At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for watchOS (part 1). 1. I'm really excited about the new design system on all platforms. Liquid Glass is super cool. What do developers need to keep in mind when building for watchOS 26? To adopt the new design system, start with updating your app for watchOS 10 – If you have done so, your app will be mostly ready for watchOS 26. For more information, see Design and build apps for WatchOS 10. You can then look into Liquid Glass specific APIs to fine tune your app. This topic is covered in Adopting Liquid Glass. If you have SwiftUI views using any custom style, make sure they are still legible and fit with the new design system. 2. Something that really stood out to me were updates to the Smart Stack, with the system prioritizing Widgets when they're most relevant. Tell me more about these new opportunities for apps. Workout apps that record workouts using HealthKit may be automatically suggested on the watch face and appear in the Smart Stack without adding a widget. Relevant widgets are a great way to present information related to a date, location, point-of-interest type, sleep schedule, or fitness condition in the Smart Stack when it is relevant. Relevant widgets don't need to display a empty state view when they are not relevant. They are only shown in the Smart Stack when relevant. The watchOS 26 Design ToolKit in the Apple Design Resources includes a set of templates that you can use to layout your widgets. 3. Is the Wrist Flick gesture available to developers in the same way as Double Tap is? The system uses Wrist Flick to dismiss notifications and incoming calls, silence timers and alarms, or return to the watch face. There is no separate API for the Wrist Flick gesture. Apps that are using XCUIAutomation to make sure their user interface behaves as intended can use the XCUIDeviceHandGesture.flick to automate tests that verify that their app responds appropriately to the Wrist Flick gesture. For apps using automated testing, the XCUIDeviceHandGesture.doubleTap can be also be used to automate testing of the app with the Double Tap gesture. See XCUIDevice.perform(handGesture:) 4. Can HRV measurements be triggered on demand via API in watchOS? Guidelines or processes for enabling energy-intensive biometric sampling on development devices for IRB-approved research? You don’t have direct control on the sampling rate in watchOS. You can use HealthKit (HKQuantityTypeIdentifierHeartRateVariabilitySDNN, to be specific) to query the HRV data, once the system has sampled and persisted the data to HealthKit. If that doesn’t help, we suggest that you file a feedback report with your concrete use case for us to investigate. Specific to IRB-approved research using Apple Watch or its companion iPhone, you might want to look at this FAQ and SensorKit to see if they can be of any help. 5. What is the best advice for someone who is new to making a watchOS app that’s been on iOS and iPadOS? You can start with exploring the system experience features on watchOS, such as notifications, controls, and widgets, and getting familiar with the system spaces, like Smart Stack, watch face, and control center. Knowing the watchOS app design principles and practices is important as well. Design and build apps for WatchOS 10 is a great resource for this topic. SwiftUI is an amazing across-platform framework, and you will use it to create your watchOS app. If you're already using it, great! Keep in mind some watch-only constraints. Comparing to iPhone or iPad, Apple Watch has a limited battery and smaller screen size, which significantly impacts how people use your app and how your app works. 6. Was there any extension this year to the 7 day limit on querying Apple Health data on the watch? There is no change on the limit this year. You can get this official limit at runtime using earliestPermittedSampleDate. There are some exceptions, and so don't be surprised if you see some data types are retained longer. The companion iPhone holds the full set of the health data. If you need to access the health data that has been purged from the Apple Watch, consider doing it with your iOS app, and then passing the result to your watchOS app.

