When Will Apple Release watchOS 10.5?

Apple’s confirmed a new watchOS 10.5 update for Apple Watch. The software doesn’t have an official release date, but we can help Apple Watch users set proper expectations.

watchOS 10.5 is a milestone upgrade, the fifth such update for watchOS 10. The beta doesn’t have much on board right now, but at the very least it should bring bug fixes and security patches to compatible Watch models.

Apple hasn’t confirmed the watchOS 10.5 release date and there’s a good chance it doesn’t offer one ahead of the official roll out. The company rarely confirms specific dates for milestone upgrades.

Fortunately, Apple sticks to predictable release patterns when it comes to milestone firmware and that means we can provide you with a look at a potential release window for watchOS 10.5.

The firmware will likely stay in testing throughout the month of April. The final release should come in May. Here’s why.

If we take a look back at Apple’s history, milestone watchOS updates have traditionally arrived in May.

Last year, Apple pushed watchOS 9.5 to Apple Watch users on May 18th. The year before that, watchOS 8.6 was pushed on May 16th. If we go back even further, watchOS 7.5 arrived on May 24th. You can see the pattern.

While not confirmed, we should see Apple use similar timing for the watchOS 10.5 release date.

Also of note, Apple’s new iPad Pro and new iPad Air will arrive in May so we should see new software land in and around their release date.

Once Apple pushes watchOS 10.5 to Apple Watch, look for the company to put a new watchOS 10.6 update into beta testing alongside new software for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.