Apple Seeds watchOS 10.4 Release Candidate to Developers

Apple today seeded the release candidate version of an upcoming watchOS 10.4 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after the release of the fourth watchOS 10.4 beta. The RC is the finalized version of watchOS 10.4 that will see a public launch next week.

Apple Watch Faces watchOS 10 Feature Blue
To install the ‌watchOS 10.4‌ update, developers need to open the Apple Watch app, go to the Software Update section under "General" in Settings, and toggle on the watchOS 10 Developer Beta. An Apple ID linked to a developer account is required.

Once beta updates have been activated, watchOS 10.4 can be downloaded under the same Software Update section. To install software, an Apple Watch needs to have 50 percent battery life and it must be placed on an Apple Watch charger.

watchOS 10.4 includes new emoji characters such as a lime, an edible brown mushroom, a phoenix, a broken chain, shaking head vertically (as in a "yes" nod), and shaking head horizontally (a "no" head shake). There is also a Setting to disable the Double Tap feature on Apple Watch when using Vision Pro, as the Double Tap gestures might be accidentally activated when controlling Vision Pro.

Apple's release notes for the update are below:

watchOS 10.4 includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:
- Tap to Show Full Notification setting now allows you to double tap to expand the notification
- Using Apple Pay with Confirm with AssistiveTouch will require a passcode for additional security and will not support double clicking the side button
- Resolves an issue that causes some users to experience false touches on the display
- Fixes an issue that prevents contacts from syncing to Apple Watch for some users

For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

watchOS 10.4 will likely see a public release in the near future alongside iOS 17.4.

Related Roundup: watchOS 11
Related Forum: Apple Watch

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Top Rated Comments

cocky jeremy Avatar
13 months ago
I always update these but never read what is supposed to be added. Mostly because nothing useful seems to get added.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BarrettF77 Avatar
13 months ago
Why does this article say for the software releasing next week? Isn’t watch OS going to come out tomorrow with the rest of the software?

I’m assuming it’s a typo perhaps as we expected this software last week but was delayed.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Motawa Avatar
13 months ago
still waiting for a fix for watch faces in the phone app taking like 10 minutes to load
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
allenvanhellen Avatar
13 months ago
Why does Smart Stack show an analogue clock? If I'm using an analogue face (most of which don't have clear minute markings BTW) I want to be able to quickly see the exact time digitally, not just another analogue clock.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
t0rqx Avatar
13 months ago
Since 10.3.1 the battery drain is unbelievable. They must feel the sales slumping since the S9 does not sell and the Blood OxyGen Sensor lowering the sales already.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IIGS User Avatar
13 months ago
You had me at lime emoji
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)