On a Friday in late July 2022, Apple opened its second public beta of watchOS 9 to anyone willing to enroll in its testing program, extending to ordinary wearers a look at software that will not reach most watches until autumn. It arrives two weeks after the first public offering, a reminder that the company's long habit of letting the curious test before the crowd is less about secrecy than about patience. What the update promises is a quieter kind of attention: a watch that studies the shape of a night's sleep, keeps track of pills and vitamins, and records how long a heart has been out of r
Apple Seeds Second watchOS 9 Public Beta, Adding Sleep Stages and Medications App
Four new faces, a Medications app, and sleep broken into stages
Mark
So what actually happened here? It sounds routine.
Mimi
It is routine in a way. Apple released the second public beta of watchOS 9, two weeks after the first, so non-developers can test it before fall.
Luke
Worth saying it matches the fourth developer beta. Developers have been a few builds ahead of the public group.
Mark
What's the big draw for ordinary users?
Mimi
Health features. Sleep stages for REM, Core, and Deep sleep, a Medications app with reminders, and AFib History in the ECG app.
Luke
Those are described as features of the update. The source doesn't say how well any of them work in this beta, so I wouldn't read accuracy into it.
Mark
Is installing it simple?
Mimi
Not entirely. You need the iOS 16 public beta first, then the watchOS 9 profile, then update from the Watch app. The watch needs 50 percent battery, a charger, and to be near the iPhone.
Luke
And the fall release is stated as expected, not as a confirmed date. That's the open question.
Le Pouls
- Apple has pushed the second public watchOS 9 beta to non-developers only two weeks after the first, so testers are already moving quickly.
- The update introduces sleep stage tracking that splits a night into REM, Core, and Deep sleep, a visible leap for a feature the watch already offered.
- A new Medications app and AFib History in the ECG app bring health tools that testers will scrutinize closely before the fall release.
- Installation is a careful sequence: iOS 16 public beta first, then a watchOS 9 profile, then a battery of over 50 percent, a charger, and a nearby iPhone.
- The software remains pre-release and unfinished, so the path ends in a fall launch where these early impressions will shape the final version.
On a Friday in late July 2022, Apple opened its second public beta of watchOS 9 to anyone willing to enroll in its testing program, extending to ordinary wearers a look at software that will not reach most watches until autumn. It arrives two weeks after the first public offering, a reminder that the company's long habit of letting the curious test before the crowd is less about secrecy than about patience. What the update promises is a quieter kind of attention: a watch that studies the shape of a night's sleep, keeps track of pills and vitamins, and records how long a heart has been out of rhythm. Whether those promises hold will be decided not in July but in the months of ordinary use that follow.
On Friday, July 29, 2022, Apple released the second public beta of watchOS 9 to anyone enrolled in its public testing program. It follows the first public beta by two weeks and corresponds to the fourth developer beta, letting ordinary owners try the new Apple Watch software long before its fall debut.
Getting it onto a watch takes patience and a specific order. Testers must first move their iPhone to the iOS 16 public beta, then download the matching watchOS 9 profile from Apple's beta site, and finally find the update under General > Software Update in the Apple Watch app. The watch needs at least half its battery, must sit on its charger, and must stay within range of its iPhone.
The headline features focus on health. Sleep tracking now divides a night into REM, Core, and Deep stages, while a new Medications app helps people manage reminders for medicines, vitamins, and supplements. The ECG app adds AFib History, showing how long a person has been in atrial fibrillation.
The release also brings four new watch faces, namely Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and Astronomy, along with custom workouts and fitness tweaks for runners, triathletes, and swimmers. Smaller changes include VoIP call answering on the watch, iPhone-based control through Apple Watch Mirroring, double pinch Quick Actions, and updates to Reminders and Calendar.
This is still pre-release software, and its final form is expected this fall.
On Friday, July 29, 2022, Apple pushed out the second public beta of watchOS 9, giving anyone enrolled in its public testing program a chance to run the new Apple Watch software well before its fall release. The build arrives two weeks after the first public beta, and it corresponds to the fourth beta that went to developers.
Getting it onto a watch takes a few steps, and the order matters. A tester first has to upgrade their iPhone to the public beta of iOS 16. Once that is installed, the matching watchOS 9 profile must be downloaded from Apple's beta software website. After that, the update appears in the Apple Watch app on the iPhone, under General > Software Update.
The watch itself has conditions to meet. It needs at least 50 percent battery, it has to be sitting on its charger, and it must be within range of the paired iPhone.
The headline additions concern health. Sleep tracking, which the watch already offered, now breaks a night into stages, so the device can detect when the wearer is in REM, Core, or Deep sleep. A new Medications app lets users manage and receive reminders for medications, vitamins, and supplements. The ECG app also gains AFib History, which tracks how long a person has been in atrial fibrillation.
There are four new watch faces: Lunar, Playtime, Metropolitan, and Astronomy. The Workout app picks up custom workouts, and there are fitness improvements aimed at runners, triathletes, and swimmers.
The update also carries several smaller changes. A CallKit API allows VOIP calls to be answered on the Apple Watch. Apple Watch Mirroring lets users control the watch from an iPhone. Quick Actions let people do more with a double pinch gesture, and the Reminders and Calendar apps have been updated.
For those thinking of trying it, the beta remains pre-release software, and the final version is expected this fall. MacRumors points readers to its dedicated watchOS 9 roundup for a fuller list of what is new.
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