Beta code hints at a new watchOS 27 Readiness app, better strength workouts and more storage as Apple Watch bulks up its exercise features.

(via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)

Just days before the official reveal, code hidden inside beta software has exposed four major hardware and software upgrades coming to the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Ultra 4. A recent leak suggests the next generation of wearables will bring double the storage, a dedicated app for physical recovery, smarter heart rate sensors, and […]

The post Apple Watch Series 12 And Ultra 4 Code Leaks Reveal Four Upgrades appeared first on The Mac Observer.

Apple is seemingly dropping a long-standing Apple Watch shortcut in watchOS 27: double-clicking the Digital Crown no longer triggers the App Switcher allowing users to jump between and/or close recently used apps.

According to 9to5Mac’s Zac Hall, the change first showed up in the watchOS 27 beta and has stuck around all summer. For years, a double-click on the crown let users bounce quickly between two apps — or between an app and the watch face — without opening the full app grid. Hall says he used the gesture so often it became muscle memory, especially for jumping between Workout and Music.

That same recent-apps view also gave Watch owners a way to quit apps. On watchOS 26, users can still double-click the Digital Crown to open the App Switcher, swipe left on an app, and tap the X to close or quit it. iPhone users on iOS 26 have a similar option: open the recently used apps view and swipe left on an app to close or quit it. watchOS 27 takes away the double-click path that made that Watch workflow possible.

watchOS 27 instead pushes a new “dynamic app grid.” A single press of the Digital Crown now shows the Siri icon, five suggested apps, and a shortcut to the full grid. Hall writes that the new launcher has grown on him when the right app is already suggested. What it does not replace is a guaranteed, one-motion switch between two apps — or the swipe-left close action tied to the old App Switcher.

In the current beta, a double-click does the same thing as a single click. Hall argues that is a poor trade on a device with so few physical buttons. Only Apple Watch Ultra models have an Action button, and the side button below the crown still opens Wallet. Removing a dedicated double-click action from the crown, he says, leaves a useful control unused.

Hall first flagged the issue when the public beta launched in July and says he sent feedback to Apple in June. He still hopes Apple restores the crown gesture before watchOS 27 ships this month, or at least brings it back in watchOS 27.1.

Whether most Watch users will notice depends on how often they relied on the old shortcut. For those who used it both to jump between apps and to swipe left to quit them, watchOS 27 currently offers no equivalent.

MacDailyNews Take: Unless Apple has new plans for double-clicking the Digital Crown, they should bring back the App Switcher for that action.

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Apple on Monday released the eighth developer betas of macOS 27, iOS 27, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27, and watchOS 27, continuing the final stretch of testing before the software is expected to ship to the public in September.

The new builds arrive one week after the seventh developer betas, which went out on August 24. At this point in the cycle, Apple is typically focused on bug fixes, performance, and stability rather than large new user-facing features. Release candidates are widely expected after Apple’s September hardware event.

Build numbers

• iOS 27 beta 8: 24A5430a (replacing 24A5424a)
• iPadOS 27 beta 8: 24A5430a (replacing 24A5424a)
• macOS 27 beta 8: 26A5425a (replacing 26A5421a)
• watchOS 27 beta 8: 24R5360a (replacing 24R5358a)

Apple also issued matching eighth betas for tvOS 27 and visionOS 27.

macOS 27 continues under the Golden Gate name. It is the first macOS release limited to Apple silicon Macs.

How to install

Registered developers can install the updates over the air:

• iPhone and iPad: Settings → General → Software Update → Beta Updates, then choose the iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 Developer Beta.

• Mac: System Settings → General → Software Update.

• Apple Watch: Use the Watch app on a paired iPhone. The watch should be on the charger, on Wi-Fi, and at least 50 percent charged.

Full restore images are also available from the Apple Developer site. Public beta testers usually receive corresponding public builds shortly after the developer drop.

What these releases are building toward

The “27” operating systems were first shown at WWDC 2026 on June 8, with developer beta 1 following the same day. Public betas began in mid-July. The official fall releases are expected alongside new iPhones and other hardware.

Headline features across the platforms include:

Siri AI. Apple’s rebuilt assistant is the centerpiece. It is designed as a more conversational chatbot with general world knowledge, personal context from apps such as Messages and Mail, and on-screen awareness. iOS 27 also adds a standalone Siri app for conversation history, systemwide Write with Siri, and Visual Intelligence relocated into the Camera app with a Siri mode. On Apple Watch, Siri AI requires a paired iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro and later).

Apple Intelligence elsewhere. New AI features land in Photos, Safari, Shortcuts, Wallet, and Passwords. On the Mac, Spotlight and Shortcuts pick up deeper Siri AI integration, including natural-language shortcut creation.

Liquid Glass refinements. After last year’s more aggressive glass look, Apple has improved legibility and added a transparency slider so users can dial the effect from glassy to more opaque. macOS 27 also revisits window chrome, including traffic-light controls and more consistent corner radii.

Performance. Apple has emphasized faster app launches, quicker keyboard appearance, snappier AirDrop, better Wi-Fi/cellular handoff, and improvements that are noticeable even on older supported iPhones. watchOS 27 includes battery optimizations, an updated Find My experience with Precision Finding, Workout Buddy improvements that work without a nearby iPhone, and a Dynamic app grid with Siri suggestions.

Some capabilities remain limited by region or regulation. Earlier in the cycle, Siri AI features were reported as blocked for EU developers under Digital Markets Act rules, and certain Apple Intelligence features have been unavailable in China while Apple works through local requirements.

What to expect next

Ninth-week betas this late in the summer are often the last regular developer drops before release candidates. Those RCs frequently appear after Apple’s September event, when the company also tends to reveal any remaining watch faces, health features, or hardware-tied software that was held back from earlier betas.

The finished versions of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27 are still expected for the public this fall.

MacDailyNews Note: As always, beta software can be unstable. A backup is strongly recommended before installing.

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