Apple releases third developer beta of watchOS 11.3

watchOS 11.3 has received its third developer beta, following the arrival of similar beta updates for the HomePod and Apple TV only hours earlier.

On Tuesday, Apple first released the third developer betas of tvOS 18.3 and HomePod OS 18.3, respectively. Now, the company has deployed a beta software release for its Apple Watch platform.

The third developer beta of watchOS 11.3 increases the build number to 2S5550a, up from the previous 22S5540e, which was released on January 7, 2025.

It's still unclear exactly what this latest round of developer betas introduces, however, as none of Tuesday's software updates are known to contain significant changes or new features. It's more likely that the operating system updates feature quality-of-life improvements or fixes for minor issues.

Notably absent from Tuesday's release list are iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3. These operating system versions are still only on their second developer beta, which contains references to an unreleased "Invites" app. Apple will likely release a subsequent developer beta of iOS 18.3 in the near future.

The iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 updates focus largely on stability and performance improvements, meaning they do not contain any features of note. macOS Sequoia 15.3, on the other hand, introduces support for Genmoji on the Mac.