How to Install watchOS 11 Beta on Apple Watch

WatchOS 11 for Apple Watch was recently announced, and watchOS 11 beta is available to run and install right now on compatible Apple Watch models. WatchOS 11 has a variety of features like training load tracking, ability to add rest days to your workouts or pause your activity rings without losing your streaks, live language translation, more features for pregnancy, easy tap-to-cash payment features that let you place your Apple Watch near another watch or iPhone to send Apple Cash, and more.

Should you run watchOS 11 beta? Probably not. Like any other beta version of system software, watchOS 11 beta is going to be buggier than expected, which could mean compatibility issues, reduced battery life, crashes, and other unexpected behavior. But because installing watchOS 11 beta requires iOS 18 beta, if you’re already running iOS 18 beta you’re likely savvy enough to run the watchOS 11 beta too.

Let’s walk through how to install watchOS 11 beta on an Apple Watch.

WatchOS 11 Compatible Devices List

Apple Watch models that support watchOS 11 include the following:

• Apple Watch Series 6
• Apple Watch Series 7
• Apple Watch Series 8
• Apple Watch Series 9
• Apple Watch SE 2nd generation and newer
• Apple Watch Ultra and newer

You’ll notice that watchOS 11 has more strict system requirements than watchOS 10 did, and notably the Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5, and the first generation Apple Watch SE, do not support watchOS 11.

It’s also important to note that watchOS 11 requires an iPhone that can run iOS 18, which is basically anything newer than iPhone XR. This means to install watchOS 11 beta, you have to be running iOS 18 on iPhone that is paired with the watch.

Assuming your Apple Watch is compatible with watchOS 11 and the paired iPhone is running iOS 18 beta, here’s how to install watchOS 11 beta right now:

1. First you must install iOS 18 beta on your paired iPhone, if you have not done that yet
2. Open the “Watch” app on your iPhone
3. Go to “General” then select “Software Update”
4. Now tap on “Beta Updates”
5. Select “watchOS 11 Developer Beta”, and then tap back
6. In a moment you’ll see WatchOS 11 Beta available to download and install as a software update
7. Let Apple Watch update as usual

Soon your Apple Watch will restart and you’ll be running watchOS 11 beta.

Future software updates for the watchOS 11 beta will arrive as any other software update on Apple Watch.

When will watchOS 11 be released for everyone? When is the beta finished?

Apple has said that watchOS 11 will be released this fall.

Typically major watchOS updates arrive alongside major iOS updates, since installing one requires the other, so whenever iOS 18 is released it is likely that watchOS 11 will be released on the same day or soon after.

Beta versions of system software go through various releases. Apple first starts with developer betas, then adds public betas, and finally after several releases of both, a final version is made available to everyone.