At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for watchOS (part 2). 7. For widget (complication) update budgets, is there an overall budget or are scheduled update separate from APNS updates? For context I have a complication that is updated on a fixed schedule (every 20 min), but there can be times of the day that are more "interesting" where pushes make sense. Like timeline updates, the system budgets WidgetKit push notifications and delivers them opportunistically. You can use WidgetKit push notification updates as an addition to timeline updates. For more information, see Updating widgets with WidgetKit push notifications. 8. It seems like the new Control Center widgets can be sourced from either the iPhone or directly on the Watch. Can we control whether a control appears in the watch list, or will it always be a combination of all controls from both sources? iPhone controls will be automatically available on the companion Apple Watch, even if they don’t have an associated watchOS app. When an iPhone control is tapped on the Apple Watch, the action is performed on the iPhone. Controls whose actions foreground the iOS app will not appear on Apple Watch. If a watchOS app has controls, no controls will appear on Apple Watch from the companion iOS app. 9. From UI/UX perspective, what are the current practices for Designing watchOS apps that feels native. The WWDC23 session Design and build apps for WatchOS 10 covers the details of watchOS design principles and how to apply them in your app using SwiftUI. A lot of SwiftUI APIs, such as NavigationSplitView, vertical tab view, list view, and etc, already implement the look and feel native to watchOS. 10. When adopting the new design system on watchOS, it seems like the main place we will use the glass effect is for our buttons in toolbar? Standard buttons in system apps seem to continue to use a flat appearance and full width. We leave the choice to you – You can use the new GlassButtonStyle API or .buttonStyle(.glass) to apply the liquid glass material to buttons. Learn when to use the Liquid Glass styles in Get to know the new design system. 11. Is there any way to gracefully migrate extensions when their bundleIDs have to change? e.g., converting a multi-target watch app to single-target, which drops the .watchkitextension from both the app and WidgetKit ext bundleIDs Updating a watchOS app to single-target is covered in TechNote TN3157: Updating your watchOS project for SwiftUI and WidgetKit. Xcode provides a tool that can do the update automatically, and the technote describes the details about how to use it and how to clean up the project after the automatic update. If there's something that technote doesn't address, please reach out to us on the Developer Forums. 12. What is the status of WatchConnectivity? Is that still the preferred way for iOS + watchOS communications? The Watch Connectivity framework is still supported, and is appropriate for the communication between an watchOS app and its companion iOS app. The systems also provide other APIs for the apps to exchange data. For example, watchOS supports Apple Push Notification service (APNs). If data for your widget changes on your server, your widget can receive a WidgetKit push notification, and update accordingly. That’s the preferred mechanism for widget updates.

I am unable to build to my Series 12 which is on watchOS 27.2 beta 2, I have macOS 27.2 beta 2 and Xcode 27.2 beta 2 but when I open up Device Hub, and click on my watch, it says Tunnel State("Connecting" then "Disconnected") and won't ever connect. the app im building is watchOS only and so iPhone is incompatible and I've tried restarting every device but nothing works.

I’m evaluating a native watchOS smart-alarm app and would like to clarify whether public APIs support its core requirement before building a prototype. The app would wake the user during a 20–30-minute window before their selected alarm time, using Apple Watch’s own sleep-stage classifications available through HealthKit’s sleepAnalysis category: Core, Deep, REM, and Awake. I have reviewed HKCategoryValueSleepAnalysis, HKAnchoredObjectQuery, HKObserverQuery, background delivery, and WKExtendedRuntimeSession’s Smart Alarm mode. However, I haven’t found documentation establishing when Apple-generated sleep-stage samples become available during an ongoing sleep session. Could you clarify: Are Apple-generated sleep-stage samples written to the Watch’s local HealthKit store during sleep, or only after the sleep session ends or subsequent processing? If available during sleep, is there any documented update cadence or latency that would make them suitable for a smart alarm? Should the latest sample be treated only as a retrospective classification rather than the current sleep stage? Can an app query these samples during a Smart Alarm extended runtime session while the Watch is worn and unlocked, with its display off and Sleep Focus enabled? Are there relevant execution or data-access restrictions? If this use case is unsupported, is there any public API that exposes Apple’s current sleep-stage estimate? If not, which Feedback Assistant category is appropriate for requesting this capability? The intended approach queries HealthKit directly on Apple Watch, without depending on Watch-to-iPhone synchronization, and retains a fixed latest wake-up time as a fallback. This is an API feasibility question, not a reproduced bug. I haven’t yet built or tested a prototype. Thank you.

