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What’s new in watchOS 4.1 beta 2? Hands-on with new changes and features [Video]

The initial watchOS 4.1 beta brought some notable changes and features to the Apple Watch. A brand new Radio app appeared for the first time, allowing Beats 1 and other radio stations to be streamed right from your wrist. Most notably, however, was a fundamental change to the Music app, allowing for streaming of the entire Apple Music library on the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE.

Apple has just released the second developer beta for watchOS 4.1, and although it isn’t a big as the initial release, there are a few noteworthy changes to be documented. Watch our hands-on walkthrough for more details.

Changes/features covered in this video

  • The ESPN station now plays in Radio
  • The Radio app now supports cellular connections
  • Wi-Fi SSID displayed in Control Center
  • New Wi-Fi toggle on Series 3 with LTE

As you can see, there aren’t a lot of new features in watchOS 4.1 beta 2, but the new features that are there are fairly significant. For starters, ESPN radio now works in the new Radio app introduced in watchOS 4.1 beta 1. And LTE-enabled Apple Watch Series 3 owners will be happy to find that radio stations now work while connected to cellular.

The new Wi-Fi-centric changes are perhaps the most important new features in this week’s update. It’s now possible to see the exact Wi-Fi network that you’re connected to via the SSID located in the upper left-hand corner of Control Center. You’ll also notice a new Wi-Fi toggle, which allows Apple Watch Series 3 users to disable Wi-Fi connectivity outright, and easily fail over to LTE.

Video walkthrough

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Have you spotted additional features in Apple’s latest watchOS beta release? If so, please feel free to comment below with your findings.

If you happened to miss our initial hands-on look at the first watchOS 4.1 beta release, then you can catch it here, along with the video walkthrough below. In it, we showcase music streaming over LTE, and Apple’s new Radio app.

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Avatar for Jeff Benjamin Jeff Benjamin

Jeff is the head of video content production for 9to5. He initially joined 9to5Mac in 2016, producing videos, walkthroughs, how-tos, written tutorials, and reviews. He takes pride in explaining things simply, clearly, and concisely. Jeff’s videos have been watched hundreds of millions of times by people seeking to learn more about today’s tech. Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube to catch Jeff’s latest videos.


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