Apple has released watchOS 8.3 release candidate to developers and public beta testers. The new update has been released after four beta builds were shared with testers. The major new features in this update are Apple Music Voice Plan and App Privacy Report.
What’s new in watchOS 8.3 RC?
watchOS 8.3 RC features support for Apple Music Voice Plan which is a cheaper $4.99/month plan that will work only via Siri. Users will be able to access and playback songs, playlists, and stations using this plan, however, lossless audio and spatial audio will not be supported in this tier.
The other major new feature is App Privacy Report which will record data and sensor access by apps and show a report to users.
Here are the complete release notes from Apple for watchOS 8.3:
- Apple Music Voice Plan gives you access to all songs, playlists, and stations in Apple Music using Siri
- Support for App Privacy Report to record data and sensor access
- Fixes an issue where notifications may interrupt Mindfulness sessions unexpectedly for some users
watchOS 8.1 was the previous major update and released with the following improvements and fixes for Apple Watch:
- Enhanced algorithms to detect falls during workouts and option to enable fall detection during workouts only (Apple Watch Series 4 and later)
- COVID-19 vaccination card support allows you to present verifiable vaccination information from Apple Wallet
- Fitness+ supports SharePlay to allow subscribers to invite up to 32 people to workout together through a FaceTime call using iPhone, iPad or Apple TV
- Always On may not display the time accurately for some users when their wrist is down (Apple Watch Series 5 and later)
watchOS 8 was originally released with a number of new features including built-in apps and workouts:
- Wallet
- Home
- Mindfulness
- Sleeping respiratory rate
- Fitness+
- Portrait Watch Face and Photos app
- Messages and Contacts apps
- Find Items app
- Redesigned Music app
- Updated Weather app
- Always-on support for more apps
Check out our detailed coverage of watchOS 8 features for more information.
Is your Apple Watch compatible with watchOS 8.3 RC?
watchOS 8.3 RC is compatible with the following Apple Watch models:
- Apple Watch Series 7
- Apple Watch Series 6
- Apple Watch SE
- Apple Watch Series 5
- Apple Watch Series 4
- Apple Watch Series 3
How to upgrade Apple Watch to watchOS 8.3 RC?
If you already had a watchOS 8.3 beta installed on your Apple Watch, you can install the update by going to the Watch app on your iPhone and navigating to General > Software Update. If you do not already have the beta installed, we recommend that you wait a few days as the final version of watchOS 8.3 will soon be available to all users.
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