Apple Seeds Fifth Beta of watchOS 7 to Developers

Tuesday August 18, 2020 10:02 am PDT by Juli Clover

Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming watchOS 7 beta to developers, two weeks after releasing the fourth beta and over a month after unveiling watchOS 7 at the Worldwide Developers Conference.

watchOS Beta
To install the watchOS 7 beta, developers will need to download the proper configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once the profile is in place, the ‌watchOS 7‌ beta can be downloaded through the dedicated ‌Apple Watch‌ app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update.

To update to the new software, the ‌Apple Watch‌ needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it must be in range of the ‌‌iPhone‌‌. It would be wise to install the beta on a secondary device rather than a primary device as this is an early version of the watchOS software that could have bugs that still need to be addressed.

watchOS 7 brings a new watch face sharing feature that lets you share your watch faces with others through Messages or Mail, the App Store, through websites, or through social Media.

There are new Chronograph Pro watch faces, plus a filter option for the Photos face and rich complications for the X-Large face. Developers can now offer more than one complication per app, and Apple has introduced new complications for Shortcuts, Moon phases, the World Clock, and more.

‌watchOS 7‌ introduces a new Sleep Tracking feature for the first time that uses the ‌Apple Watch‌'s accelerometer to detect small movements associated with breathing when asleep. Sleep Tracking provides information on sleep duration and offers a Wind Down feature for helping users get ready for bed to increase sleep times.

Putting the Apple Watch in Sleep Mode turns on Do Not Disturb and automatically darkens the watch screen while you're sleeping, while an alarm feature uses haptic feedback or gentle sounds to wake you up with a greeting and a weather report.

In addition to Sleep Tracking, Apple also added a new handwashing tracking feature to help people wash their hands for at least 20 seconds. There's a 20-second countdown timer that comes up whenever the ‌Apple Watch‌ detects handwashing motions and sounds, and the Health app will also show the frequency and duration of the user's handwashing.

Additional details on the other new features in watchOS 7 can be found in our watchOS 7 roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10

Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Don't Buy)

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Top Rated Comments

Will Tisdale ?

66 months ago

I didn't realize the hand washing app automatically launched. Can you dismiss it once when doing dishes or does it keep popping up?

I turned it off because it kept popping up whilst washing up...

One fix that I've immediately noticed - 3rd party weather complications are working again...

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

xDKP

66 months ago

I jumped in last night, because I'm a bit bored with my Apple Watch as of late. To be honest, this is a bit disappointing to say the least. No new watch faces, except that chrono (did anyone ever ask for another chrono face for a digital watch?) and no new look or feel at all - not even stuff I as a runner have asked for since version 2.0 like interval running etc.

The only thing really feeling new here is the animations are faster and that makes it feel snappier - but a bit of a snooze fest to be honest.

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

FishyFish

66 months ago

Really? You ALWAYS say the same thing about Watch betas immediately after they are released. Even though you haven't installed the beta. (Remember last beta?) You may as well write the same thing about the next one. You are going to say the same thing as you always do. Because you always do.
Besides, even if you did install the beta...you can't test it in five minutes.
It's hilarious how you act.

I am excited about watchOS 7 so I do try to install the betas as soon as they are out. And I have a set of things I test right away that are the things that matter most to me.

When it comes to the betas, I call them like I see them! I've definitely experienced buggy watchOS betas in the past, but the watchOS 7 releases have been just rock solid.

If problems crop up after extended use, I'm definitely the first person to post about those too. But let's just say that I am loving watchOS 7 this summer so far!

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

oscar_aa

66 months ago

Remember, you are not able to roll back off of watchOS 7 betas.

You have to send it in for a repair. This is a lot more than just “install it on another device because it may have bugs.”

It’s “be prepared to be without your Apple Watch if it doesn’t work/you don’t like watchOS 7/it’s too buggy.”

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

FishyFish

66 months ago

The update here was incredibly nice. Build is 18R5361d. Everything seems buttery smooth, complications are all rendering beautifully. I notice the colors look more vivid, maybe they increased screen brightness? The Air Quality complication has even updated in this build to show the correct information from my closest AQI location. Totally loving watchOS 7, and beta 5 seems like the icing on the cake. Thank you Apple!

Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)