Hi there, I'm planning to develop a simple underwater compass app for Apple Watch Ultra 2, intended for recreational scuba diving down to 40 meters. The app itself does not need depth or pressure measurements beyond 6 meters. Its primary function is compass navigation using heading data. During a dive, however, I would like the app to: remain frontmost and visible throughout the dive; use Water Lock; use an underwater-depth WKExtendedRuntimeSession; continue receiving compass heading updates; allow interaction through physical controls such as the Digital Crown and Action Button; remain operational below 6 meters, potentially down to 40 meters. I understand that the Shallow Depth and Pressure capability limits CMWaterSubmersionManager depth/pressure data to approximately 6 meters, while access to depth/pressure data down to 40 meters requires the full Submerged Depth and Pressure entitlement. My question is: If my app does not require depth/pressure measurements beyond 6 meters, is the full Submerged Depth and Pressure entitlement still required simply to keep the underwater extended runtime session, UI, compass heading updates, and physical-control interaction working below 6 meters? In other words, does the 6-meter entitlement limit apply only to depth/pressure data, or does it also limit the ability of an underwater compass app to remain operational during a scuba dive below 6 meters? Target hardware: Apple Watch Ultra 2. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I am developing an iOS companion app with an integrated watchOS component (a golf swing tracking tool using CoreMotion). I have run into an issue where the watchOS app gets stuck indefinitely in the "Installing..." state and never finishes installing on the physical Apple Watch. Environment (All on latest public releases): Xcode Version: Latest release (Xcode 18.x) macOS Version: Latest release (macOS Sequoia / latest version) iOS Version: Latest release (iOS 20.x) watchOS Version: Latest release (watchOS 13.x on Apple Watch Ultra 2) Deployment Target: Matched to latest minimum deployments Signing: "Automatically manage signing" enabled with an active Apple Developer Program account Steps to Reproduce: Connect the iPhone to the Mac via a physical cable. Select the iOS target in Xcode and successfully run/install the companion app onto the iPhone. Launch the stock Watch app on the paired iPhone. Scroll down to the "Available Apps" section, locate the development app, and tap "Install". The circular progress indicator starts spinning with the status "Installing...", but it remains in this state indefinitely (waited over 2 hours) without ever completing, timing out, or surfacing an error alert on either the iPhone or the Apple Watch. Troubleshooting Already Verified: Bundle ID Hierarchy: iOS App: com.company.appname Watch App: com.company.appname.watchkitapp Both targets share the exact same Development Team, signing certificate, and provisioning profiles. Developer Mode: Explicitly enabled and rebooted on the Apple Watch (Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Developer Mode). Also verified as enabled on the host iPhone. Connectivity & Cache: Cleared Xcode DerivedData (rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData). Performed hard reboots on both the iPhone and the Apple Watch to terminate any hung background sync daemons (installd / CoreDevice). Ensured both devices and the Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network with Bluetooth turned on. Questions: Under the current CoreDevice architecture, is installing local debug builds via the iPhone's stock Watch app still supported, or does it silently fail because the physical Apple Watch's UDID is not directly provisioned during an iOS-only build? Which subsystem in macOS Console.app (e.g., com.apple.dt.CoreDevice, com.apple.StreamingExtractor, or installd) is best for tracking the exact error/timeout code when the watch installation hangs? What is the currently recommended workflow to deploy and debug a paired watchOS target directly onto physical hardware? Any insights from the team or community would be greatly appreciated!

When playing TTS on a watchOS 27 device while AirPods or a Bluetooth headset are connected to both the Apple Watch and the iPhone: Playback begins by calling the setActive function of AVAudioSession. A successful response is received, but... ...AVAudioSession.currentRoute.outputs lists only the built-in speaker, with no entry for the Bluetooth headset or earphones. After a brief delay, an AVAudioSession.routeChangeNotification is received, and playback then switches to the AirPods. If TTS is stopped and playback is attempted again: Playback frequently fails. In this state, AVAudioSession.currentRoute.outputs still shows no Bluetooth headset or earphones. However, checking the Bluetooth settings on the Apple Watch confirms that the AirPods or Bluetooth headset are properly connected. If the app is restarted—or if you exit and re-enter the TTS playback screen—the first attempt succeeds (albeit with a delay), but subsequent attempts after stopping fail. Sometimes, playback fails right from the start. Even in this case, the AirPods remain properly connected. The issue is resolved if the AirPods are disconnected from the iPhone and connected solely to the Apple Watch. When connected only to the watch, AVAudioSession.currentRoute.outputs correctly includes the Bluetooth headset or earphones from the start, and playback issues do not occur when repeatedly stopping and restarting. Playback worked fine with simultaneous Bluetooth connections up to watchOS 26, but a strange issue has started occurring since watchOS 27. We suspect this is a bug or error introduced in watchOS 27; could you please fix it? The same issue persists even after the recent update to version 27.0.1. Alternatively, please let us know if there is a way to resolve this within the app itself. It seems impossible to fix this in the current code because there is no way to programmatically trigger a popup on the Apple Watch that forces the selection of a currently connected Bluetooth headset or AirPods. Also, it does not appear to be an issue with the TTS API.

I have a watchOS app communicating with a BLE peripheral during an active HKWorkoutSession. The workout provides sufficient runtime: once connected, the Watch can receive a notifying GATT characteristic approximately once per minute for hours, including while the display is off. In normal conditions the connection is very stable. The difficult case is outdoor use with marginal RF conditions. The peripheral and application protocol otherwise work reliably, but outdoors there are fewer reflected RF paths and normal body movement can intermittently obstruct the Watch-to-peripheral path. In those situations the link occasionally terminates with CBError.connectionTimeout. Reconnection is particularly important because this peripheral advertises for reconnection only approximately once per minute. We also know approximately which second of each minute the peripheral becomes active, so missing a single advertising opportunity can cause a relatively long data gap. I’m trying to better understand the supported CoreBluetooth/watchOS behavior in this situation. Maintaining a marginal existing connection Once the BLE connection is established, are there any public CoreBluetooth mechanisms or recommended practices for making that connection more robust against CBError.connectionTimeout? In particular, can application-level GATT activity have any influence on connection scheduling or link robustness, or is this entirely handled by the Bluetooth stack below CoreBluetooth? CBConnectPeripheralOptionEnableAutoReconnect with sparse advertising When CBConnectPeripheralOptionEnableAutoReconnect is enabled and the connection is lost, how does watchOS handle a peripheral that advertises only very infrequently? Does CoreBluetooth simply keep the reconnect pending and wait for subsequent advertisements indefinitely, subject to system policy? Known peripheral activity timing If the app knows approximately when the peripheral becomes active and advertises each minute, is there any supported way to make use of that timing during reconnection? Or should the app simply leave AutoReconnect pending and let CoreBluetooth handle reception? WWDC22 reduced reconnection range WWDC22 session 10135 says: “If your device is on the edge of Bluetooth range and repeatedly disconnects while in Background BLE connection, the reconnection range will be reduced. This means only devices close to the Apple Watch will reconnect.” The session also says these limits are counted over a rolling 24-hour window and are reset when the user interacts with the app. I would particularly appreciate clarification of how this works in practice: What conditions cause a disconnect to count toward this policy? Does this policy apply while an app has an active HKWorkoutSession and continues executing in the background? Is the state maintained per peripheral, per app, or more globally? What exactly constitutes the user interaction that resets it? Does bringing an already-running workout app back to the foreground reset it, or does the app need to be relaunched? Is there any public API or diagnostic indication that reduced reconnection range is currently active? Is there any supported way to explicitly clear/reset that state? Connection parameters Does watchOS expose any supported mechanism for a CoreBluetooth central to influence parameters relevant to connection robustness, such as connection interval, supervision timeout, PHY, transmit power, or similar link parameters? Diagnosing CBError.connectionTimeout When CoreBluetooth reports CBError.connectionTimeout, is there any supported diagnostic method to determine whether the Watch stopped receiving the peripheral, the peripheral stopped receiving the Watch, or whether this should simply be treated as a link-layer timeout without attribution to either side? For context, this is not primarily a background-runtime problem. The active workout keeps the app running and the normal persistent BLE connection can operate flawlessly for many hours. I’m specifically trying to understand the best supported strategy for preserving and recovering the BLE link when RF conditions temporarily become marginal, especially with a peripheral that advertises very sparsely after a disconnect. DTS asked me to post this question here for review.

When a text field on Apple Watch is filled through the iPhone's remote keyboard, text that I PASTE into the iPhone field is displayed correctly on the iPhone but arrives EMPTY on the watch. Typing the same text character by character works fine. This happens in both secure (password) fields and regular text fields, so it doesn't look like a password-field restriction. Steps to reproduce On the watch, open a text field (I tested a password field and a regular one). Open the keyboard on the iPhone when prompted. Copy a short test string (e.g. "test12345") from another app. Paste it into the iPhone field. The iPhone shows the text. Confirm on the watch. Expected: the watch receives the pasted text. Actual: the watch field receives empty input. What I tried Typing the string by hand: arrives correctly. Pasting in a secure field: arrives empty. Pasting in a regular field: arrives empty. Environment iPhone 15 Pro Max, iOS 27.0 [confirm current version] Apple Watch Ultra 2, watchOS 27.2 (24S5091f) MacBook Pro (M1), macOS 27.2 Has anyone else seen this? Any workaround other than typing the text manually would be appreciated.

