Apple revealed a lot of exciting features coming to its Apple Watch lineup during WWDC this year. The next update for the Apple Watch, watchOS 11, will include new AI-powered features, training loads, and a slew of other new capabilities. But there are also some features that Apple didn’t cover in its presentation, including sleep detection and nap tracking.
The first watchOS 11 beta is now available, and I’ve already been testing out the new operating system to see what Apple has added. While I was looking forward to other big additions—like the snazzy translation functionality—nap detection wasn’t something I expected. Luckily for me, a Redditor just happened to fall asleep with their Apple Watch on and noticed that it recorded their sleep data automatically.
In watchOS 10 and earlier versions, the Apple Watch required you to put it into Sleep Focus mode in order to capture sleep-tracking data. Additionally, it didn’t support nap tracking, just full evening rests. But, based on what Redditors have spotted—as well as what I’ve seen in my own testing, watchOS 11 seems to actually offer nap detection now.
There are some caveats, of course. It doesn’t appear to break down the various stages of sleep like normal sleep tracking does. But it’s still a really nice change, and one that many—myself included—have hoped to see on the Apple Watch for a while. It is unclear if this means that we’ll have full automatic sleep tracking on the Apple Watch, or if it will just detect when you’re napping outside of your normal set bedtime.
Apple has yet to mention the feature at all, so all eager Apple Watch owners can do is experiment and wait to see how it changes—if at all—in future betas.
How to install watchOS 11 beta
To check out nap detection and other new features in watchOS 11, you don’t want to wait until the official release this fall. Instead, you can always install the watchOS 11 beta. Previously, you needed to jump through extra hoops to download the various Apple developer betas, or you had to purchase a developer account for $99 a year. But now, everyone can find the betas in their device settings.
Before I tell you how, I do want to mention that most people probably shouldn’t install the watchOS 11 beta. That’s because Apple doesn’t actually make it possible to revert to the previous operating system. So, if you encounter any annoying bugs, you won’t be able to downgrade. You’ll just have to deal with them until the next beta update comes out.
If you’re okay with that risk, here’s what you need to do to upgrade:
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First, pull up the Watch app on your iPhone.
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Open General and then find Software Update.
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Find the Beta Updates option and tap on it, then select watchOS 11 Developer Beta. Once the public beta is available, it will also appear here.
After you’ve selected the developer beta, it will download. You’ll still need to have your Apple Watch on the charger and charged up to at least 50 percent to actually install the beta. Once it’s installed, you can start toying around with all the new settings and features. To use the new nap detection feature, just make sure you’ve at least opened the sleep app once, and it should automatically detect when you take a nap, so long as you have your Apple Watch on your wrist.
