How to update your apple watch to watch os 2.0.1 (or higher)

Use your iPhone to update your Apple Watch software, or update directly on your Apple Watch.

Keeping your Apple Watch up to date

It’s always important to keep your Apple devices up to date so that they have all the latest bug fixes and security enhancements. There are also some iOS updates that may require an update to watchOS on your Apple Watch.

If your iPhone says ‘Update Apple Watch’

When you see an alert on your iPhone that says “Your Apple Watch software is out of date”, you should update to the latest version of watchOS so that your data, including Activity data, continues to sync to your iPhone.

Get ready to update

First, make sure your Apple Watch is compatible with the latest software: watchOS 7 is compatible with Apple Watch Series 3 and later and Apple Watch SE. Upgrading to watchOS 7 requires an iPhone 6s or later running iOS 14 or later. Find your Apple Watch model.

Next, check these things:

1. Update your iPhone to the latest version of iOS.
2. Make sure your Apple Watch is at least 50 percent charged.
3. Connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi.
4. Keep your iPhone next to your Apple Watch, so that they’re in range.

It could take from several minutes to an hour for the update to complete. You may want to update overnight or wait until you have time.

Update your Apple Watch using your iPhone

When a new update is available, your Apple Watch notifies you. Tap Update Tonight in the notification, then go to your iPhone to confirm that you want to update overnight. At the end of the day, leave your Apple Watch and iPhone charging overnight so the update can complete.

To check for updates manually, use these steps:

1. Keep your Apple Watch on its charger until the update completes.
2. On your iPhone, open the Watch app, then tap the My Watch tab.
3. Tap General > Software Update.
   
4. Download the update. If asked for your iPhone passcode or Apple Watch passcode, enter it.
5. Wait for the progress wheel to appear on your Apple Watch. It could take from several minutes to an hour for the update to complete.

Leave your Apple Watch on its charger while the update completes. Don’t restart your iPhone or Watch, and don’t quit the Apple Watch app. When the update is complete, your Apple Watch will restart on its own.

Or update directly on your Apple Watch

If your Apple Watch has watchOS 6 or later, you can install subsequent updates without your iPhone:

1. Make sure your watch is connected to Wi-Fi.
2. On your watch, open the Settings app.
3. Tap General > Software Update.
4. Tap Install if a software update is available, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Leave your Apple Watch on its charger while the update completes. Don’t restart your Watch, and don’t quit the Apple Watch app. When the update is complete, your Apple Watch will restart on its own.

If you need help updating

Try these steps:

1. Make sure your Apple Watch connects to its charger.
2. Restart your Apple Watch. Press and hold the side button until you see Power Off, then drag the slider. To turn your watch on again, press and hold the side button.
3. Restart your paired iPhone.
4. Try to start the update again.

If the update won’t start, open the Watch app on your iPhone, tap General > Usage > Software Update, then delete the update file. After you delete the file, try to download and install watchOS again.

If you installed an iOS or watchOS beta or developer seed

1. Before you update, remove the beta profile from your device. To view and remove profiles:
   • Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap the My Watch tab, then go to General > Profiles. Tap the beta profile that you want to remove, then tap Delete Profile. Enter your iPhone passcode if requested.
   • Open the Settings app on your iPhone, then tap General > Profiles & Device Management. Tap the beta profile that you want to remove, then tap Delete profile. Enter your iPhone passcode if requested.
2. After you remove the profiles, restart both devices and check for the update again.

To continue using the public beta of iOS, you can install the beta profile again.

Multiple issues have been resolved in this update

Apple Watch owners have not been forgotten by Apple, as the Cupertino company has announced the release of the first maintenance version for the watchOS 2.0 operating system.

The announcement comes after the release of the Mac OS X 10.11.1 El Capitan and iOS 9.1 operating systems, and adds support for the same new emoji characters that have been added to the aforementioned OSes.

Among other interesting changes, watchOS 2.0.1 addresses an issue with the update process, making it more reliable when applying software updates, and greatly improves the performance of Apple Watch’s battery.

The new software update makes sure that iOS Calendar app events are correctly synced from your iPhone to the Apple Watch device, improves support for using Live Photos as watch faces, and it now properly updates the location information.