Filed as FB24834050. Still reproducible on watchOS 27.0.1 (24R365). Posting here in case an Apple engineer can help route it, and to see whether other developers are seeing the same behavior through HealthKit. Minimal reproduction (under 3 minutes, no distance involved) Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS) running watchOS 27.0.1 (24R365), paired to an iPhone 15 running iOS 27. Start an Other workout. Move your arms continuously for about 2 minutes (I use air punches). No treadmill, GPS, or distance calculation involved. End the workout and review the heart rate samples. Result: One heart rate sample at approximately 0:05, then no additional samples for the rest of the workout. Expected: Continuous heart rate sampling every few seconds, which is how the same watch behaved on watchOS 26. This reproduces 100% of the time across every workout type I've tried since updating to watchOS 27.0. It did not occur on watchOS 26 using the same watch, same wrist, and same fit. Key diagnostic: the sensor is working, the workout session path is not. The Heart Rate app reads immediately and continues updating every few seconds, even while a workout is running. Background heart rate sampling outside workout sessions works normally. Active energy for my daily 65-minute session is accurate when no workout is started (405 calories on 9/22/26, consistent with watchOS 26). Recording that same session as an Indoor Walk workout results in roughly half the active calories (typically 185-200 versus high-300s/low-400s before the update). Starting a workout appears to suppress a working measurement path and replace it with one that is failing. Downstream impact A 1:06:13 session has been credited as 9, 35, and 55 exercise minutes on different days. Since exercise-minute credit for walking is heart-rate driven, the lack of heart rate samples appears to directly affect exercise credit. Separate issue in the same build (not the subject of this post) Indoor distance is consistently about 50% low. A 1:06:13 walk at a constant 4.1 mph should be 4.52 miles, but the watch reports roughly 2-3 miles even though step counts are correct. The watchOS 27 User Guide describes a redesigned pedometer model using new machine-learning algorithms for treadmill distance. Series 12 and Ultra 4 owners are reporting the same shortfall with matching step counts, including on clean installs, so this does not appear to be hardware-specific. The heart rate dropout reproduces in the Other workout type, which performs no distance calculation, so the two issues appear to be independent regressions. Already ruled out Health details are correct Wrist Detection enabled Power Saving Mode off on both watch and iPhone Heart Rate and Fitness Tracking permissions enabled Motion Calibration & Distance enabled Watch fit and position unchanged Both devices restarted Fitness Calibration Data reset Full unpair/re-pair Multiple workout types tested Pause/resume mid-workout (heart rate briefly shows "Searching" and then drops out again) FB24834050 includes two sysdiagnoses from watchOS 27.0 and currently shows "Recent Similar Reports: More than 10." Status remains Open with no response. Ask Can anyone from Apple confirm whether this is a known/tracked issue? Also, would a sysdiagnose captured using the watchOS logging profile from the Apple bug-reporting site be useful? I'm happy to install the profile, reproduce the issue in under three minutes, and attach fresh logs. I'm also interested in hearing from developers using HKWorkoutSession. Are you seeing the same heart-rate sample gaps on watchOS 27 in your own apps? That would help determine whether this is specific to the Workout app or a regression in the workout session layer underneath it. Thanks!

I'm blocked trying to run/debug an app on a physical Apple Watch. The iPhone connects to Xcode perfectly over USB and is fully trusted, but the paired Watch never shows up in Xcode, and because of that the Developer Mode toggle never appears on the watch itself. Environment Mac: MacOS 26.4 Xcode: 26.5 iPhone: iPhone 17, iOS 26.4 — connected to Mac via USB, trusted Apple Watch: Ultra 3, watchOS 26.3 Developer Mode: enabled on iPhone Watch is paired and working normally in the iPhone Watch app What happens In Xcode → Window → Devices and Simulators, only the iPhone ("Brian") shows under Connected, with its installed apps listed correctly. The paired Apple Watch does not appear under it or as a separate entry. On the watch, Settings → Privacy & Security has no Developer Mode item. I understand this only surfaces after Xcode successfully connects to the watch, so I believe the missing Xcode connection is the root cause. When I first connected the iPhone via cable, a Trust prompt did appear on the watch and I accepted it. What I've already tried Enabled Developer Mode on iPhone (toggled off/on, with restarts) Connected iPhone via USB and confirmed Trust on both iPhone and watch Restarted Mac, iPhone, and watch multiple times Confirmed Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are on across all three devices Kept the watch unlocked and on my wrist, close to the iPhone and Mac Despite this, the watch never appears in Xcode and the Developer Mode toggle never surfaces on watchOS. Questions Is this the known Xcode 26 / watchOS 26 tunneling/discovery regression, or is something else going on in my setup? Is there an Apple-supported way to force Xcode to re-discover a paired watch without unpairing it from the iPhone? Has any specific combination of macOS / Xcode / watchOS versions reliably resolved this for anyone? Any guidance appreciated. Happy to file a Feedback Assistant report and share the ID if useful.

While testing the watchOS 27 beta, I noticed that the standalone Walkie-Talkie app has been removed from the system. Walkie-Talkie has always been a great, lightweight way to stay connected. Much like Digital Touch, it’s one of those quick, low-friction features that makes the watch feel uniquely personal for communication throughout the day. I am really hoping its absence is just a temporary beta omission rather than a permanent retirement of the feature. I have already submitted a request via Feedback Assistant asking the engineering team to consider keeping it in the final release. If you also rely on this app for quick wrist-to-wrist updates, I highly recommend submitting your own feedback ticket to let the team know there is still an active user base for it. (FB23040695) Has anyone else ran into this or found an official note from Apple regarding its removal in the release notes? Hopefully, we will see it return before the public release this fall. Over and out!

