watchOS 4.1 Released with Apple Music, Beats1 Radio and More

While the Apple Watch Series 3 has been available to order for over a month now, it unfortunately launched absent a number of key features that Apple promised its users would come in a future software update. At long last, on Tuesday released to the general public its much anticipated watchOS 4.1 software update, which brings a number of features (including those exclusive to the Apple Watch Series 3), such as Apple Music and Beats1 radio streaming, a new control center toggle for Wi-Fi, compatibility with GymKit and more.

Most notably, watchOS 4.1 will allow Apple Watch Series 3 users to stream content from Apple Music, Beats1 Radio, as well as their personal iCloud music library over either a Wi-Fi or 4G LTE connection. This means, in other words, that Watch S3 users will now be able to stream music and sync their iCloud playlists directly from their Apple Watch even if their iPhone is left at home.

The update also brings a convenient new Wi-Fi toggle to the control center on Apple Watch, allowing users to quickly enable or disable Wi-Fi, and in that way switch between LTE, without having to dig deep into the Settings menu on your wrist. The Wi-Fi toggle is a subtle yet welcomed addition to the watchOS UI, which should definitely help expedite the process of switching between connections on your device.

Additionally, watchOS 4.1 enables GymKit compatibility on the Apple Watch Series 3, enabling users to connect their wearable with ‘compatible equipment’ such as treadmills, ellipticals, or other exercise machines to instantly share workout data, heart rate and other information. It’s an incredibly useful feature which should help those looking to throughly document their time at the gym. Unfortunately, while it may be available in some places, at present, the majority of gym equipment on the market would have to be updated with GymKit compatibility to work with the Apple Watch Series 3.

Fortunately, Apple noted at its September 12th event that a number of exercise equipment manufacturers including Cybex, LifeFitness, and others have a number of GymKit-compatible machines in their product pipelines. So while we have no official word in terms of when or where we might see these new machines, their arrival is definitely something for Watch S3 owners to be on the lookout for.

Last but not least, today’s update delivers a fresh round of bug fixes, stability enhancements, and patches a range of issues previously-known to Apple Watch users, including a fix for the wearable’s heart rate notification interface, haptic feedback, and charging anomalies

How to Install watchOS 4.1

1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Select General.
3. Tap Software Update and follow the steps listed onscreen.

Remember to ensure that your Apple Watch is connected to Wi-Fi, placed on its charger, and has at least 50% battery life remaining before initiating the update.