Update: A day after releasing watchOS 8.6 beta 3 to developers, it’s now available to public beta testers as well .
A week after releasing watchOS 8.6 beta 2 to developers, Apple is now seeding the third test version of the upcoming operating system for the Apple Watch. Here’s everything new coming with watchOS 8.6 beta 3.
Today’s build is 19T5562f. Most of the news related to this version regards Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, which are the features also available with iOS 15.5 beta 3. These are the updates:
- Physical Apple Card now called “Titanium Card” in Wallet settings
- Apple Pay rebranded as “Apple Cash” in Messages app
- iTunes Pass rebranded as “Apple Account Card” in the Wallet app
Different from watchOS 8.5, watchOS 8.6 feels like a small update, since we are getting near WWDC 2022 keynote. The current version of the Apple Watch operating system offers a handful of new features, including 37 new emojis.
It also brings:
- The ability to authorize Apple TV purchases and subscriptions;
- COVID-19 vaccination cards in Apple Wallet, which now supports the EU Digital COVID Certificate format;
- Updates to irregular rhythm notifications designed to improve atrial fibrillation identification (available in the United States, Chile, Hong Kong, South Africa, and many regions where the feature is available);
- Audio hints in Fitness+ provide you with audio commentary of visually demonstrated moves during workouts.
watchOS 8.6 beta 3 is available alongside the third beta version of iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, tvOS 15.5, and macOS 12.4 .
