Apple Seeds Third watchOS 26 and visionOS 26 Developer Betas - MacRumors
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Apple Seeds Third watchOS 26 and visionOS 26 Developer Betas

Apple today provided developers with the third betas of watchOS 26 and visionOS 26 for testing purposes, with the betas coming two weeks after the second betas were released.

General visionOS watchOS and tvOS Betas Feature Redux
The software updates can be downloaded through the Settings app on each device. A developer account is required.

‌watchOS 26‌ adopts new Liquid Glass design changes inspired by visionOS, much like iOS 26 and macOS 26. watchOS has a new AI-powered Workout Buddy for motivation and the Smart Stack incorporates more personal context for better suggestions. There's also a new Notes app and support for Live Translation.

visionOS 26 adds support for spatial widgets that can be placed anywhere in the space around you, along with refinements to make personas more lifelike and support for shared spatial experiences between two Vision Pro users.

The third ‌watchOS 26‌ beta should address an issue that affected Hermes Apple Watch models, causing them to overheat and crash. Apple has not yet seeded a third tvOS 26 beta.

The betas are limited to developers right now, but ‌watchOS 26‌ will be available to public beta in the near future. The updates will launch in the fall.

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Top Rated Comments

15 months ago

Interesting grouping of announcements.

watchOS is used a LOT more than the niche headgear.
I use visionOS a LOT more than watchOS, because I don't have an Apple Watch.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
15 months ago
Excited for Vision OS 26. Just picked up a used AVP and totally loving it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaveMcM76 Avatar
15 months ago
here's hoping watchOS beta 3 fixes some the horrendous battery drain from beta 2. I expect some added battery drain from a beta and 26 beta 1 did increase battery drain over 18.5 but beta 2 took it to a whole other level.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
15 months ago
Downloading now hoping the major issues with the Hermes models is fixed.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
15 months ago

Interesting grouping of announcements.

watchOS is used a LOT more than the niche headgear.
I never even touch my apple watch. But I do use my vision pro every single day.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
basalt5750 Avatar
15 months ago
I was only able to update and fix my Hermes watch by sandwiching it in ice-packs while downloading and updating, it took over 2 hours but succeeded.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)