The Apple Watch, the queen of connected watches, is powered by WatchOS, a specific mobile operating system, which evolves like iOS and iPadOS. Here’s how to update it to take advantage of new features.
Apple introduces new products every year. But the apple brand does not forget the old ones and regularly offers updates to its operating systems to improve them. This is the case for Macs with macOS, iPhones with iOS, iPads with iPadOS, but also Watch with WatchOS. Yes, like other Apple products, the famous connected watch has a dedicated operating system, which evolves thanks to free updates.
At its September 14 back-to-school conference, alongside the iPhone 13 and new iPads, Apple presented a new version of its famous watch, the Watch Series 7, which will be available later this fall. True to its principles (read our Apple Watch Series 7 article: new features, price, release date), it also remains exclusive to the Apple environment and it is still impossible to link it to an Android smartphone. But it will come with a new version of the system, WatchOS 8. A version that other models can already benefit from, thanks to an update. Indeed, all Apple Watch models from Series 3 can switch to WatchOS 8, the previous versions not including components high-performance enough to support the evolutions of the system. To proceed, nothing could be simpler.
Even if the switch Automatic update is activated in the Watch app or even directly in the settings of the Apple Watch, the system is not always very talkative to notify you of the availability of an update. If so, the iPhone will just download it overnight as long as the device is charging and connected to a WiFi network. However, you will have to go and check it yourself in the Watch app. My watch > General > Software update that your iPhone does not hide the presence of an upgrade for your watch. You can also check for an update when the menu My watch adorned with a red dot.
The easiest Apple Watch update process is to use the Watch app installed on the iPhone paired with the watch. You have to check that the Apple Watch has at least 50% battery, put it on its charger (connected to the mains) and activate Wi-Fi on the iPhone. Finally, you have to keep the watch and the smartphone close to each other so that they can communicate.
- Launch the Watch app on the iPhone that Apple Watch is paired with. Tap the tab My watch at the bottom of the screen then open the menu General and Software update.
- The page that appears shows the current version of the system. If the iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network, the download of the Apple Watch update file will start immediately. If it has stopped, press Resume download.
- The smartphone then downloads the update files. They represent 1.2 GB of data for WatchOS 8.
- Once the download is complete, tap the menu To install at the bottom of the screen.
- You must enter the PIN code for unlocking your iPhone (neither FaceID nor TouchID can be used for this operation) then accept the general conditions of use.
- Apple Watch update starts. Its screen goes off then displays an apple circled with white lines indicating the progress of the installation. When installation is complete, you can remove Apple Watch from its charger. You can check the version of WatchOS used by the watch directly from its screen from the Settings > General > Information.
