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Release appearance

watchOS 8.5 Public

Full article
Public release

Recorded context

About this appearance

watchOS 8.5 reached the public channel on March 14, 2022 with Apple TV purchase approval, expanded health-document and notification support, Fitness+ accessibility guidance, and security fixes.

Date
Mar 14, 2022
Availability
available
Revision
No

Release notes

What changed

Original editorial synthesis. Linked references appear with the claims they support and in the source ledger.

Public release

Apple released watchOS 8.5 on March 14, 2022. The update notes identify four user-facing changes across Apple TV authorization, Wallet health records, irregular-rhythm notifications, and Fitness+ accessibility.[1][2]

Documented scope

The companion advisory adds the security record for parsing, kernel, permissions, Siri, and WebKit issues. These first-party pages support the occurrences below; no separate undocumented-change claim is included.[3][2]

Source ledger

References

Sources are linked to the claims they support. Publication and access dates are shown when available.

  1. About the security content of watchOS 8.5

    Apple Support · Apple · 2022-03-14T00:00:00.000Z · Released March 14, 2022

    Back to text ↑
  2. About watchOS 8 Updates

    Apple Support · Apple · 2026-07-29 · watchOS 8.5

    Back to text ↑
  3. About the security content of watchOS 8.5

    Apple Support · Apple · 2022-03-14T00:00:00.000Z · Accelerate Framework; ImageIO; Kernel; LaunchServices; Siri; WebKit

    Back to text ↑
  4. About the security content of watchOS 8.5

    Apple Support · Apple · 2022-03-14T00:00:00.000Z · Accelerate Framework; ImageIO; Kernel; LaunchServices; Siri; Sandbox; WebKit

Release changes

Changed in this release

Features, fixes, removals, and regressions first observed in this release record.

feature · introduced

Apple TV purchase authorization

documentedconfirmed

The update enabled Apple Watch to approve purchase and subscription prompts initiated on Apple TV.

  1. [1] About watchOS 8 Updates · watchOS 8.5

enhancement · changed

Updated irregular-rhythm notifications

documentedconfirmed

Apple updated the irregular-rhythm notification system to improve AFib identification, with availability limited by region.

  1. [1] About watchOS 8 Updates · watchOS 8.5

feature · introduced

Fitness+ Audio Hints

documentedconfirmed

The release added Audio Hints to describe movements shown during Fitness+ workouts for users who benefit from spoken visual guidance.

  1. [1] About watchOS 8 Updates · watchOS 8.5

compatibility · introduced

EU Digital COVID Certificate support in Wallet

documentedconfirmed

watchOS 8.5 expanded vaccination-card compatibility in Wallet to include the EU Digital COVID Certificate.

  1. [1] About watchOS 8 Updates · watchOS 8.5

security · fixed

watchOS 8.5 security repairs

documentedconfirmed

Apple's advisory documents fixes spanning Accelerate and ImageIO parsing, kernel privileges, privacy restrictions, Siri lock-screen access, Sandbox, and multiple WebKit paths.

  1. [1] About the security content of watchOS 8.5 · Accelerate Framework; ImageIO; Kernel; LaunchServices; Siri; Sandbox; WebKit