Apple today released watchOS 8.5, the fourth major update to the watchOS 8 operating system that launched in September. watchOS 8.5 comes two months after the launch of watchOS 8.4, which fixed a charging bug.
watchOS 8.5 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone.
watchOS 8.5 introduces support for Emoji 14 characters, with new additions including melting face, biting lip, heart hands, bubbles, beans, face with diagonal mouth, palm up hand, eggs, troll, low battery, coral, lotus, and more, plus it includes improvements to Apple's irregular heart rhythm feature that notifies users if atrial fibrillation is detected. Apple's full release notes for the update are below.
watchOS 8.5 includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:
- Ability to authorize Apple TV purchases and subscriptions
- COVID-19 vaccination cards in Apple Wallet now support the EU Digital COVID Certificate format
- Updates to irregular heart rhythm notifications designed to improve atrial fibrillation identification. Available in the United States, Chile, Hong Kong, South Africa, and many more regions where the feature is available.
- Audio hints in Fitness+ provide you with audio commentary of visually demonstrated moves during workouts.
For more on all of the features in watchOS 8, we have a dedicated watchOS 8 roundup.