New faces I added in the iPhone Watch app showed up in My Faces but didn't reach my Apple Watch. Restarting both devices didn't help. The iPhone's logs showed the watch-face library was stuck in an automatic "reset sync" (not the Reset Sync Data button). With 65 watch apps installed, the reset was too big, hit the limit of 1000 messages per 5 minutes and failed, so new faces queued up behind it. One face took almost three hours to reach the watch. What worked for a while was removing the 7 watch apps with the most complications (I also pressed Reset Sync Data, so I'm not sure which did it). The reset dropped from 1946 to 927 messages and went through, and the stuck faces showed up the next time I added a face. About 90 minutes later a 939-message reset failed again, just over the limit counting the ~65 color-sync messages. To see if you're affected, stream your iPhone in Console.app on a Mac, add a face, and search for "requesting reset sync". I also filed FB25000090 because two queued Photos faces lost their photos when the reset went through. If you see it too, please file with sysdiagnoses from both devices (developer.apple.com/bug-reporting/profiles-and-logs) and mention FB25000073. iPhone 18 Pro on iOS 27.2 beta (24B5089g), Apple Watch Ultra 3 on watchOS 27.2 beta (24S5091f). Same on the public 27.0 release.

Filed as FB24619522 — sysdiagnoses from both devices and the live logs are attached to the report. We ship WidgetKit complications, and on the watchOS 27 betas (24R5360a, paired with iOS 27 24A5430a) they die every time the app gets updated while they're on the active face. Within seconds they turn into empty placeholders and never come back on their own — opening the app, switching faces or reloading timelines from the app does nothing. The watch logs show the extension being killed during the install (normal), and after that watchOS simply can't launch the new copy any more: runningboardd: <OSLaunchdJob | handle=…>: start succeeded, info=spawn failed, error=111: Invalid or missing Program/ProgramArguments chronod(ChronoKit): Reload failed; 0 retries remaining: … "Unknown extension process" Only two things fix it, and both restart chronod: rebooting the watch, or switching the watch language and back (iPhone › Watch app › General › Language & Region, then give it a couple of minutes). Our second extension in the same bundle, which wasn't running during the install, came back fine — so this looks like an OS bug rather than something we can work around in code. iOS 27 widgets seem to have the same problem (this thread, and iPhone in Canada wrote it up on beta 4), and someone posted the identical log lines back in March. FB24619522 — the full story, both sysdiagnoses and the live logs are in the Feedback.

Xcode 27.0, watchOS 27.2, macOS 27.2. Re-pairing an Apple Watch Ultra 2 via Device Hub (File ▸ Pair Nearby Device…) completes successfully — remotepairingd logs setupManualPairing succeeded — but the watch never reconnects afterward: no verifyManualPairing, no _remotepairing._tcp Bonjour advertisement, and CoreDevice never creates a device record for it. devicectl shows the watch as unavailable, then it disappears from the list entirely. Compare: pairing an iPhone the same way also closes the setup channel within ~40 ms, but the iPhone reconnects ~1.3 s later via verifyManualPairing and becomes available. The watch never does. Interesting finding: if the Mac's pairing listener is kept open past the point where Device Hub's sheet would normally close it, the watch does come back — but it requests a brand-new pair-setup instead of verifying the one it just completed. It loops: setup → close → setup. Already tried without success: restarting the watch/iPhone, Developer Mode off/on, Bluetooth on/off, Wi-Fi toggles, iPhone on USB, restarting CoreDeviceService and remotepairingd, Reset Location & Privacy on the iPhone, updating watchOS (27.0 → 27.2, same behavior). Full write-up with sanitized logs, timeline and everything tried: https://github.com/kisnner26/watchos27-pairing-bug Filed as Feedback Assistant FB24924229. If anyone else hits this exact symptom (pairing succeeds, watch never reconnects — different from the PIN never appearing, or the watch never showing up at all, which are other variants reported elsewhere), please share your report ID here so Apple can link them.

