linked to a developer account is required.

Once beta updates have been activated, watchOS 10.4 can be downloaded under the same Software Update section. To install software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life and it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger.

watchOS 10.4 includes new emoji characters such as a lime, an edible brown mushroom, a phoenix, a broken chain, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), and shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake).

Related Roundup: watchOS 11
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

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...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Battery Capacity and Weight Allegedly Revealed

Monday May 19, 2025 2:22 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this year, and while there have been plenty of rumors about the camera's overall design and thinness, we haven't heard any details about the device's weight and battery capacity until now. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean-langauge Naver blog, the 6.6-inch iPhone 17 Air has a weight ...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's 'CarPlay Ultra' Experience Now Available

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:07 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Apple Says These Vehicle Brands Plan to Offer All-New CarPlay Ultra

Thursday May 15, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
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,...
Apple Intelligence General Feature

Report: Apple's Next-Gen Version of Siri Is 'On Par' With ChatGPT

Monday May 19, 2025 9:00 am PDT by
Apple has big plans to improve Siri over the next few years, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett report. Some Apple executives are now reportedly pushing to turn Siri into a true ChatGPT competitor. A next-generation, chatbot version of Siri has reportedly made significant progress during testing over the past six months; some executives allegedly now see it as "on par" with recent...
iOS 18 Siri Personal Context

Apple Will Reportedly Be More Cautious About Announcing New Features Well in Advance

Sunday May 18, 2025 2:50 pm PDT by
Apple plans to mostly stop announcing new features more than a few months before they are ready to launch, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Drake Bennett. The pair of reporters revealed this noteworthy tidbit towards the bottom of a lengthy report about Apple's artificial intelligence shortcomings today. This alleged change in strategy comes after Apple was forced to delay its more...

Top Rated Comments

MrGimper Avatar
17 months ago

While I understand updates on the watch are “limited” I think Watch OS updates needs something worthwhile, even major updates have very little to brag about.

Alwas waiting for Apple to come up with something “revolutionary” on the watch os.
More than 2 useful watch faces would be a start

There are currently more faces for kids than there are useful ones.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yabeweb Avatar
17 months ago

More than 2 useful watch faces would be a start

There are currently more faces for kids than there are useful ones.
Well an app for Mac to develop watchfaces would be a great start.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nortonandreev Avatar
17 months ago
Wondering when they will remove the WiFi only and connected to charger requirements for installing updates.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Simon89 Avatar
17 months ago
Underwhelming as always for WatchOS.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rwilliams Avatar
17 months ago

Wondering when they will remove the WiFi only and connected to charger requirements for installing updates.
That really is so irritating. If I’m on the go and want to risk the battery hit or whatever to install it, make it an option.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fuzzball84 Avatar
17 months ago
What would be really cool is seeing a version os Watch OS for vintage and obselete Apple watches.. there will come a point where there are millions of unsupported Apple Watches that dont get returned to Apple for recycling etc.

They could make a version of watch OS that caters to these older watches that is a sort of extra few years or so of life as a cut down watch that is still a bit smart. Maybe a small fee like adding 10 dollars onto the proce of the battery replacement at the end of the watches support cycle and they hand you the watch back with that custom OS on it. Maybe just a set of stock apps for heart rate, timers, calculator etc and a battery runtime of days instead of hours?

My current Series 4 watch is coming to the end of its life… and its pristine.. just needs a new battery but the latest full OS it supports kind of killing it… and not in a good way.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)