At the WWDC 2021 keynote, Apple revealed watchOS 8, its upcoming update for its Apple Watch operating system. While we likely won’t see its full release until September or October when we expect the Apple Watch 7 to launch, eager adopters can sign up for the watchOS 8 beta now.
The watchOS 8 update brings a new Mindfulness app, sleep app updates to track Respiratory Rate, Fitness Plus updates, and more. They don’t look like huge changes, but check watchOS 8 features below for all the new perks coming to your Apple Watch.
And there’s good news for older Apple Watch owners: the watchOS 8 support devices list hasn’t changed from last year’s watchOS 7, meaning Apple Watch 3 and newer devices will be able to download the operating system.
While we don’t expect watchOS 8 to publicly launch until later in the year, Apple did announce a developer beta at WWDC 2021, which is available now for anyone with a developer account. The public beta will be available for folks to download in July – scroll below for where to get them.
Cut to the chase
- What is it? The next major Apple Watch software update
- When is it out? Probably September, following a June 7 unveiling
- How much will it cost? It will be free
watchOS 8 release date
The watchOS 8 update will probably land in September, as that’s when new versions tend to land, typically alongside new hardware, with the Apple Watch 7 and the iPhone 13 expected this year.
However, although it probably won’t be finished and released until then, watchOS 8 was announced during its annual WWDC event, which this year is being held between June 7 and June 11, and the operating system update was indeed announced during the event’s keynote.
Immediately after unveiling watchOS 8 at WWDC 2021, Apple released the developer beta to anyone with a developer account – head to the developer program site to register for the watchOS 8 beta.
Apple also promised a public beta would follow in June on the public beta site. Of course, some features might not be revealed until a lot closer to the launch of the finished software, so expect them to roll out in successive beta versions leading up to watchOS 8’s full release later in the year.
watchOS 8 supported devices
The watchOS 8 update is officially compatible with all models from the Apple Watch 3 onwards, according to Apple’s official WWDC 2021 announcement. This doesn’t shift from the watchOS 7 compatibility list, so if you’ve gotten last year’s big update, you’ll be able to run this year’s new software, too.
You’ll need an iPhone compatible with the next version of iOS, so if you want to upgrade to watchOS 8, you’ll need to pair it with at least an iPhone 6S running iOS 15. This should be true for the developer and public betas, too – keep your iPhone updated to the latest version of iOS to also run the preview version of watchOS on your Apple Watch.
watchOS 8 features
The watchOS 8 update adds several smaller features, all augmenting how you normally use your Apple Watches. While we didn’t see any huge upgrades this time around, there are some quality of life improvements for existing apps.
First, the Wallet app is adding more ways to wirelessly interact with places and things. Some of this is limited to the Apple Watch 6 and its Ultra Wideband tech, like the ability to unlock your car (first unveiled at WWDC 2020 and coming to select vehicles) and start it from the driver’s seat, per Apple’s announcement post.
But most Apple Watches should be able to benefit from adding more digital keys to Wallet for their home, office, and hotel, and use their wearables to unlock them.
Perhaps most surprising: individuals in participating US states will be able to add their driver’s license or state ID to Wallet, and some TSA checkpoints will start accepting these digital IDs – just add them in the iOS Wallet app and you can display them on your Apple Watch.
The Breathe app has been incorporated into the new Mindfulness app along with a new activity, Reflect, to walk users through a different kind of mindful session reflecting on past events.
Sleep tracking now monitors a new metric – respiratory rate – which measures breaths per minute. And all data fed into the Health app is also folded into new Trends, tracking how your health metrics shift over longer periods of time.
The Workout app includes two new activities – Tai Chi and Pilates. There’s also more workouts in Apple Fitness Plus, as well as workouts keyed to specific music artists.
The Photos app has been redesigned with new ways to navigate collections, while Memories and Featured Photos sync to the Apple Watch from the iOS app. A new Portraits watch face lets you turn your Portrait-mode photos into watch faces and twist the crown to alter depth.
Messages also gets more granular controls, like twisting the crown to move the cursor and even the capability to search and reply with GIFs. There’s also a new Contacts app brought over to watchOS to browse, edit, and share contacts from your Apple Watch.
New features in other products also add Apple Watch features, like Intercom, an upgrade for the Home app that lets you see who’s at the door via live video feed and even greet them.
The new Focus feature in iOS also comes to watchOS 8: whichever Focus users set on their iPhone will carry over to their Apple Watch, allowing them to set their notification settings to prioritize work, fitness, sleep, or simply do not disturb.