MacRumors published a story that Apple has released the watchOS 9.6 release candidate to registered developers.

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Version of watchOS 9.6 to Developers

Apple today seeded release candidate version of an upcoming watchOS 9.6 update to developers for testing purposes, with the software update coming a week after the release of the fifth beta. The RC marks the final version of the software that will be provided to the public.

To install the watchOS 9.6 update, developers will need to download the configuration profile from the Apple Developer Center.

Apple Seeds Release Candidate Version of watchOS 9.6 to Developers