Following the release of watchOS 5.1 on October 30th, a number of early downloaders reported that the update had “bricked” their devices. Apple quickly pulled the release “as a precaution.”
On Monday, Apple release the fix via watchOS 5.1.1, which is now available for download.
Apple’s patch notes on the update didn’t mention the bricking issue, instead citing the usual “improvements and bug fixes.”
The watchOS 5.1.1 patch arrives with a new feature wherein the Apple Watch 4 will now automatically call emergency contacts if it detects that you’ve suffered a hard fall.
Apple doesn’t highlight these in the patch notes, but the watchOS 5.1 also came with support for 70 new emoji and new full-screen, minimalist color watch faces for the Apple Watch 4.
The full patch notes are as follows:
Apple Watch Series 4 automatically contacts emergency services if you are immobile for about a minute after detecting a hard fall. The watch will now also play a message that informs the responder that Apple Watch has detected a fall and shares your location coordinates when possible.
Fixes an issue that could cause an incomplete installation of the Walkie-Talkie app for some users
Resolves an issue that prevented some users from being able to send or receive invitations on Walkie-Talkie
Addresses an issue where some previously earned Activity awards were not showing in the Awards tab of the Activity app for some users
If you’ve had a chance to try watchOS 5.1.1 and have any feedback to offer, please let us know what you make of it in the comments.
Via Macworld