WatchOS 11.6.1??

[jonh229]

I have an S8 with functioning O2 monitor. Now I have received an alert to download 11.6.1
There is nothing in the release notes except the Apple work around for o2 and upgrading will remove that functionality from my watch and push it to my 15PM when I already get the readings on both devices.
Are all legacy watches going to be 'upgraded' to the Apple work around for O2?
Seems to me that I'm better off ignoring this update.

 

[goldmac2006]

I have an S8 with functioning O2 monitor. Now I have received an alert to download 11.6.1
There is nothing in the release notes except the Apple work around for o2 and upgrading will remove that functionality from my watch and push it to my 15PM when I already get the readings on both devices.
Are all legacy watches going to be 'upgraded' to the Apple work around for O2?
Seems to me that I'm better off ignoring this update.

only applicable with US model Apple Watch Series 9, 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 that were sold on or after January 2024

with LW/A on model number(s) and did not have the functioning Blood Oxygen app upon setup

Series 6 to 9 Apple Watch models sold in USA and original Ultras, including natural titanium Ultra 1 and some series 9s sold in 2023 are not affected. They can use it normally and don't need the update; the 11.6.1 watchOS update uses an alternative means of the Blood Oxygen app that circumvents the patent infringement by displaying results on the iPhone paired to your AW.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

only applicable with US model Apple Watch Series 9, 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 that were sold on or after January 2024

with LW/A on model number(s) and did not have the functioning Blood Oxygen app upon setup

Series 6 to 9 Apple Watch models sold in USA and original Ultras, including natural titanium Ultra 1 and some series 9s sold in 2023 are not affected. They can use it normally and don't need the update; the 11.6.1 watchOS update uses an alternative means of the Blood Oxygen app that circumvents the patent infringement by displaying results on the iPhone paired to your AW.

All watches get the update regardless of when they were made or if they have SPo2 enabled or not. That is what is confusing everyone that have watches with functioning SPo2. If those watches don't need the update, why are they receiving it? I am in this group as I have a S6 and an Ultra 2 with functional SPo2 and I don't want any changes to the way my devices process and display SPo2 on the watch. I want to make sure that will be the case before I update.. I read the release notes from Apple and even though they say watches that aren't LW/A won't be negatively effected by the update, I'd rather wait to see if anyone is experiencing any issues to the contrary

 

[goldmac2006]

All watches get the update regardless of when they were made or if they have SPo2 enabled or not. That is what is confusing everyone that have watches with functioning SPo2. If those watches don't need the update, why are they receiving it? I am in this group as I have a S6 and an Ultra 2 with functional SPo2 and I don't want any changes to the way my devices process and display SPo2 on the watch. I want to make sure that will be the case before I update.. I read the release notes from Apple and even though they say watches that aren't LW/A won't be negatively effected by the update, I'd rather wait to see if anyone is experiencing any issues to the contrary

Indeed watches that have it get the update too. My series 6 still had blood oxygen all the time I had it.

 

[doogm]

All watches get the update regardless of when they were made or if they have SPo2 enabled or not. That is what is confusing everyone that have watches with functioning SPo2. If those watches don't need the update, why are they receiving it? I am in this group as I have a S6 and an Ultra 2 with functional SPo2 and I don't want any changes to the way my devices process and display SPo2 on the watch. I want to make sure that will be the case before I update.. I read the release notes from Apple and even though they say watches that aren't LW/A won't be negatively effected by the update, I'd rather wait to see if anyone is experiencing any issues to the contrary

Honestly I prefer it this way. In the past Apple has released x.y.z updates for iOS and watchOS only to affected models (e.g., sometimes the newly released phones need a patch that other phones don't need) but I prefer when all devices run the same OS.

I installed 11.6.1 on my Ultra yesterday and it's working just fine since. I haven't done a blood oxygen reading in a long time but just did one now and it worked just fine, with the reading shown on the watch itself rather than needing to use the Health app on the iPhone.