Apple Watch set to get one step closer to being independent from your iPhone

From the second watchOS 6 beta

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Even if you own the full LTE version of theApple Watch 3orApple Watch 4, neither of these devices work entirely without an iPhone, but a new hint in thewatchOS 6beta suggests we may be getting close to that reality.

According toVentureBeat’s Jeremy Horwitz, the latest watchOS 6 developer beta - which was released earlier this week - will download over-the-air updates directly to theApple Watchfor the first time.

Previously,Applehas used your iPhone to download the software within theApple Watchapp and then pushed it to your wearable over Bluetooth. Now watchOS 6 will seemingly download it directly, if you have a smartwatch that is connected to Wi-Fi.

If you’re after an untethered Apple Watch experience, don’t rejoice yet. In this process, you’ll still have to use your iPhone to accept the terms and conditions of the update.

Sure seems like the stage is being set for direct-to-Apple Watch software updates in watchOS 6, though it hasn’t been fully freed quite yet from the need to approve things on the iPhone. pic.twitter.com/pf3wBC3vU5June 17, 2019

That’s weirdly backwards, but remember this is just the beta for developers, so this may change by the time watchOS 6 rolls out.

This cord cutting between your Apple Watch and iPhone is another step toward a fully useful device away from your handset, which will also be helped by the addition of a dedicated Apple Watch App Store coming in the next update.

We expect to see watchOS 6 around September this year, where we’re also likely to see the launch of the Apple Watch 5,iPhone 11, and the release ofiOS 13onto your iPhone.

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ViaPhone Arena

James is the Editor-in-Chief at Android Police. Previously, he was Senior Phones Editor for TechRadar, and he has covered smartphones and the mobile space for the best part of a decade bringing you news on all the big announcements from top manufacturers making mobile phones and other portable gadgets. James is often testing out and reviewing the latest and greatest mobile phones, smartwatches, tablets, virtual reality headsets, fitness trackers and more. He once fell over.

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