Apple Unveils watchOS 26: AI-Powered Features and Design Overhaul for Apple Watch

watchOS 26 Is Now Coming To An Apple Watch Near You

Summary watchOS 26 adds Liquid Glass faces -- frosted 3D look while preserving OLED‑friendly black UI. Workout Buddy gives AI real‑time coaching, analysis and summaries; Workout app gets a major redesign. Wrist‑flick gestures, ambient‑aware volume, Notes and Live Listen captions. Available on Series 6-11, SE/Ultra. iOS 26, macOS 26, and iPadOS 26 are all here. But watchOS 26 is perhaps one of the most overlooked. Apple has just released its latest watch update, and like its cousins in other hardware, it's very packed. Apple has just released watchOS 26, the latest software update for Apple Watches, after a long period of testing. Like with iOS 26 and pretty much all software updates Apple is rolling out this year, the most notable thing to see here is Liquid Glass. It brings a frosted glass effects and a more three-dimensional look to the watch face, though Apple has been careful to maintain the predominantly black interface to conserve battery life on the OLED displays of its watches. So it's definitely a bit toned down compared to what Apple has done with the rest of its devices. Apple is adding a new "Workout Buddy," an AI-driven feature that provides real-time, personalized coaching during exercise and analyzes your heart rate, pace, and other workout data, as well as your fitness history and Activity ring progress. For example, the feature can provide encouragement during a tough run, notify you when you've hit a personal milestone, and offer a detailed statistical summary at the end of a workout. The Workout app itself has received what might be one of the most, if not the most, substantial redesigns to date. The new interface features four corner buttons that provide quick access to frequently used features like custom workouts and pacer settings. Apple Music is also now more deeply integrated into the Workout app. The app can automatically select and play a playlist based on the type of workout and your listening history, eliminating the need to manually select music before starting a session. The Smart Stack has also been enhanced with "Smart Stack hints," which use contextual and sensor data to provide proactive suggestions. For instance, the watch can now prompt you to start a Backtrack session if it detects that you are in a remote location without cellular service. watchOS 26 introduces several new features that focus on the "little things." There's a new one-handed "wrist flick" gesture for Apple Watch Series 9 and newer that allows you to dismiss notifications and incoming calls with a quick turn of your wrist. The device can also now automatically adjust the speaker volume for notifications and calls based on the ambient noise level -- a subtle but extremely useful improvement, if you ask me. The much-requested Notes app is finally coming to the Apple Watch, allowing you to create and view notes directly on your wrist. And for accessibility's sake, Live Listen controls have been added to the watch, providing real-time captions of what a paired iPhone hears. The watchOS 26 update ships with the Apple Watch SE 3, the Apple Watch Series 11, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. It will also be rolling out to the following devices: Apple Watch SE 2 Apple Watch Series 6 Apple Watch Series 7 Apple Watch Series 8 Apple Watch Series 9 Apple Watch Series 10 Apple Watch Ultra Apple Watch Ultra 2 Make sure to download it now on your smartwatch. Source: Apple

AppleInsider.com

With the watchOS 26 release, Apple Watch adds Liquid Glass visuals, a Notes app, and wrist flick gestures, while newer models gain exclusive Apple Intelligence features like Live Translation and contextual replies. The update is part of Apple's September 9, 2025 product event. During this event, the company also unveiled the iPhone 17 lineup. The software is available as a free update for supported Apple Watch models. It reflects Apple's effort to unify design across devices and integrate new features with its Apple Intelligence system. Compatibility stretches back to Apple Watch Series 6, but many of the most headline-grabbing features only work on the newest hardware. Liquid Glass design in watchOS 26 The most visible change is the Liquid Glass interface, Apple's new design language spreading across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Tahoe. On the Apple Watch, it gives Control Center, Smart Stack, and notifications a transparent, blurred style that looks futuristic in Apple's demos. Some watch faces and apps showcase the effect, while others look almost unchanged. It recalls the "flat" overhaul of iOS 7, when critics accused Apple of emphasizing style over usability. Everyday changes round out the redesign. The watch now adjusts volume automatically to match background noise, and the Smart Stack offers more relevant suggestions like Backtrack when you're outdoors. A Notes app finally makes its way to the watch, allowing quick dictation or pinned reminders. These smaller touches may not draw headlines, but they're the features people actually use. Apple Intelligence on the watchOS 26 wrist Apple's AI ambitions show up in watchOS 26 through Workout Buddy, Live Translation, and gesture control. Workout Buddy delivers spoken coaching, milestone alerts, and song picks based on fitness history. Apple pitches it as personalized training, but it requires an Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 2, plus an iPhone with Apple Intelligence. That makes the coaching less independent than Apple's marketing suggests. Messages get smarter with contextual replies. Ask someone's location, and the watch suggests sharing it. Live Translation debuts, letting conversations jump across languages in real time. The universal addition is the wrist flick gesture, which allows users to dismiss alerts, silence timers, or end calls with a quick snap. While Apple presents these tools as progress, users with older hardware might view them as an encouragement to upgrade. watchOS 26 release schedule & compatibility The watchOS 26 update is rolling out as a free update. Supported models include Apple Watch Series 6 through Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), and both Apple Watch Ultra models. Apple Intelligence features are limited to Apple Watch Series 9 or newer paired with a compatible iPhone.