watchOS 8 was revealed at WWDC 2021 – here’s when we expect for it to be released, and how you can sign up for the beta.
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 the September 14 event, it most likely confirms an Apple Watch 7 is coming. 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 just after the September 14 event, Apple did release a developer beta immediately after WWDC 2021, with others that followed, which is available for anyone with a developer account. For everyone else, a watchOS 8 public beta was released at the end of June, and it’s available to anyone with a watchOS 8-compatible Apple Watch (scroll below for the full list). If you want an early look at what’s coming in the full release, you can download it now. Apple has also announced an event for September 14, which, going through past events in the same month, indicates that we’ll hear of a release date for watchOS 8 and other software updates that Apple has been working on. The watchOS 8 update will probably land after the September 14 event, 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 was 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.
