Apple Seeds First Beta of watchOS 5.1 to Developers

Apple today seeded the first beta of an upcoming watchOS 5.1 update to developers, just one day after releasing the new watchOS 5 operating system.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General -> Software update.

applewatchseries4watchfaces
To install the update, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it must be placed on the charger, and it has to be in range of the iPhone.

It's not yet clear what features will be introduced in the watchOS 5.1 update, but it could bring support for answering Group FaceTime calls, a feature that was removed during the beta testing period. New emojis are also an option.

We'll update this post when we find out what's new in the watchOS 5.1 update.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...

Top Rated Comments

Maclver Avatar
83 months ago
all I want is iMessage Sync.... it's all I ask for
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrGimper Avatar
83 months ago
Probably has the capability, but likely still disabled while it completes the ratification it needs.

Remember kids, if you're waiting for a new Series 4, and you're looking to sell your old device, don't update your old device to this beta. You can't roll back, I suspect 12.1 won't release before you want to sell your old device, and you can't really sell it running beta software.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
decypher44 Avatar
83 months ago
all I want is iMessage Sync.... it's all I ask for
This this this!!! How is this not a thing yet??
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
archvile Avatar
83 months ago
I would say “no”. I don’t use iCloud for pretty much anything. I wouldn’t even know why I would use it. I have a Mac, but o don’t want any of my phone or watch stuff syncing with it unless I’m doing a backup.

Wouldn’t even know how, why or what iCloud messaging would be for. And from what I understand, it only works with iMessages, not standard text. More than half the people I text use Android.

What frustrates me is this: I used to use a Fossil Q watch with Android Wear with my 7+. It deleted messages from the watch when I would delete them from my phone. For the life of me I can’t understand why it worked so easily with an Android watch and not with Apple’s own watch.

Thank you, though. That’s the answer.

[doublepost=1537334294][/doublepost]Ok. Just tested. Yeah, turned on iCloud messages. Deleted an iMessage and it worked. Deleted a standard text message, doesn’t work. More hassle than it’s worth. Seriously, if an Android watch can do it with an iPhone, why can’t an Apple Watch?
Just tested this with my iPhone/Watch, and a Mac with Messages in iCloud enabled on both.

Deleting an iMessage from the phone will remove it from the watch automatically (it did not do this before).

Deleting a regular SMS/green text message from the phone will NOT remove it from the watch (same behavior as before). However, this WILL remove the same SMS conversation from other devices with Messages in iCloud enabled.

So it seems the Watch got a half-assed version of Messages in iCloud. Which is unfortunate, because 99% of the texts I delete are ones for 6 digit login codes or tracking updates, and those are always regular SMS.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cwanja Avatar
83 months ago
all I want is iMessage Sync.... it's all I ask for
This this this!!! How is this not a thing yet??
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/26498090/
Apparently it works in iOS 12 / watchOS 5?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
decypher44 Avatar
83 months ago
Stupidly obvious question, but you are using iCloud iMessage correct?

Full disclosure, I do not have an Apple Watch (yet) to test. So I am going off others posts.
I would say “no”. I don’t use iCloud for pretty much anything. I wouldn’t even know why I would use it. I have a Mac, but o don’t want any of my phone or watch stuff syncing with it unless I’m doing a backup.

Wouldn’t even know how, why or what iCloud messaging would be for. And from what I understand, it only works with iMessages, not standard text. More than half the people I text use Android.

What frustrates me is this: I used to use a Fossil Q watch with Android Wear with my 7+. It deleted messages from the watch when I would delete them from my phone. For the life of me I can’t understand why it worked so easily with an Android watch and not with Apple’s own watch.

Thank you, though. That’s the answer.

[doublepost=1537334294][/doublepost]Ok. Just tested. Yeah, turned on iCloud messages. Deleted an iMessage and it worked. Deleted a standard text message, doesn’t work. More hassle than it’s worth. Seriously, if an Android watch can do it with an iPhone, why can’t an Apple Watch?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)