I’m blocked debugging a watchOS app on a physical Apple Watch. The iPhone connects to Xcode normally (wired), but the Watch either fails to connect with a tunnel timeout or disappears entirely from Xcode after I unpaired it inside Devices & Simulators. Environment Mac: macOS 26.x (Apple Silicon Mac) Xcode: 26.2 iPhone: iOS 26.1 Apple Watch Ultra: watchOS 26.2 (build 23S303) Connection: iPhone connected to Mac via USB (trusted). Watch paired to iPhone and working normally in the Watch app. Issue A (when Watch is visible in Xcode) In Xcode → Window → Devices and Simulators, the Watch shows up but is not usable and fails to connect. Error: “Previous preparation error: A connection to this device could not be established.” “Timed out while attempting to establish tunnel using negotiated network parameters.” In some attempts the Watch shows “Capacity: Unknown” / limited details, and then fails during preparation. Issue B (after unpairing Watch in Xcode only) I unpaired/removed the Watch in Xcode (Devices & Simulators). I did not unpair the Watch from the iPhone. Now: iPhone appears in Xcode and works normally for builds. Watch is still paired to the iPhone and works normally. Watch no longer appears anywhere in Xcode Devices & Simulators (no paired watch section, no watch run destination). What I’ve tried Reboots of Mac, iPhone, Watch (multiple times) Watch unlocked, awake; iPhone unlocked and close to Watch Verified Watch is paired and connected in iPhone Watch app Developer Mode enabled on iPhone and Watch Wi-Fi and Bluetooth ON (Mac/iPhone/Watch), tried toggling both Tried on home Wi-Fi and also with iPhone hotspot (same result) Resetting trust prompts / reconnecting iPhone via USB, re-trusting Mac Apple Watch: “Clear Trusted Computers” Xcode: removing/re-adding devices; clearing derived data; restarting Xcode Watch Developer networking test: Responsiveness = Medium (430 RPM) Questions 1. Is this a known issue/regression with Xcode 26.2 + watchOS 26.2 tunneling (CoreDevice / devicectl)? 2. Is there an Apple-supported way to force Xcode to re-discover a paired Watch after it was removed from Xcode Devices & Simulators (without unpairing the Watch from the iPhone)? 3. Any recommended logs or diagnostic steps I should collect (Console logs, sysdiagnose, specific Xcode/CoreDevice logs) to include in a Feedback report? If helpful, I can provide the full error text from Xcode’s Devices window and any logs you recommend. Thank you in advance,

Hello Apple, please bring back a feature called: “Walkie-Talkie”, To WatchOS27. That feature is convenient, it allows close family members and friends to communicate in a really fun way. Sincerely, Beny74

Hi, I’m trying to test an independent watchOS app on an Apple Watch Series 6 Cellular that is set up for a child using Apple Watch For Your Kids (Family Setup). My current environment: Apple Watch Series 6 Cellular watchOS 26.6 The Watch is set up for a child using Apple Watch For Your Kids / Family Setup Xcode 26.6 Parent iPhone running iOS 27.0 Developer Mode is enabled on the parent iPhone The Family Setup Watch does not appear as a development device in Xcode/CoreDevice There is no Developer Mode option visible on the Family Setup Watch For comparison, I also have another Apple Watch used for normal development, and that Watch can be detected by the development environment. The issue appears specific to the child’s Family Setup Watch. I would like to understand the Apple-supported development and testing workflow for this configuration. Specifically: Is an Apple Watch set up using Apple Watch For Your Kids / Family Setup expected to be available as a direct Xcode development device? If direct Xcode deployment is not supported, can an independent watchOS app be installed and tested on a Family Setup Watch through TestFlight? If TestFlight is supported, what is the correct workflow for installing the beta on the child’s Family Setup Watch / child Apple Account? Is there another Apple-supported testing or distribution method developers should use for this scenario? I’m specifically asking about an independent watchOS app that can operate without the parent iPhone nearby, rather than a Watch app that depends on an iPhone companion app. I’d also appreciate clarification on the distinction between direct Xcode development deployment and TestFlight/App Store distribution for Apple Watch For Your Kids. Thank you.

I’m validating the officially supported distribution path for an independent watchOS app. Target device Apple Watch Series 6 GPS + Cellular watchOS 26.6 Configured using Apple Watch For Your Kids / Family Setup The Watch belongs to a child Apple Account Managed from the parent/guardian’s iPhone 11 running iOS 27.0 The child does not have their own iPhone Direct development deployment from Xcode is not available in this configuration on my setup. The Family Setup Watch does not appear as a development destination / CoreDevice device and does not expose Developer Mode. Main question Does TestFlight officially support installing a watchOS-only or independently installable watchOS app onto an Apple Watch configured with Apple Watch For Your Kids / Family Setup? If yes: Is installation initiated from TestFlight on the parent/guardian iPhone that manages the Family Watch? Should the Family Setup Watch appear as an eligible Apple Watch target inside TestFlight? Should the child Apple Account or the parent/guardian Apple Account be added as the TestFlight tester? Are there any additional restrictions or requirements specific to Apple Watch For Your Kids / Family Setup? Is Developer Mode required on the Watch for TestFlight installation? I’m specifically asking about an officially supported TestFlight/App Store Connect distribution path, not Ad Hoc distribution, manual IPA installation, private APIs, or unsupported workarounds. Thank you.

