Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of watchOS 11 to Developers

[MacRumors]

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 11 update to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming a week after the third beta was released.

To install the ‌watchOS 11 update, developers need to open the Apple Watch app, go to the Software Update section under "General" in Settings, and toggle on the watchOS 11 Developer Beta. An Apple ID linked to a developer account is required.

Once beta updates have been activated, watchOS 11 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 11 introduces a new Vitals app that aggregates health metrics collected during sleep like heart rate and respiratory rate, providing day-to-day health insights to track whether something has changed. There's also a Training Load feature for monitoring the intensity of workouts and how that impacts the body over time.

The Smart Stack has been updated with new widgets and support for Live Activities and Translate, plus it is better able to suggest widgets based on time and daily routine. The Photos watch face includes suggestions for the best images to use, and the Check In safety feature now works with Workouts.

Activity Rings can be customized to change the goals for each day, and there is an option to pause for rest days or when ill without losing an activity streak. Double Tap now works for navigating through apps with one hand, and Apple Maps lets users create their own walking and hiking routes.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of watchOS 11 to Developers

 

[Cheesehead Dave]

Previous beta was really stable; just the battery usage was off the charts. My Ultra 2 goes through around 2/3 of the battery per day. Hopefully that'll gradually get tuned up as the betas progress.

 

[5097842]

I'm still very bitter that they axed the Siri watch face. I found it very useful and they're really no equivalent for it. Wouldn't have killed them to just leave it.

 

[chalkdiesel]

This update keeps failing for me.

 

[Stewie]

My watch doesn't like this update at all. I have had to unpair twice now and re-pair it to get it to work. Hopefully it won't power cycle again as that is what is causing me issues.

 

[Analog Kid]

the Check In safety feature now works with Workouts.

Huh, it surprises me this is a new feature. I don't use check in, but if I imagined myself using it then workouts would seem to be the right time.

 

[mblm85]

I'm still very bitter that they axed the Siri watch face. I found it very useful and they're really no equivalent for it. Wouldn't have killed them to just leave it.

I used it heavily for my work day schedule and do miss it.

The way I've adapted is to enable Live Activities for Calendar, Timer and Alarms, enable Show Live Activities on Wrist Down, and pin the Calendar-timeline and 3-Alarms-in-one-view Widgets to the top of the Smart Stack.

Working well for me though your mileage may vary.

 

[AndoAU]

I'm still very bitter that they axed the Siri watch face. I found it very useful and they're really no equivalent for it. Wouldn't have killed them to just leave it.

Perhaps it’ll return with Apple Intelligence. Fingers crossed!

 

[BarrettF77]

This beta has killed batteries on my series 9 in 3 hours. Ultra 2 in 7 or less. Messages doesn't work well. Pretty much leave thees on the charger now and don't use them at all. Truly some of the worst software apple has ever done in the history of the Apple Watch. Only thing worse is them bricking devices. Suppose it's a miracle they haven't done that yet in this beta cycle. Android looks better by the day.

 

[srbNYC]

Not sure the cause, but my Fitness rings say that I have done 572 minutes of exercise today, including for several hours into the future.

 

[BarrettF77]

For such weak changes, how is Watch OS this broken?! Do they throw code out and ask the team to go fill in the blanks as a puzzle to keep them busy?!

 

[mblm85]

For such weak changes, how is Watch OS this broken?! Do they throw code out and ask the team to go fill in the blanks as a puzzle to keep them busy?!

I had exactly the same thought. Fortunately I'm faring better with this year's betas. 🤞

 

[southnorth]

I'm still very bitter that they axed the Siri watch face. I found it very useful and they're really no equivalent for it. Wouldn't have killed them to just leave it.