The first public beta for watchOS 8 is now available, giving users the chance to try out all of the new features in Apple Watch Series 3, 4, 5, 6, and SE later this year. This early version of watchOS 8 includes breathing sleep tracking, new exercise modes and multi-timer support, as well as tons of new changes to various Apple Watch apps, including:

  • Photos: Support for reminders and highlights and pictures can be shared via iMessages and Mail.
  • Find my: AirTag tracking support.
  • Apple Music: You can now share music through messages.
  • Weather: Precipitation notifications if rain is expected in the next hour.

There are tons of other little tweaks in watchOS 8 that you can all try right now – but only if you have an iPhone with the iOS 15 beta. We can help you install the iOS 15 beta, but we strongly recommend that you do not install either iOS 15 or watchOS 8 beta on your primary devices. Bugs and performance issues can make them unusable, and you won’t be able to roll back to watchOS 7 once the watchOS 8 beta is installed. It is better to wait a few more months for the stable versions to arrive.

Those warnings aside, here’s how to register your Apple Watch for Apple’s beta program so that you can install the watchOS 8 public beta now.

  1. Make sure your iPhone and Apple Watch are charged, paired, and close together.
  2. On your iPhone with iOS 15, open Apple’s beta program website.
  3. click “Getting started,” Sign in with your Apple ID and agree to the terms and conditions for registering your account for the program.
  4. Go to “WatchOS” Tab and tap “Download profile.” Allow the download when prompted.
  5. Choose “To install” Then follow the instructions on the screen.
  6. Tap to restart your Apple Watch when prompted.

After restarting the Apple Watch, the watchOS 8 update can be downloaded. There are two ways to start the download:

  • Go to on your Apple Watch Settings> General> Software update and choose “Download and Install.”
  • Go to in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone General> Software update, then tap “Download and Install.”

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Follow the instructions on the screen. Once the installation is complete, you will be asked to restart your Apple Watch one final time. After the restart, the watchOS 8 public beta will run.

[iMore]

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