5 Things to Know About the watchOS 10.5 Update

Apple’s released its watchOS 10.5 update for Apple Watch and the software is available to download right now.

watchOS 10.5 is a milestone upgrade, the fifth for the company’s watchOS 10 operating system. The firmware brings a mix of new features and under-the-hood improvements to compatible Apple Watch models.

While small, watchOS 10.5 is an important upgrade and most Apple Watch owners should install the it right now or at some point in the near future.

In this guide we’ll cover everything you need to know about the watchOS 10.5 update.

We’ll go over the software’s changes, provides some thoughts about its performance, and take a look at some of the issues impacting the software.

We’ll start with some quick thoughts about watchOS 10.5’s performance.

watchOS 10.5 Review

Our quick review will provide Apple Watch users with a look at the software’s performance in key areas like battery life, connectivity, and speed.

If your Apple Watch is currently running watchOS 10.4, you’ll see a fairly small download. It’s a 453MB download for an Apple Watch 4.

If you’ll be moving your Apple Watch up from watchOS 9, or a much older version of watchOS 10, the download will be larger.

The installation took around eight minutes on an Apple Watch 4 that was previously running watchOS 10.4.

We’ve been using watchOS 10.5 on an Apple Watch 4 for a short time and we haven’t run into any concerning issues with the firmware. Not yet at least.

watchOS 10.5 Battery Life & Connectivity

• Battery life is stable
• Wi-Fi connectivity is fast and reliable
• Bluetooth is working normally
• GPS is also working properly

App Performance

• Third-party apps including All Trails, ESPN, Spotify, and JetBlue are all working fine
• First party apps like Podcasts are also running well

Speed

• watchOS 10.5 feels fast on the Apple Watch 4 and we haven’t noticed abnormal lag, lockups, or freezes

If you’re dealing with bugs and/or performance issues on watchOS 10.4, or an older version of watchOS, you might want to install the watchOS 10.5 update right now.

watchOS 10.5 Problems

While we haven’t run into any bugs or performance issues, some Apple Watch users are reporting issues with the software.

We’ve heard about installation issues, problems with notifications, GPS issues, Bluetooth issues, problems with first and third-party applications, UI lag, abnormal battery drain and pairing issues.

For more about watchOS 10 problems and how to fix them, head over to our guide.

watchOS 10.5 Features

Apple’s milestone updates (watchOS x.x) typically bring a mix new features and fixes to Apple Watch devices. And that’s exactly what watchOS 10.5 brings with it.

Apple says watchOS 10.5 includes new features, improvements and bug fixes, including a new Pride Radiance watch face to honor the LGBTQ+ community and culture.

On its security site, Apple’s outlined six security patches on board the watchOS 10.5 update including one for Maps.

watchOS 10 Downgrade

Most Apple Watch owners already know this, but if you’re a new user, or you’ve simply forgotten, here’s your PSA.

Unlike iOS, iPadOS, and macOS software, you can’t downgrade watchOS software to an older version. This means you’ll want to approach the watchOS 10.4 update with a sense of caution.

If you’re having a good experience on your device’s current version of watchOS, make sure you read reviews before you install the software.

What’s Next

watchOS 10.5 was the last confirmed upgrade in Apple’s watchOS 10 pipeline, but we expect Apple to push a new version of watchOS 10 into beta testing sooner rather than later.

There’s a good chance watchOS 10.6 will enter beta later this month, culminating in a release in July.

We may also see a watchOS 10.5.1 update bridge the gap between the two milestone releases.