Furthermore, the Apple Watch’s sensors for measuring the heart rate have been updated to stay on indefinitely while using Siri, and it’s now possible to use the Digital Touch feature to send things from an email address as well.

Here’s how to update your Apple Watch to watchOS 2.0.1

For those who like technical details, we can tell you that watchOS 2.0.1 has been tagged by Apple as build 13S428 and it’s available for the Apple Watch (38mm) (Watch1,1) and Apple Watch (42mm) (Watch1,2) models.

To update, make sure your Apple Watch’s battery is charged over 50% or the smartwatch is currently charging, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, go to Software Updates, wait for the watchOS 2.0.1 update to appear and apply it.

The watchOS 2.0.1 software update will be automatically sent from your iPhone device to your Apple Watch, where the rest of the update process will take place. We recommend that you always have the latest version of any software.

I try to update to os2 and all I get is watch os 1.0.1 your software is up to date

Apple Watch Sport 42mm

Posted on Sep 22, 2015 9:32 AM

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Have you installed IOS 9? Until you do you can not install OS 2

Sep 22, 2015 9:34 AM

Sep 22, 2015 10:03 AM

I’m having the same issue.

Sep 22, 2015 10:09 AM

I had the same issue. It may have been because I was a beta tester. I read that some people had success removing their Beta Profiles, but I didn’t try that. Here’s what I did to make the upgrade available for my watch:

In the Watch App, unpair your watch.

Re-pair your watch.

The update was available to me as soon as my watch came back up.

Sep 22, 2015 8:57 PM

I had the same issue with my watch yesterday and it seems that unpairing/pairing (2 times) is the answer.

First time, the verification worked but the app was switching “install OS 2” to “your watch is already in the latest version 1.0.1” everytime i clicked, so i tried a second time to unpair/pair again and it worked for me.

I was a beta tester too, it may explain the problem.

Sep 23, 2015 12:09 AM

It seems if on Beta 9.1 then you need to un-pair and re-pair watch and phone. It worked for me. The trouble is un-pairing means you have to re-add your payment cards in apple pay on the watch.

I will be leaving the Beta test programme! To much pain.

Sep 23, 2015 12:57 AM

Question: Q: watch shows os 1.0.1 your software is up to date More Less

Apple’s cheapest smartwatch shows its age

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Share All sharing options for: Updating an Apple Watch Series 3 is a nightmare in 2021

Apple Watch Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The Apple Watch Series 3 was first released in September 2017, bringing fitness improvements and a faster processor. Nearly four years later, in 2021, Apple is still selling the Series 3 as its entry-level Apple Watch model starting at $199, an $80 savings compared to the more recent Apple Watch SE. Only, as I’ve recently learned, “still selling” and “supporting in a reasonable manner” are two very different things, and updating an Apple Watch Series 3 in 2021 is a nightmare of infuriating technological hoops to jump through.

Normally, updating an Apple Watch is an annoyingly long but straightforward process: you charge your Watch up to 50 percent, plug it in, and wait for the slow process of the update transferring and installing to your smartwatch.

But the non-cellular Apple Watch Series 3 has a tiny 8GB of internal storage, a fair chunk of which is taken up by the operating system and other critical software. So installing a major update — like the recently released watchOS 7.4 — goes something like this:

1. Unpair and wipe your Apple Watch to factory settings
2. Set up the Apple Watch again and restore from backup
3. Realize you weren’t supposed to restore from your backup yet
4. Watch an episode or two of Brooklyn Nine-Nine while you wait for the backup to finish restoring
5. Start from step one again — but as a brand-new Apple Watch, without restoring from an existing backup
6. Update completely fresh Apple Watch, which now has enough free memory to update
7. Consider how much you actually want to use this face unlocking feature everyone keeps hyping up in the first place
8. Unpair and wipe the Apple Watch a third time
9. Restore from your backup and finally use normally

And the issue seems to apply whether you’ve installed a pile of apps or not. Apple’s support website doesn’t even recommend that Series 3 owners bother trying to clear up space — it just advocates that they go straight to the aforementioned reset cycle.

It’s clear that the current process is untenable.

I’m an editor at a technology news site and willing to put in the comical amount of time and energy to manage this, frustrating as it might be. But if you’re a more casual user — the same one who is likely to own an older, outdated Watch in the first place — why on earth would you bother with the worst update mechanism since GE’s instructions for resetting a smart bulb? And being able to update your hardware’s software is important: the just-released watchOS 7.4.1, for example, patches a critical security flaw. But with it being so difficult to install, there’s a good chance that plenty of Series 3 owners won’t bother.

I know that Apple loves to claim support for as many older hardware generations as it can with each new update. It’s one of the biggest appeals of Apple products, compared to the lackluster pace of updates on competing Android phones (like the just-deprecated Galaxy S8).

But the miserable update process for the Series 3 is a strong argument that Apple is being a little too generous with what it considers “current” hardware. Keeping the Series 3 around this long was always a money grab, a way for Apple to clear out old inventory and take advantage of mature manufacturing processes that have long since broken even in order to appeal to users who really can’t afford the extra $80 for the markedly better Apple Watch SE. It’s a similar trend to the inexplicably still-on-sale Apple TV HD, which is almost six years old and costs just $30 less than the brand-new 4K model. (Much like the Series 3, don’t buy a new Apple TV HD in 2021 either.)

But hopefully, with the announcement of watchOS 8 almost assuredly around the corner at WWDC this June, the company takes into account the basic functionality of its hardware when considering what it does and doesn’t offer support for. Because if Apple is going to insist on selling a product this old in the future, it’s going to need to be a lot more mindful of just how it actually handles its software support.

My iPhone 11 Pro is running the iOS 14 beta and I went to pair my Apple Watch series 4, which is running watchOS 6.0 apparently (I hadn’t used it in a while).

Watch app tells me I need to update my watch before I can finish pairing, but then it says it can’t check for an update due to lack of internet connection (which is false).

Not really sure what to do here. my watch is kind of bricked right now. seems like the only solution would be to downgrade iOS back to 13 or pair the watch with another iPhone and then update watchOS, reset it, and try pairing with my iPhone again. though I don’t have another phone. I have an iPad though.

• iOS
• WatchKit
• watchOS
• Beta

Answers

I had the same problem, and the only solution I could find was:

Pair watch with a device running iOS 13—either another test device, which I had thankfully, or revert your current device and start from there)

Install the watchOS 7 beta profile to the watch—the order of this step is important, the watch won’t be able to update to 7 but you need the profile on there, I think that’s what’s causing the problem

Make sure watchOS has restarted and the profile is actually installed on the watch

Update the paired device to iOS 14 beta

Update the watch to watchOS 7 beta

If you downgraded your main device for this, you can end here, otherwise unpair the watch and re-pair it to your main device

I’ve filed a bug report about this. If it’s not possible to add a new watch to an iOS 14 Beta device, it should be in the release notes.

unpair your apple watch.

Go to beta.apple.com and download the beta Watch OS7 on your phone. It will fail but that’s okay, it needs an apple watch to be paired.

Once it fails, go to the watch App on your phone and pair the watch.

It should allow you update to the OS 6.X.X

Hopefully this helps. I want to say, when you try to download OS7, it erases the previous updates, so you get a clean slate next time you pair the watch.

I was able to get it to work by following these steps:

1) pair Watch with another spare iPhone running iOS 13.
2) update Watch to latest stable release( mine was updated to 6.2.8)
3) unpair.
4) pair manually to iOS 14 device ( I had issues pairing with the normal method) by clicking on the i when the image appears on the watch and also click on pair manually on the iPhone.
5) setup as new

this is what worked for me.

I uninstalled beta iPhone very and updated to iOS14 public release. The watch won’t update manually, or pair or pair to my phone. So this is not just a beta bug.

My watch is a brick at this point. Super frustrating.

This happened to me, Im very frustrated.

I have an Apple Watch Series 2 and iPhone 11 Pro running iOS14. I’m stuck in the pair/unpair and cannot update because of internet loop. I’m not sure if I have any other options! I’m bummed!

Did you get your watch working yet?

@KRYP2NITE There is a bug with trying to update your apple watch with IOS 14 or IOS 13 it will not let you. I had to get a phone with IOS12 or below (I used my old iPhone 6 plus which is at IOS 12.4.8) and it worked perfectly fine updating my Moms Apple Watch Series 3! Hope this works for you.

Sorry @KYRP2NITE after you get it update disconnect the Apple Watch from the old device and pair it with your phone.

I have the same issue with a brand new apple watch series 5 and iOS 14.0.1. I got error “Unable to Check for update, your phone is not connected to the internet.” It’s just infinite loop from there.

I tried using iphone 6s and 8, both are running newest iOS 14.0.1 and I got the same error. I don’t have other iphone running older iOS.

So after 6 hours of trying different things I finally got my S1 watch paired on iOS 14. Tried it once, then unpaired and tried a second time with another phone which was not working. Both times it worked successfully. My steps:

Absolutely imperative to be on a 2.4 ghz network. I use multiple ubiquiti access points through my home. Had to make sure the 5ghz band was completely shut off and reset both access points. Then I reset the network settings on the phone and rebooted the watch. The first time pairing I clicked the pair button that pops up when the watch is near and got the no network connection loop. I then reboot the phone again and go into the watch app (do not click the watch pair now that pops up). Open the watch app and hit pair. After these steps the update showed up and updated and paired with the watch successfully.

I then unpaired and tried on my wife’s se 2020. Same steps with resetting the network settings then I clicked the watch prompt that automatically appears and got an automatic unpair right away. Rebooted the phone and opened the phone app manually and paired successfully.

I’ve tried this twice and it’s finally worked both times. Hopefully this helps some people.

Source: iMore

Whether you’re updating to the latest version of watchOS (check out our watchOS 7 review for more on the new features) or considering a beta install, it’s always good to have troubleshooting steps on hand just in case things get out of hand. While everything should — and usually does — go smoothly, once in a while, these simply don’t update or install the way you’d expect. Sometimes it’s a connection issue. Sometimes it’s a verification error. Sometimes it won’t reboot. And other times it just. does nothing.

If you can’t install watchOS 7, here are a few things you can try.

Jump to:

• Are you on the latest version of iOS?
• Check your connection
• Force Quit and restart
• Erase and repair

Are you on the latest version of iOS?

You’ll need to update to Apple’s latest version of iOS before a watchOS update will show up in the Watch app, which, yes, means taking the plunge on both devices (the same goes for beta software). If you can’t install watchOS 7, this is the first place you should check

Does your Apple Watch support watchOS 7?

watchOS 7 is only supported on Apple Watch Series 3 and above. If you have an original Apple Watch (Series 0), Apple Watch Series 1, or Apple Watch Series 2, you can’t update to watchOS 7.

If you don’t know which Apple Watch series you have, we can help with that.

Are you on an iOS beta seed?

We’ve heard a few reports in the past from people on iOS beta seeds who can’t get watchOS updates to appear. There are a few causes for this: Your Apple Watch might not be enrolled in the watchOS public beta or watchOS developer beta program, even though your iPhone is. There may be an issue with installing the public seed over the beta.

If all else fails and you can’t install watchOS 7 while your iPhone is registered as a beta device, it’s best to bring your iPhone back to production software (and save yourself the trouble of a glitchy release).

Check your connection

It’s also worth checking to make sure you’re on Wi-Fi and your Apple Watch is recognizing your iPhone.

Note: Apple Watch does not support 5GHz Wi-Fi. You may need to switch your Wi-Fi settings over to a 2.4GHz network if you notice issues with installing software.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.

Tap Wi-Fi. (Also double-check Bluetooth is on while you’re at it.)

Source: iMore

Swipe up to bring up Control Center on your Apple Watch. If your iPhone is connected, you’ll see a green Connected banner at the top of the screen.

Source: iMore

Force Quit and restart

Still not working? Try force quitting the Watch app on your iPhone and restarting your Apple Watch.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Double press the Home button to bring up the multitasking interface on iPhone devices with a Home button or swipe up from the bottom of the Home screen on iPhone devices with Face ID.

Swipe up on the Watch app to close it.

Source: iMore

Press and hold the Side Button on your Apple Watch.

Slide to Power Off.

Source: iMore

Erase and repair

If neither of the above two steps worked, it’s time to bring out the big gun: unpairing and re-pairing your Apple Watch.

Note: Unpairing your Apple Watch will automatically back up most of your information, but you may lose access to certain aspects, like your Apple Pay cards. You’ll also have the Watch removed from Find My iPhone, and Activation Lock will be disconnected.

Once the Apple Watch has finished its restore cycle, you’ll be all set — as part of the restore process, your Apple Watch should load the latest watchOS update.

Any other watchOS install troubleshooting questions?

Still having trouble updating your Apple Watch to the latest version of watchOS or a watchOS beta? Let us know below and we’ll try to troubleshoot. Be sure to check out our picks for best Apple Watch bands to grow your accessory collection.

Updated September 2020: Updated for watchOS 7.

zepeng chen

• • 2.6 • 1.4K Ratings

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Description

MeMental health, heart rate, blood pressure measurement, blood tests, statistical exercise step, sleep time, physical situation palm in hand, at any time to monitor your health.

Intelligent alarm clock
Set the alarm clock for the Wearfit2.0 bracelet, remind you to get up through the brakes and no longer disturb the people around you.

incoming call
Set the call reminder for the Wearfit2.0 bracelet, the phone rings automatically when the phone calls, the phone will not miss the call in the bag.

Support for “health” applications
Can be heart rate, blood pressure, synchronized to the “health” applications, so that you more comprehensive understanding of health.

** This version supports Apple Gear Fit healthy application **
** WEARFIT2.0 only support a higher level of equipment, if remind the device can’t connect, you can go to the app store download and use WEARFIT **

Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

What’s New

Optimized a little problem

Ratings and Reviews

Alright

It seems about right for the price vs Fitbit. 1) I recommend getting a native English speaker to write the manual and notes in the app, if this will be sold in America. They’re not clear enough to follow, other than what is intuitive. I’d rather have nothing written in the comments under heart rate evaluation and sleep disturbances, etc., thank the ridiculous nonsense currently written.
2) I’ve had it for about a week now, and it’s beginning to get better about my heart rate and steps. It was significantly off for the first 5 days, missing 4 hour chunks of sleep and thousands of steps.
3) Fatigue assessment seems like a magic 8 ball. I was up all night with insomnia one tight, two hours of sleep tracked coupled with very low heart rate and EXHAUSTION, and the next day my “fatigue” was tracked as “good condition.” The following night, i slept great for 7 hours, and it called my condition “moderate fatigue” and gives me this nonsensical tip (I am underweight with a condition that causes low heart rate): obesity can increase the burden on the heart, heart rate is accelerated, so the obese people to exercise, adjust the diet to maintain suitable weight.” Lol thanks?
4) Can’t figure out what “Training Program” and “Take Exercise” buttons/sections on the app are or how to utilize them. Maybe some English instructions?
5) Been afraid to check the waterproof feature, so no comment yet.

The watch together with WearFit 2.0 app is useful and worth it

I charged my watch for 2.5 hrs. I downloaded WearFit 2.0. I input info about my health. I was able to to “search” and “bind” the watch immediately. The next day , I might have disconnected somehow because I wanted to see if I’m able to connect 2 watches at the same time. I spent the whole next day trying to figure out how to reconnect. I read troubleshooting tips. I deleted, then reloaded the app. I turned my iPhone off, then back on. It kept saying that it didn’t find the device. So I finally tried one last thing. I went into my iPhone SETTINGS. I went to Bluetooth. I tapped on the name of the device that was listed, and I tapped “forget this device”. This now gave the app a blank canvas to work with. Now it acted as if I was starting from new. I went into the WearFit 2.0 app, tapped search. then it immediately found and listed my watch. So I tapped it and it connected. Hooray!! All the important vital signs are taken with this watch and app. HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, OXYGEN SATURATION, BODY TEMPERATURE, EKG. Of course it does what other health watches do like count steps, calories, time clock, stopwatch, notifies me of phone calls, etc. This watch together with the WearFit 2.0 app is great.

Ok watch

I owned another watch paid a little more for it and I loved it it stopped working so I decided to try this one cheaper then my last watch and I can tell I find that it takes better measurement when I turn it to the underside of my wrist and the fatigue part I really don’t under stand and the instructions should be wrote by someone who speaks English in America the watch looks good I love the selection of faces I think the choices of exercises should be more realistic and made for someone who goes to the gym and workout not just runners have more to say but I think I am going to get me other watch fixed but I will use this one also if for nothing more the look it really look great and if it worked the way it looked it would be a great watch but with that being said it is an ok watch

App Privacy

The developer, zepeng chen , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.

Data Linked to You

The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

English, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish

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Supports

Family Sharing

With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.

Update 10/14/20: Apple has released watchOS 7.0.2, which will hopefully take care of the unexpected battery drains some Apple Watch users have observed lately. If you previously updated to watchOS 7 and found that your Apple Watch was struggling to stay alive, you were probably affected by an unknown bug that Apple identified at the beginning of October.

As Apple’s release notes describe:

watchOS 7.0.2 contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

– Addresses an issue that could cause the battery to drain more quickly

– Resolves an issue that prevented some users from accessing the ECG app in regions where it is available

Y ou can update your Apple Watch by pulling up the Watch app on your connected iPhone, tapping on General, and tapping Software Update. Make sure your Apple Watch is on its charger and within reasonable distance of your iPhone, and you should be able to install the update without any issues. Once that’s finished, your Apple Watch’s battery life will hopefully be back to what it was pre-watchOS 7.

Original story follows:

We never said updating to a new operating system was a perfect process. In fact, you can do everything right and still run into issues on your otherwise benign smartphone, tablet, or watch. Make all the backups in the world, and you could still encounter bugs or mystifying problems when you update your OS—and there might be no going back.

At least, that’s what’s happening to an unknown number of Apple Watch owners who reported some quirky issues after updating to iOS 14 and, subsequently, watchOS 7. These range from the annoying, like an Apple Watch failing to record your outdoor workout with the GPS, to the problematic, like an Apple Watch suffering reduced battery life for no obvious reason.

How to Turn Off Apple Watch’s Hand Washing Reminders

Have you washed your hands? Have you really washed your hands? You’re home! Maybe it’s time for a…

Apple has published a laundry list of potential issues, which is worth reading if your Apple Watch has been acting strangely following your recent update:

• Your workout route maps are missing in the Fitness app on iPhone for previous GPS-enabled workouts from your Apple Watch.
• The Activity, Heart Rate, or other health-related apps fail to launch or load data on your Apple Watch.
• The Fitness app or Health app fail to launch or load data on your iPhone.
• The Health app or Fitness app is reporting an inaccurate amount of data storage on your iPhone.
• The Activity app is reporting an inaccurate amount of data storage on your Apple Watch.
• Your environmental sound levels data or headphone audio levels data from Apple Watch is missing in the Health app on iPhone.
• Increased battery drain on your iPhone or Apple Watch.

Thankfully, the Apple-blessed solution to address these issues is simple. Start by opening up the Watch app on your iPhone, and then tap on All Watches in the upper-left corner, tap on the “i” icon next to your Apple Watch, and tap on Unpair Apple Watch.

Your phone should make a backup of your watch before the unpairing process begins—which resets the Watch, naturally, so you’ll then use that backup to restore back to what you had previously.

Apple also suggests that if this doesn’t work, you might want to try the nuclear approach on your iPhone: erasing all settings. That seems a bit much, but it’s an option if your Apple Watch issues remain unsolved. Make sure you’ve made a fresh backup of your iPhone prior to the big erase, which you can do by plugging your iPhone into your computer and pulling up Finder (or iTunes, on Windows) or by using the much simpler iCloud method for backups.

Once you’re ready, pull up the Settings app, tap on General, scroll down a bit to tap on Reset, and tap on Erase All Content and Settings. Once your iPhone has finished its self-purge, you can restore from your backup. And if that doesn’t fix your Apple Watch issues, it might be time to have a chat with a Genius .

Your Apple Watch just got a whole lot better. Update your smartwatch and start using these features ASAP.

WatchOS 6 adds many new features.

Apple released updates for not just the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV over the past month, it also refreshed the Apple Watch . The wearable now runs on WatchOS 6, which includes several new apps including Voice Memos, new weather complications and new features such as touching the screen with two fingers to have your watch speak the time. WatchOS 6 comes preinstalled on the Apple Watch Series 5 , the newest watch in Apple’s lineup, which boasts an always-on display and a built-in compass.

Before you can start using the new features in WatchOS 6, you’ll need to first install iOS 13 on the iPhone ($599 at Apple) that connects to your watch.

First, update to WatchOS 6

Once your phone is updated, open the Watch app on your iPhone and go to General > Software Update. You’ll need to have your Apple Watch charged and a strong Wi-Fi connection. Follow the prompts to install the update, which can take anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour depending on your connection.

WatchOS 6 is currently available for Apple Watch Series 3 ($199 at Apple) , Series 4 and Series 5. The update will be available for Series 1 and Series 2 users later this year.

Going forward, you can download and install updates directly on your watch by opening the Settings app and going to General > Software update.

You can now delete Apple apps from the Apple Watch.

Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET

Now you can declutter your Watch’s app screen by deleting Apple apps you just don’t use. Remove one of Apple’s own apps by long-pressing on any app icon until they start to jiggle and a small “X” appears. Find an app you want to delete, tap on the X and then confirm your decision.

If you need to reinstall an Apple app, use the App Store app on your Apple Watch (more on this in a minute).

Cycle Tracking is built into your watch, now.

These are the 6 new Apple Watch features we loved.

1. Cycle tracking

Female health tracking in the Health app and on the Apple Watch is long overdue, but it’s finally here. There’s a dedicated Cycle Tracking app on your watch (you can delete if you don’t need it) that will send you alerts and reminders to log your symptoms.

The Noise app will alert you if you’re in a loud environment for too long.

2. Prevent hearing loss

After updating to WatchOS 6, you’ll find the new Noise app. The Noise app monitors the decibel level of your surroundings and will alert you if you’re in an environment with a noise level of over 80 decibels (the threshold at which hearing damage can start). The app also includes the amount of time you can be exposed to a specific decibel level in a given day before damage will occur. We have a fantastic walkthrough of the Noise app , detailing how to set custom alerts or disable it if you’d rather not use it.

A standalone App Store on your wrist? It’s true.

Screenshots by Jason Cipriani/CNET

3. The App Store comes to your wrist

Apple added a dedicated App Store app in WatchOS 6, which you can use to download apps directly to the watch — bypassing your iPhone altogether. Currently, you have to install an app on your iPhone before you can install it on your watch.

Open the App Store app on your watch to view Apple’s app suggestions, search for a specific app or update any stand-alone apps.

Just raise your wrist and ask Siri to name that tune.

4. Siri, what song is this?

Shazam is now built into your Apple Watch. You just need to ask Siri to identify a song, and a few seconds later you’ll see the artist and song name. You can access Siri by either pressing the Digital Crown, raising your wrist and speaking to Siri, or using the wake phrase of “Hey, Siri” and asking “What song is this?” After Siri identifies the song, you can add it to your Apple Music library.

Record voice memos on your wrist? It’s possible.

5. Record a voice memo

There’s now a Voice Memos app built into WatchOS. Find the app’s icon on your home screen, or tell Siri on your watch to “record a voice memo.” Tap the record button and your watch will record your meeting, class or whatever you want. When you’re done, tap the stop button and the recording will save automatically. You can listen to the memo directly on the watch, no headphones required, or wait a few minutes until it syncs to the Voice Memos app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

The calculator app on WatchOS 6 looks retro.

6. There’s now a calculator

How did the Apple Watch go this long without a native calculator app? Not sure, but at least there’s one now. You can perform all of the standard calculations you’d expect from a calculator, and there’s even a Tip button to help you figure out how much to leave a waiter or waitress.

Not only does WatchOS 6 bring a lot of new features to your watch, iOS 13 and iPadOS add even more to the iPhone and iPad ($429 at Amazon) . We’ve found plenty of hidden features , that go along with a redesigned Reminders app and a dedicated dark mode .