Apple Delays Watch Update

Apple postponed the release of a software update to the Apple Watch, the smartwatch it released to much fanfare, and skepticism, earlier this year.

The company said that it found a flaw in the software, called watchOS 2, which had been scheduled for release on Wednesday.

“We have discovered a bug in development of watchOS 2 that is taking a bit longer to fix than we expected. We will not release watchOS 2 today but will shortly,” a spokesperson for Apple said in a statement.

The company did not elaborate on the bug, nor on the length of the delay. The new software is meant to add a few new capabilities to the Apple Watch, including the ability for developers to build more powerful apps, a feature that lets users reply to email directly from the device and a couple of new digital watch faces.

Apple held a big product event last week in San Francisco, at which Timothy D. Cook, the company’s chief executive, unveiled new luxury wristbands for the smartwatch, among a host of other product upgrades. The watch is the first brand new product that Apple has introduced under Mr. Cook, and the company set expectations relatively low for sales of the device by deciding not to break out sales figures for the watch.