Apple Releases Second watchOS 11 Public Beta With Vitals App and More

Apple today released the second beta of watchOS 11 to public beta testers, allowing non-developers to give the new features a try ahead of when the software launches this fall. The second beta comes a week after the first beta.

watchos 11 vitals
watchOS 11 can be downloaded after signing up on Apple's beta software website and upgrading your iPhone to the public beta version of iOS 18. You'll need to open up the Watch app on ‌iPhone‌, go to General, select Software Update, and choose the watchOS 11 Public Beta option under Beta Updates.

With watchOS 11, Apple added a new Vitals app that can be used to give you a daily overview of your health metrics, letting you know if anything is out of the ordinary. It compares information collected at night like heart rate, sleep, respiratory rate, and oxygen level to your levels over the previous weeks.

Smart Stack has new widgets like Translate and Shazam, plus it's smarter because it is able to suggest widgets based on time, date, location, and daily routine. Interactive widgets let you access app features from the Smart Stack, and it also supports Live Activities.

Training Load is a new way of measuring how the intensity and duration of workouts impact the body over time, with Apple providing an effort level for cardio-based workouts to help you know when to rest and when to push harder.

You can now customize your Activity Ring requirements for different days of the week, and Apple added support for rest days. Taking a break from activity will no longer ruin a streak because you can pause for a day, a week, a month, or more.

Other new features include more workout types, Check In for Messages, a revamped Photos watch face, improvements to Double Tap, and more, with additional information available in our watchOS 11 roundup.

Related Roundup: watchOS 26
Related Forum: Apple Watch

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Top Rated Comments

xmarcuswildx Avatar
15 months ago

Serious question.

When do people charge the Watch if they want it to monitor them 24/7, even during sleep?

Are there times in the day when it matters less? Maybe when they shower? But then you do without fall detection!
I charge before bed, when I wake up before/during my morning shower.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NightfallOrchid Avatar
15 months ago

Serious question.

When do people charge the Watch if they want it to monitor them 24/7, even during sleep?

Are there times in the day when it matters less? Maybe when they shower? But then you do without fall detection!
I charge my Ultra 2 shortly before I go to bed, from about 60%, where it usually sits at the end of the day, to 80% (Optimized charge limit). By the time I go to bed it's charged and ready for sleep tracking. In the morning I take it off and charge it from about 73-74% to 80% again, while I brush my teeth and get dressed.
This really only works for me because the Ultra has much better battery life than the other models and also charges pretty quickly...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
15 months ago
Serious question.

When do people charge the Watch if they want it to monitor them 24/7, even during sleep?

Are there times in the day when it matters less? Maybe when they shower? But then you do without fall detection!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DPH Avatar
15 months ago

What conclusions can Garmin users draw when they compare their Garmin with their Apple Watch with the new watchOS?

I like it on my garmin forerunner 265:
- long battery life
- all the sports data:
training readiness, vo2 max, HRV

Apple is still missing too much for me.
If you look away from the training readiness and the booring Watch designs of Garmin, then the Apple Watch Ultra 2 starts to be pretty good.

vo2 max is there, HRV, starta to be pretty good at sports data.

Battery life have never been an issue for me with the Apple Watch Series 4, and now Even less with Ultra 2.

So what is it really to miss? None of my Garmin friends know, and they even cant understand how to use their Garmins.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
boss.king Avatar
15 months ago

Serious question.

When do people charge the Watch if they want it to monitor them 24/7, even during sleep?

Are there times in the day when it matters less? Maybe when they shower? But then you do without fall detection!
It takes like 40 mins max to charge it, often much less. I usually put mine on the charger when I shower or between getting into bed and going to sleep.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Larry-Bloom Avatar
15 months ago

What conclusions can Garmin users draw when they compare their Garmin with their Apple Watch with the new watchOS?

I like it on my garmin forerunner 265:
- long battery life
- all the sports data:
training readiness, vo2 max, HRV

Apple is still missing too much for me.
The Apple Watch has included features like Vo2 Max and HRV for a while now, and will incorporate Training Load in the upcoming update. A key reason why I prefer using an Apple Ultra over a Garmin is its functionality as a phone. I despise carrying my phone while running, and having previously broken a phone during a mountain biking session, I find it much more convenient and liberating to just have a watch.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)