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Apple has moved into its third developer beta, teasing a fresh new build of watchOS 9 to try out on their Apple Watch devices.
The latest builds can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center for those enrolled in the testing program, or via a wireless update on devices running the beta software.
Public betas of the developer versions are usually released shortly after the developer releases, but usually not after the first few versions of the first milestone betas. If they do, they can be obtained from the Apple Beta Software Program website.
The second developer version of watchOS 9 has arrived June 22while the first within hours of the . arrived WWDC keynote about June the 6th† The final public versions of the landmark operating systems are expected to be released in the fall.
The third build of the watchOS 9 developer beta is build number 20R5316f, replacing the second, 20R5307h.
Apple’s update to watchOS 9 introduces many fitness updates, including more views in the Workout app when users rotate the Digital Crown. A new metric, Heart Rate Zones, shows the intensity level of a workout.
Health includes a new Medication tracker, which can remind users to take them on a schedule. The Sleep app has been updated with new stats for REM, Core, and Deep sleep.
There are two new watch faces, Metropolitan and Playtime, with the first offering customizable numbers while the other is an animated whimsy. The Astronomy face has been remastered to include cloud data from Weather, and Portraits has been enhanced with improved depth effects and tinting.
AppleInsiderand Apple itself, highly recommended users do not install the betas on “mission-critical” or primary devices as there is a small chance of data loss or other issues. Instead, testers should install betas on secondary or non-essential devices and make sure there are enough backups of important data before updating.
Members of the public wanting to try out the operating systems should at least wait for the public betas to begin rather than jump on the developer beta.