Apple Seeds Fourth Beta of watchOS 8.5 to Developers

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 8.5 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the release of the third watchOS 8.5 beta.

watchOS 8 on Apple Watch feature
To install ‌‌‌watchOS 8.5, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center. Once installed, ‌‌‌watchOS 8.5‌‌‌ can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software update.

To update to new software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life, it must be placed on the charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌‌. You'll also need the accompanying iOS 15.4 update before you can install watchOS 8.5.

watchOS 8.5 introduces support for Emoji 14 characters, with new additions including melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more.

Related Roundup: watchOS 26
Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

gomichaelgo Avatar
52 months ago
Does anyone else recall the feature for the watch for "notify when left behind"
I feel like it used to have it but no longer is supported.
When I charge my watch and leave the house with my phone, i would be pinged to tell me I left my watch behind. Same as my keys or phone if left behind.
Either way if it used to exist or not, why is it not supported or used? I hate when i take my watch off to charge and leave behind.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darcyf Avatar
52 months ago
Way too many updates for a watch, especially when you consider how clunky the watch update process is. I want my watch to receive an OS update every year, and maybe take one supplemental update somewhere in between, but 5+ updates every year for a device I wear on my wrist is just bizarre.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gugy Avatar
52 months ago
My AW S5 bricked after the latest update. This is the second time it happened through the OS 8 updates. I was able to go back to the 8.0 and make it work again. Apple keeps screwing these updates. They can't keep stable and many of the past issues return. Get your sh-t together, please!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gomichaelgo Avatar
52 months ago

My AW S5 bricked after the latest update. This is the second time it happened through the OS 8 updates. I was able to go back to the 8.0 and make it work again. Apple keeps screwing these updates. They can't keep stable and many of the past issues return. Get your sh-t together, please!
That's awful. Sorry that happened. Was this on beta or the standard ones. You are commenting on the beta release and i feel like those are always a bit riskier. However I have been on the betas for all of iOS 8.0 and haven't had many issues really. Very minor ones that I report to Apple to help fix in the beta stage.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)