Health and Workout data stopped syncing from my Apple Watch to my iPhone on 21 September while both devices were on the public releases. The Watch continues recording the data and the missing data remains on the Watch. Activity Sharing also continues to work. I’ve since installed the matching iOS/watchOS developer betas in an attempt to resolve the pre-existing issue, but it remains. And now I cannot get assistance via the usual Apple Support route. I’ve submitted a Feedback Assistant report with both iOS and watchOS sysdiagnoses: FB24923176. Multiple users are also reporting this issue here - https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleWatch/comments/1whu0at/apple_watch_workoutshealth_data_stopped_syncing/ Could someone advise whether this can be reviewed by the appropriate HealthKit/watchOS team? I am deliberately avoiding unpairing the Watch because the unsynced data is currently only stored on the Watch. Thanks so much!

We have an Apple Watch app and companion iPhone app that we distribute via Enterprise Distribution using OTA manual installation. (We are on an Apple Enterprise Developer Team) With WatchOS 26.4 and earlier, the app would install fine on both the phone and the watch. However, after updating to WatchOS 26.5 (and iOS 26.5), the app will not install on the watch. It will install on the phone and we can trust the developer/run the phone app. However, when we go into the Apple Watch app on the phone and choose "Install" for the app, it tries to install for a minute and then returns an error "The app could not be installed at this time". We have tried the following remedies: Restarting both watch and phone, and reinstalling the app on phone Factory resetting both the watch and the phone, then reinstalling app Generating a new Distribution Certificate and new manual profiles for the app in Apple Developer Looking through console logs from both the phone and the watch Confirmed that we can install other (non-Enterprise) apps on the watch Try installing a basic example app (the default Xcode watch + companion app project) There does not seem to be anything obviously amiss about the app or its packaging, it seems to be something to do with the update to WatchOS 26.5. The closest related errors we have found seems to be these: appconduitd 0x16d43f000 -[ACXInstallQueue _onQueue_deQueueNextOperation]_block_invoke_3: Failed to install app .EnterpriseInstallTest.watchkitapp (p = Y, ui = Y) : Error Domain=ACXErrorDomain Code=8 "Failed to create socket" UserInfo={NSUnderlyingError=0xcf9138e10 {Error Domain=com.apple.identityservices.error Code=20 "Socket open timed out" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Socket open timed out}}, FunctionName=-[ACXServerInstallOperation _onQueue_prepForTransferAndInstall]_block_invoke, SourceFileLine=370, NSLocalizedDescription=Failed to create socket} appconduitd 0x16d89f000 -[ACXCompanionSyncConnection _installQueuedOrCompletedForWatchBundleID:companionAppBundleID:withName:userInitiated:withError:withCompletion:]_block_invoke: Failed to install app .EnterpriseInstallTest.watchkitapp : Error Domain=ACXErrorDomain Code=8 "Failed to create socket" UserInfo={NSUnderlyingError=0xcf9138e10 {Error Domain=com.apple.identityservices.error Code=20 "Socket open timed out" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Socket open timed out}}, FunctionName=-[ACXServerInstallOperation _onQueue_prepForTransferAndInstall]_block_invoke, SourceFileLine=370, NSLocalizedDescription=Failed to create socket}

On watchOS 27 my app's round complication on the Infograph face disappears for about a second every time I raise or lower my wrist, then comes back. It only happens in the small round dials of that face, only when the face is set to a single color instead of Multicolor, and only when Always On Display is turned on. Everything else on the same watch is fine. my complication placed in a corner of the same face, the same face set to Multicolor, and an Apple complication sitting right next to mine. Other faces set to a single color are fine too, including in their round slots - I tested Modular and Meridian among others. With Always On Display off there is no problem either. What I already checked is: It still happens when my complication is the only one on the face. It still happens when the complication shows just a single line of plain text. The data is not being reloaded. I displayed the timestamp of the entry inside the complication and it does not change across the gap, so the same content is simply being redrawn. Removing the complication and adding it back does not help. Rebuilding with the newest Xcode changes nothing, and an older build behaves exactly the same. The same app, unchanged, worked correctly on watchOS 26. This started right after updating the watch to watchOS 27. Has anyone else run into this on watchOS 27? And has anyone found anything on the app side that makes a difference? I have not found a single thing.