Apple Seeds Second Beta of watchOS 3.1 to Developers

[MacRumors]

Apple today seeded the second beta of watchOS 3.1, Build 14S464, to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the first beta and three weeks after releasing watchOS 3 to the public.

watchOS 3.1 can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software Update. To install the update, the Apple Watch must have 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the iPhone. watchOS 3.1 requires an iPhone running iOS 10 to install.

watchOS 3.1 appears to focus on bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements rather than outward-facing changes, as no new features were discovered in the first beta. We'll update this post with anything new that's found in the second beta.

watchOS 3 brings a new interface to the Apple Watch, with a dedicated App Dock and instant launch apps. There are new Activity sharing features, a "Breathe" app guides you through daily deep breathing sessions to cut down on stress, and there are new Reminders, Find My Friends, and Heart Rate apps.

Three new watch faces are included, and an SOS feature can automatically call emergency services. A revamped Messages app makes it easier to reply to incoming texts, plus there's a new "Scribble" feature for writing replies on the Apple Watch face with a finger.

Article Link: Apple Seeds Second Beta of watchOS 3.1 to Developers

 

[tkukoc]

Installing the phone beta update first, then I'll do this one. Hoping they fixed the notification artifact glitch where a message would come up or email and stick for a second then show your message.

 

[Aluminum213]

How about they make it easy to connect the Apple Watch to the MacBook

Stupidly complex

 

[bbeagle]

How about they make it easy to connect the Apple Watch to the MacBook

Stupidly complex

I did it in less than 30 seconds.

If you don't use 2-factor authentication already, then yes, it will take a little longer.

 

[exkeks]

Would love to see them getting the usability back into the Weather app. The current mode of switching between temperature, rain and conditions forecast by force touch is just annoying.

 

[stars_fan]

I did it in less than 30 seconds.

If you don't use 2-factor authentication already, then yes, it will take a little longer.

Many of us with two factor already on are getting an error message saying enable two factor first.

After more than twenty tries mine finally worked.

 

[SockRolid]

Not seeing too many changes from the previous beta.
In Weather, while looking at the 24-hour display for a city,
scrolling the crown animates the temp and city name now.
Didn't it used to scroll the whole display up and down between cities?
Can't remember.

 

[tfigs]

Would love to see them getting the usability back into the Weather app. The current mode of switching between temperature, rain and conditions forecast by force touch is just annoying.

OMG Yes!!! I already left feedback about this. I hope they revert it back to how it was in watchOS 2.

 

[btrach144]

Would love to see them getting the usability back into the Weather app. The current mode of switching between temperature, rain and conditions forecast by force touch is just annoying.

Agreed, nothing was broken about the weather app UI in wOS 2. Not sure why they made the UI changes as they're a step back from a UX perspective.

 

[domster83]

OMG Yes!!! I already left feedback about this. I hope they revert it back to how it was in watchOS 2.

Thank god. That change was soooo annoying. And made no sense. I submitted an extensive feedback report on that.

 

[exkeks]

Agreed, nothing was broken about the weather app UI in wOS 2. Not sure why they made the UI changes as they're a step back from a UX perspective.

I think, Apple had mysterious reasons to get away with swiping between cities. Not sure why, because that mode perfectly mimicked the way it is done on the iPhone. But if Apple wanted to change that input mode, one thing led to another: Cities got "scrolling" - the 10days view was reached by "scrolling" and is now by "touching" - the switch between rain, temperature and conditions was accomplished by "touching" and is now by "force touching".

 

[recoil80]

I think it is too soon to introduce new features.
watchOS 3 was a major overhaul, they need to improve stability and battery life first

 

[Der Keyser]

I think it is too soon to introduce new features.
watchOS 3 was a major overhaul, they need to improve stability and battery life first

I wholeheartedly disagree! It's a disgrace that podcasts are not supported untethered. The whole point of a bluetooth enabled fitness watch is "offline" usage of Music and podcasts while running.
Come on Apple it's your 3'rd OS release and still no native podcasts...

 

[recoil80]

I wholeheartedly disagree! It's a disgrace that podcasts are not supported untethered. The whole point of a bluetooth enabled fitness watch is "offline" usage of Music and podcasts while running.
Come on Apple it's your 3'rd OS release and still no native podcasts...

Did you try third party apps?
Like this one https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/overcast-podcast-player/id888422857?mt=8
I always have iPhone with me so offline podcast is not something I care about, but I'd expect apps to support that.
I guess Music can be played offline, there is some storage on the Watch for that

 

[Der Keyser]

Did you try third party apps?
Like this one https://itunes.apple.com/it/app/overcast-podcast-player/id888422857?mt=8
I always have iPhone with me so offline podcast is not something I care about, but I'd expect apps to support that.
I guess Music can be played offline, there is some storage on the Watch for that

Yes, they are only remote control of the onphone app. There's still no third party app that can sync podcasts to be played untethered. And as you know apple has not made any podcast support either.

Besided, I'm still unsure if it's even allowed on watchOS3 for third party devs. It wastn't on watchOS2, so app developers couldn't do it back then. Probably can't now either due to filesize, audiooutput restrictions or similar apple restrictions.

 

[recoil80]

Yes, they are only remote control of the onphone app. There's still no third party app that can sync podcasts to be played untethered. And as you know apple has not made any podcast support either.

Besided, I'm still unsure if it's even allowed on watchOS3 for third party devs. It wastn't on watchOS2, so app developers couldn't do it back then. Probably can't now either due to filesize, audiooutput restrictions or similar apple restrictions.

I haven't written a watchOS app yet so I'm not sure about that, but downloading files on the Watch should be possible.
I don't know if there is a file size limit that prevents podcast from being stored on the Watch or if it is forbidden to play audio coming directly from the Watch, but I didn't read anything about that in the official documentation.
I wonder why Apple has not made available podcast yet, but third party should be able to do that.
Watch 2 with GPS just hit the stores, I'm sure many people like you want to go workout without the phone and enjoy music or podcast, so at least some third party apps will be updated to support offline storage. At least I hope so

 

[bbeagle]

downloading files on the Watch should be possible.

It is - right now, the workaround is to download the podcast into iTunes, change the 'media kind' from podcast to music, and then sync with the watch.

There is an app called 'Overcast' that allows you to play podcasts from your phone to your watch.

It should be much easier than it is now. It should be automatic, and allow podcast streaming.

 

[FasterQuieter]

I was hoping they would put now playing back in the control center. It used to be be a simple swipe up to activate, now it's a pain and not worth using. And as that was my primary use for the watch other than telling the time, Watch OS 3 has been a net loss for me. I still don't use any other apps, so having them "easily" accessible (with a click and up to 5 swipes), does nothing for me.

 

[ErikGrim]

(with a click and up to 5 swipes)

Use the digital crown for scrolling.

 

[themick4u]

Anyone else having issues with the Apple Watch unlocking Mac OS Sierra??? I have it added and on the same SSID but when it tries to unlock, it stalls out.