Apple released watchOS 26 yesterday, and if you have a Series 9 or later or an Ultra 2 or later, there are a surprising number of useful new features. Apple could have limited new additions like Sleep Score and Hypertension notifications to the newest Apple Watch models, but now you don't need to buy a new watch to get helpful features.
Design
- Liquid Glass - watchOS 26 adopts Liquid Glass, with translucent, glass-like buttons and interface elements. It's most visible with select watch faces, the Smart Stack, and Control Center.
- Control Center - Control Center is customizable, and you can rearrange it and add third-party app controls. If you don't like your changes, you can revert to the original design.
- Smart Stack - The Smart Stack uses a new prediction algorithm and it will prompt you if there is a suggestion that's immediately useful.
- Widgets - Widgets in the Smart Stack are customizable, so you can rearrange them to show what's most important to you first. Third-party apps are supported.
Gestures
- Wrist Flick - There's a wrist flick gesture for things like silencing incoming calls and dismissing notifications one-handed.
Health
- Hypertension Notifications - watchOS 26 adds hypertension notifications based on heart rate, letting you know if high blood pressure is detected over time. It's available on the Series 9 and later and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later.
- Sleep Score - Sleep Score gives you a number-based evaluation of your sleep quality. It takes into account sleep duration, the number of times you woke up in the night, and when you went to bed.
Fitness
- Workout Buddy - There's an AI-powered Workout Buddy that motivates you during workouts and provides helpful insights.
- Workout app - Apple redesigned the Workout app with an updated layout that makes options like custom workout, Workout Buddy, and Pacer easier to get to.
- Media - There's an Autoplay Media option that will automatically play music that matches your workout. You can also select your own media to have autoplay when a workout is started.
Messages
- Smart Actions - The Messages app can suggest smart actions like location sharing, providing an address, and more based on the context of a text.
- Smart Replies - Smart replies have been improved so you should get more relevant one-tap responses for incoming messages.
- Live Translation - The Messages app supports Live Translation, so incoming texts in another language can be translated to your language.
- Backgrounds - Personalized backgrounds that you create for conversations on iPhone sync to the watch.
Phone
- Call Screening - Call Screening asks callers for more information before your phone or Apple Watch rings.
- Hold Assist - You can use the Hold Assist feature on the Apple Watch. It waits on the line for you so you can do other things.
Watch Faces
- Photos - The Photos watch face uses Liquid Glass for the time, and the size and location of the time adjust based on the image that's being displayed. The shuffle option also uses Featured content from Photos.
- Flow - Flow is a watch face designed for Liquid Glass. It features an orb of color with Liquid Glass numbers.
- Exactograph - Exactograph has hour, minute, and second dials for precise time keeping. If you tap on the face, it zooms in on the minutes and seconds dials so you can measure in even smaller increments of time.
- Waypoint - Waypoint is only for the Apple Watch Ultra, but it shows points of interest in relation to where you are.
- Hermes - There's a Hermes Faubourg Party watch face for Hermes watches. It displays different animations based on the time of day.
- Ticking Seconds - More watch faces support the 1Hz refresh rate on the Apple Watch Series 10 and later, showing a ticking second hand even when your wrist is down.
- Gallery - The watch face gallery has a new design that groups faces into collections.
Other Features
- Volume Adjustment - The volume of incoming calls and notifications adjusts based on the ambient sound around you. So if you're in a quiet room, your watch won't have a super loud ring.
- Live Listen - When using Live Listen on a connected iPhone, a transcript of what's being said is displayed on the watch.
- Notes - The Notes app is available on the Apple Watch, so you can view existing notes and create new ones.
Read More
For more on the features available in watchOS 26, we have a dedicated watchOS 26 roundup.
Related Roundups: watchOS 26, watchOS 27
Related Forum: Apple Watch
