Every year, when Apple rolls out betas of the new operating systems after WWDC, we advise readers to be cautious about installing them on their primary devices. Betas are, by their nature, unfinished and imperfect software, and they are likely to contain bugs. (Spotting the bugs is what the beta program is for!) So it should come as no surprise that the second developer beta of watchOS 26 contains a known bug… and it’s quite a serious one.
For one specific line of Apple Watches, the Hermès editions, simply installing the second beta is enough to cause continuous crashing. Apple acknowledges the issue in its watchOS 26 beta release notes. Under the section for beta 2, the company notes:
Known Issues: Apple Watch Hermès crashes continuously if updated to watchOS 26 beta 2. It is advised that these users do not update to beta 2. (152604139)
For now at least, that’s all we get. No explanation or solution has been given, and owners of the Hermès models are advised to simply not install the second beta.
The bug is particularly odd because as we understand it, the Hermès editions are essentially the same as the standard models (or at least the stainless steel versions) in each generation. The hardware components inside are identical; they just come with fancier expensive straps and access to some exclusive watch faces. It therefore seems likely that watchOS 26 dev beta 2 is clashing in some way with a Hermès watch face–but if it were that simple, one might imagine Apple would advise users to use a different face rather than avoiding the beta altogether.
We trust that the issue will be addressed in a future beta, but for now, Hermès owners should stick to beta 1. Or, if bugs are a deal breaker, it might be wiser to remain on watchOS 11 until the final release of watchOS 26.0 is ready in the fall.
Author: David Price, Editor, Macworld
David has been writing about technology for well over two decades, and got on board the Apple hype train when covering the original iPhone launch in 2007. He is an enthusiastic Apple Watch evangelist and feels that the HomePod is misunderstood.