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Apple says watchOS 26.5 fixes two key Apple Watch bugs

Alongside iOS 26.5, Apple also released the watchOS 26.5 RC yesterday. The update includes a new Pride Luminance watch face with a ton of customization options, as Zac covered earlier today. There are also two key bug fixes that Apple Watch users will appreciate.

Apple says that watchOS 26.5 fixes a bug affecting iMessage, as well as a problem impacting the Workout app. The company explains:

  • Fixes an issue where Messages on Apple Watch may use SMS instead of iMessage when paired with a dual SIM iPhone
  • Fixes an issue where Workout app audio alerts could fail to play if the phone was not nearby Apple Watch

Top comment by GreenLocomotive

Liked by 4 people

What about the forever bug that the music complication times out if you pause your music for a couple of minutes to talk to someone and loses track of which track was playing, forcing you to dig out your iPhone to resume the track? It’s a nutty bug that has been there for five years now! Imagine if the calendar complication timed out after five minutes and you had to go back to your iPhone to see what the next event was? Same thing. It would be unacceptable. But Apple seems uninterested in fixing the music timeout bug.

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Now that the watchOS 26.5 RC is available, we expect the update to be released to everyone as soon as next week. Attention will then shift to watchOS 27, which will be announced at WWDC on June 8.

Have you faced either of these bugs on your Apple Watch? Let us know down in the comments.

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is the editor-in-chief of 9to5Mac, overseeing the entire site’s operations. He also hosts the 9to5Mac Daily and 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcasts.

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