Apple Releases First Beta of New watchOS 5 Operating System to Developers

by

Apple this morning announced watchOS 5, a new version of the software that runs on the Apple Watch. The first developer beta of watchOS 5 has now been released to developers for testing purposes.

To install the beta, you'll need the proper configuration profile, which can be obtained through the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the watchOS 5 beta can be downloaded using the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software Update.

applewatchwalkietalkie
To install the beta, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. It would be wise to install the beta on a secondary device instead of a primary device given that this is an early version of the watchOS 5 software that still has bugs to be worked out.

watchOS 5 is a huge update that brings Activity Competitions so you can compete on workouts with friends, Walkie-Talkie with push-to-talk functionality for quickly communicating with the people you talk to most, and auto workout detection to make it easier than ever to start and stop workouts.

Other new features include an improved Siri watch face with support for third-party apps, a dedicated Apple Podcasts app, new Workout types that include Yoga and Hiking, new features for runners, and enhanced notifications, which will make notifications on the Apple Watch interactive.

watchOS 5 is only available to developers and will not be provided to public beta testers (because there's no way to downgrade Apple Watch software), so non-developers will need to wait until the software is officially released in the fall to try it out.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Read Full Article • 89 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Read Full Article • 137 comments
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Read Full Article • 111 comments
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Read Full Article • 50 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Read Full Article • 82 comments
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...
Read Full Article • 98 comments
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Read Full Article • 68 comments
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Read Full Article • 14 comments

Top Rated Comments

ErikGrim Avatar
ErikGrim
98 months ago
No support for the first generation of the Apple Watch. Looks like early adopters get abandoned again.
That’s literally the accepted risk of being an early adopter.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mcdj Avatar
mcdj
98 months ago
Still no 3rd party faces. Wow. They would make a killing on a face store. Instead, they’re putting the screws to MacBook screw vendors.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gsmornot Avatar
gsmornot
98 months ago
No support for the first generation of the Apple Watch. Looks like early adopters get abandoned again.
Use it as motivation to update. I held out until a few months ago with the original and man, Series 3 is a huge difference. I assume Series 4 will be along in the fall and I hear it might have a bigger display but 3 is a big leap. I forget to charge so every other day roughly I get a reminder that I'm at 10%. It used to be a nightly charge at bedtime.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
macduke
98 months ago
No support for the first generation of the Apple Watch. Looks like early adopters get abandoned again.
Yeah, but us on Series 0 are also short on battery life and watchOS 4 is already running pretty slow. I've got my settings stripped down to a minimum and still struggle with battery life and performance. I'm looking forward to upgrading this autumn to the newer models which hopefully have a bigger display option or redesign of some sort.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RamGuy Avatar
RamGuy
98 months ago
The whole daily activity/exercise/calorie goal need a re-design. Its one of the few things I feel doesn't really work on my Apple Watch.

I love the Apple Watch. I have tried Fitbit, Garmin and Samsung and I find the Apple Watch to just be better in pretty much every possible way. And Apple keeps on improving the Activity and Workout-app at phase that no one else seems to be even close to match.

But I fully agree. The whole approach to daily goals feels somewhat awkward to me. Having this set amount of calories and exercise mirrored and identical for every single day doesn’t make much sense. I don’t plan exercises for every single day, and no one really should unless they count things like walking for 30 minutes as a exercise.. If I was going to do my exercises every single day it would not be good for my body..

What does this result into? Well, it makes it impossible for me to set activity goals on the watch. Either I have to set a low calorie goal so watchOS won’t be nagging me all day for the days I’m not exercising and completely demolish said goal every day I actually do exercise or I have to set a more realistic goal, something more close to my average daily calorie goal but then have watchOS counting all days without exercises as "fails"… Its rather annoying… And it doesn’t really help motivate or anything when its done in the way its currently working.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
123 Avatar
123
98 months ago
('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/06/04/apple-releases-first-watchos-5-beta/')

watchOS 5 is a huge update that brings Activity Competitions...
Umm, huge update? More like a point release.

I don't know a single person who uses the Siri face and this is not going to change anytime soon. This stuff must blend in unobtrusively. Instead, it comes across as if it was the sole reason for the watch's existence. Bah

And when it comes to competitions, this is certainly a feature that 2 peope would like to use, if not 3. great.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments