It’s that time of the year when Apple releases the very first developer beta of the upcoming software upgrade. The company has just released the developer beta of watchOS 26. This step-by-step guide helps you sideload the watchOS 26 beta on your Apple Watch.
With watchOS 26, Apple brings several new upgrades to the Apple Watch, starting with the Liquid Glass design elements, Apple Intelligence-powered Workout Buddy, improved smart stack, messages, and more.
Apple has released the first dev beta of watchOS 26 with the 23R5280m build number. This is a major upgrade that requires multiple GB of data for installation. If you own the Apple Watch Series 6 or newer, you can update your watch to watchOS 26.
As I mentioned previously, it is the very first beta of watchOS 26, which also means it is not suitable for regular usage. If you’re a developer or you want to try out the new features on a secondary device, you can freely install it on your watch. The update will be pushed to public beta testers in July.
watchOS 26 beta update
First things first, you need to update your iPhone to iOS 26 first dev beta. Once done, you can follow these steps to install the watchOS 26 beta on your watch.
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap General > Software Update.
- Select Beta Updates and enable watchOS 26 Developer Beta option.
- Go back and download the first beta of watchOS 26.
- That’s it.
Make sure that your Apple Watch is charged at least 50% and connected to a WiFi network.
Now the watchOS 26 first beta update will download and transfer to your Apple Watch.
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