After releasing watchOS 10.1 to all users, Apple is already seeding watchOS 10.2 beta 1 to developers. This new testing phase comes after Cupertino made available important features, first teased during WWDC 2023 and with the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 release.
More notably, the two new features available with watchOS 10.1 are:
NameDrop from iPhone to Apple Watch lets you easily share your contact information from one iPhone to Apple Watch by approaching them. While this function is available for iPhone to iPhone with iOS 17, Apple says that nearing an iPhone to Apple Watch to perform the same action is possible with Apple Watch Series 6 and later, Apple Watch SE (1st and 2nd generation), and Apple Watch Ultra.
With the double-tap gesture, users can easily control the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 using just one hand and without touching the display by tapping the index finger and thumb of their watch hand together twice to quickly and conveniently perform many of the most common actions on the Watch. The faster Neural Engine enables this new double tap gesture, which processes data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and optical heart sensor with a new machine learning algorithm.
Now, with watchOS 10.2 beta 1 now available, we hope Apple adds some of the other delayed features for the Apple Watch, such as:
- Media suggestions will appear at the top of the Smart Stack if nothing is playing on a nearby HomePod
- Audio Focus gives users the ability to prioritize the volume of the music or the trainers’ voices in Apple Fitness+.
BGR will let you know once we learn more about the features available with the watchOS 10.2 beta for the Apple Watch. The company is also seeding the first beta of iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, macOS 14.2, and tvOS 17.2.
