Latest watchOS 6 beta lets you delete some Apple apps

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App Home Screen Apple Watch Series 4
Apple Watch Series 4
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s latest watchOS 6 beta, released to registered developers on Tuesday, lets you delete stock Apple Watch apps for the first time.

Alarms, Breathe, Timer, Stopwatch, and Walkie-Talkie are just a few of the many that can now be removed. Any deleted titles can later be re-downloaded from the Watch App Store.

Apple gave us the ability to remove stock iOS apps a few years ago with iOS 10. We found out last month that the same functionality is coming to watchOS 6, and in beta 3, it’s finally active.

What’s more, deleting stock apps you don’t want is super-simple.

How to delete stock apps in watchOS 6

Just like third-party apps, stock watchOS apps can be removed by tapping and holding down on an app icon until they start jiggling, then tapping the “X.”

You’ll be prompted to confirm your action before the app is removed. It will then disappear from your Home screen and you will no longer be able to use it.

In watchOS 6 beta 3, stock apps that can be removed include Alarms, Breathe, Camera Remote, Cycle Tracking, ECG, Noise, Now Playing, Radio, Remote, Stopwatch, Timer, and Walkie-Talkie.

Not all stock apps are removable

Apps that cannot be removed include Activity, Messages, Music, News, and Podcasts. But this could change before watchOS 6 makes its debut in the fall.

You can easily restore a deleted stock app by re-downloading it from the Watch App Store.

Removing stock watchOS apps won’t free up a lot of storage space on your device, since they don’t take up a great deal to begin with. But it will make your Home screen a lot tidier.

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