Apple Seeds Second Beta of watchOS 4.2 to Developers - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Seeds Second Beta of watchOS 4.2 to Developers

by

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming watchOS 4.2 update to developers for testing purposes, one week after releasing the first watchOS 4.2 beta and a little under a week after releasing the watchOS 4.1 update.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the new watchOS 4.2 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.

watchos4
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.

watchOS 4.2 appears to focus primarily on under-the-hood bug fixes and security updates. No major outward-facing changes were found in the first beta, but should new features be found in the second beta, we'll update this post.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Series 10 Jet Black Touch ID

Apple Watch Series 12 and watchOS 27: What to Expect Later This Year

Friday May 8, 2026 2:07 pm PDT by
While not too much has been reported about the next Apple Watch models, there are a few rumors about potential design changes and watchOS 27 features. Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 models are expected to be released in September, and we have outlined some of the key rumored hardware and software changes below. A new Apple Watch SE is not expected this year, as that model was...
Read Full Article • 60 comments
Apple Watch Series 10 Jet Black Touch ID

Next Apple Watch Models Unlikely to Add Touch ID, Focus on Battery Life

Monday May 11, 2026 3:41 am PDT by
Apple is prioritizing larger batteries and more advanced health sensors over fingerprint authentication for the Apple Watch, according to a new claim from a prominent Chinese leaker. In a new Weibo post, Instant Digital pushed back on recent speculation about biometric recognition coming to Apple's wearable lineup, claiming instead that the company remains content to let users unlock their...
Read Full Article • 80 comments
TMRS 194 Apple Chatbot Thumb

The MacRumors Show: Gemini Announcements and Apple Watch Series 12 Rumors

Friday May 15, 2026 7:30 am PDT by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss Google's latest wave of announcements for Android and Gemini, the newly announced Fitbit Air, and Apple Watch Series 12 rumors. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The centerpiece of Google's announcements this week was Gemini Intelligence, Google's new umbrella platform for AI across phones, watches, cars,...
Read Full Article • 6 comments

Top Rated Comments

themick4u Avatar
themick4u
112 months ago
Let's see if they bring back the most primary feature I've used on this series 0 watch....... Browse & initiate playback of iphone stored music libraries / playlists.


EDIT: After updating both iPhone and Watch to latest release this issue is still not addressed. I am giving up hope that this feature is gone and not coming back, sadly. I will not be buying any new Apple Watches in the future since this was a core feature of the watchOS for me. If I could roll back to WatchOS 3.x I would......
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
pissedoffappleuser
112 months ago
Let's see if they bring back the most primary feature I've used on this series 0 watch....... Browse & initiate playback of iphone stored music libraries / playlists.


EDIT: After updating both iPhone and Watch to latest release this issue is still not addressed. I am giving up hope that this feature is gone and not coming back, sadly. I will not be buying any new Apple Watches in the future since this was a core feature of the watchOS for me. If I could roll back to WatchOS 3.x I would......
Couldn't agree more. Apple doesn't really seem to care about the actual user. The only reason I can see for taking away the feature is because they want to sell more Apple Music subscriptions. I won't be one of them. I buy vinyl and download the music. Apple couldn't care about people like me. They also don't realize how the ability to control the iphone music while driving was such a useful feature. I don't trust Apple anymore. What will they take away next? Maybe it will be the ability to tell time on the watch since that doesn't provide any revenue like streaming or apple pay. I'll be looking at Android phones and devices next time.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
dburges
112 months ago
I would just like some optimization tweaks to make my five month old Series 2 as responsive as it was with OS3!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments