Apple seeds fourth watchOS 9.5, tvOS 16.5, HomePod betas

As part of its testing process, Apple has made available the fourth developer betas for tvOS 16.5 and watchOS 9.5.

Developers can access these updates either by going to the Apple Developer Center or updating their hardware if it is already running the beta operating systems. Public beta versions are usually released shortly after the developer updates.

The new betas follow the release of the third round of testing that Apple rolled out on April 25. However, the company has not yet revealed any specific details regarding new features or changes being added to these operating systems.

The build number for the fourth beta of watchOS 9.5 is 20T5560a, replacing build 20T5549e from the previous beta. The new build number for tvOS 16.5 and HomePod is 20L5559a up from 20T5549e.

The latest version of watchOS, version 9.4, included the addition of AFib history in Colombia, Malaysia, Moldova, Thailand, and Ukraine, as well as an adjustment to wake-up alarms to ensure that a cover-to-mute gesture did not silence them.

AppleInsider and Apple strongly suggest users don't install beta operating systems or other beta software on "mission-critical" or primary devices, as there is the small chance of issues that could result in the loss of data. Testers should instead use secondary or non-essential hardware and ensure they have sufficient backups of their critical data at all times.

Find any changes in the new betas? Reach out to us on Twitter at @AppleInsider or @Andrew_OSU, or send Andrew an email at andrew@AppleInsider.com.