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Today, Apple unveiled watchOS 10.4, the latest upgrade to the watchOS 10 platform initially launched in September. This release arrives more than a month following the watchOS 10.3 update, which introduced a new watch face among other minor enhancements.
The watchOS 10.4 update is accessible at no cost via the Apple Watch application on iPhones equipped with iOS 17 or newer. Users can download it by navigating to the General & Software Update section. For successful installation, the Apple Watch must be charged to at least 50 percent and placed on its charger.
This update brings a collection of new emoji characters to the Apple Watch, matching those added to the iPhone. These include a lime, a brown mushroom, a phoenix, a broken chain, and emojis for nodding "yes" by shaking the head vertically and "no" by shaking it horizontally.
Furthermore, watchOS 10.4 introduces a setting to deactivate the Double Tap gesture when using Vision Pro on the Apple Watch, alongside an enhancement allowing users to double-tap to view expanded notifications. Additionally, it addresses a glitch that led to "ghost touches" on the screen, notably affecting users of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2.
Below are the official release notes from Apple detailing the update:
watchOS 10.4 includes new features, improvements, and bug fixes, including:
- Tap to Show Full Notification setting now allows you to double tap to expand the notification
- Using Apple Pay with Confirm with AssistiveTouch will require a passcode for additional security and will not support double clicking the side button
- Resolves an issue that causes some users to experience false touches on the display
- Fixes an issue that prevents contacts from syncing to Apple Watch for some usersFor information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222
Additional details on the features introduced in watchOS 10 thus far are available in this comprehensive post.