Apple Releases watchOS 10.4 With Fix for Ghost Touch Bug
Apple today released watchOS 10.4, the fourth update to the watchOS 10 operating system that was released in September. watchOS 10.4 comes over a month after watchOS 10.3, a minor update that brought a new watch face.
watchOS 10.4 can be downloaded for free through the Apple Watch app on an iPhone running iOS 17 or later by opening it up and going to General & Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery and it needs to be placed on a charger.
watchOS 10.4 adds support for new emoji characters that were also added to the iPhone, including lime, edible brown mushroom, phoenix, broken chain, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), and shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake).
There is also a Setting to disable the Double Tap feature on Apple Watch when using Vision Pro, and an option to double tap to show an expanded notification. Apple also included a fix for a bug that could cause some users to experience "ghost touches" on the display, a problem that was affecting the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2.
Apple's release notes for the update are below:
watchOS 10.4 includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:
- Tap to Show Full Notification setting now allows you to double tap to expand the notification
- Using Apple Pay with Confirm with AssistiveTouch will require a passcode for additional security and will not support double clicking the side button
- Resolves an issue that causes some users to experience false touches on the display
- Fixes an issue that prevents contacts from syncing to Apple Watch for some users
For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222
More on the features that have been added in watchOS 10 to date can be found in our dedicated roundup.
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Top Rated Comments
Step 1: Initiate the update while you're wearing it. This can be done from your phone or watch and it'll do the download and preparing stages. This can take about 15-20 minutes or more. The watch (and phone) is still fully functional while this is happening, so carry on about your day or do something else.
Step 2: When the above is completed, pop the watch on the charger to do the install. It'll automatically start right away if the battery is above 50%...no need to go back into settings to start the update again. This could be done later when you get home (even hours later), when you hop in the shower, or when you have some time to spare.
This is how I've always updated my watch and I'm only without my watch for 5-10 minutes while it's on the charger.