Apple releases fifth watchOS 7 public beta

Apple on Thursday released the fifth public beta version of its upcoming watchOS 7 operating system update.

Users who are a part of Apple's Public Software Testing program can download the latest watchOS 7 beta from the portal. The latest public beta comes one day after Apple seeded new developer betas for iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14 and watchOS 7. That round also included a fresh iOS 14 public beta release.

It also comes exactly one week after the previous watchOS 7 public beta was issued for testing.

Apple's watchOS is the last of Apple's operating systems to be made available through the company's public beta testing platform. This testing cycle, public betas of watchOS have released at a slower than developer versions — the public beta is on its fifth version, while the developer beta is on its eighth.

Set to arrive alongside iOS 14 and other software updates in the fall, watchOS 7 introduces Sleep Tracking capabilities, a volume safety alert to protect a user's hearing, new fitness and workout options, refinements to Apple Maps and Siri, a hand-washing timer, and new watch faces.

AppleInsider, and Apple itself, strongly suggest users avoid installing betas on to "mission-critical" or primary devices, due to the potential for data loss or other issues. It is instead recommended to install betas onto secondary or non-essential devices, and to ensure there are sufficient backups of important data beforehand.