Apple took wraps off its next batch of software updates, including iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 11, and more, during WWDC last week. Among these updates, watchOS 11 brings a surprise feature that Apple oddly didn’t mention during the event.
Of course, watchOS 11 packs improvements and new features, including health tracking, fitness upgrades, live activity updates, translation apps, and fresh watch faces, but one feature that stands out is the ability to customize your default ringtone.
With watchOS 11, You Can Now Customize Ringtone on Apple Watch
Before watchOS 11, Apple Watch users could only use the default ringtone. However, with watchOS 11, there are now eight different ringtones to choose from, letting you customize. These include some familiar ones used in earlier GPS and Cellular models: Focus, Jingle (original), Nighthawk, Pebbles (cellular), Transmit, Twirl, Windup, and Wonder.
You can now change the sounds for text messages, emails, and alerts on your Apple Watch. Options like Brilliant, Cheer, Flutter, Globe, Moment, Resonate, Scoop, Timekeeper, and Tinker are available. The best part of this update is that you can finally customize your Apple Watch’s ringtone. However, you still can’t set a different ringtone for each person or use songs from iTunes. Still, it’s a big step forward.
watchOS 11 is currently in developer beta and will soon be available in public beta, with the official release slated for this fall. (We can expect the launch of new Apple Watches around the same time, fingers crossed) Regular users should avoid installing the developer beta, as it’s intended for developers. That said, watchOS 11 requires an Apple Watch Series 6 or later. You can also check our dedicated post on the top features of watchOS 11, and don’t miss our comparison between watchOS 11 and watchOS 10.