watchOS 26 with Sleep Score, Workout Buddy and Hypertension Alerts is here
Apple has introduced watchOS 26, the latest version of the watchOS operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 26 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2022 and later. You also need an iPhone 11 or later with iOS 26.
watchOS 26 can be downloaded for free on an iPhone running iOS 26. To do so, open the Apple Watch app and select “General > Software Update” or initiate an update in the watch’s settings. To install the new software, the Apple Watch must have at least 50 percent battery charge and be connected to a charger.
watchOS 26 uses Apple’s Liquid Glass design language, which is also available for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. It offers hypertension alerts for the Apple Watch Series 9 and later, as well as the Watch Ultra 2 and later, and also introduces a new Sleep Score feature to help you better understand your sleep quality.
The watchOS 26 Workout Buddy offers a personalized training experience to motivate you during your workout. There’s also a new layout for the Workout app and better integration with music. The Smart Stack offers configurable widgets, and Control Center is more customizable, allowing you to add third-party app controls. Notes is available on Apple Watch, and Messages supports live translation.
Apple has added new watch faces in watchOS 26, including Exactograph, Flow, and Waypoint (Ultra only). New features are also available for the Photos watch face. There’s also a new wrist flick gesture for dismissing notifications one-handed. It works starting with Series 9 and starting with Ultra 2. Here are Apple’s release notes for watchOS 26.
watchOS 26 Changelog
Liquid Glass
- A new design in watchOS 26 delivers a richer and more seamless experience, while maintaining the instant familiarity of watchOS and bringing your content into sharper focus.
- Liquid Glass brings interactions across watchOS to life, refracts and reflects content in real time, and brings even greater clarity to Smart Stack, Control Center, navigation, in-app controls, and more.
High Blood Pressure Notifications
- High Blood Pressure Notifications in watchOS 26 can alert you if you experience persistent signs of chronic high blood pressure over a 30-day period (available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later).
- The High Blood Pressure Notifications feature is intended for users 22 years of age and older who do not have a prior diagnosis of high blood pressure and are not pregnant.
Sleep Index
- The Sleep Index in watchOS 26 provides a nightly rating and classification of your sleep based on sleep duration, bedtime consistency, and Sleep interruptions to help you better understand the quality of your sleep and make it more restful.
- The Sleep Score can be viewed in the Sleep app, Smart Stack, or as a watch face complication.
Workout Buddy
- Personalized fitness experience with Apple Intelligence, which incorporates your workout data and fitness history and provides motivating audio insights during your workout.
- Personalized insights are generated at key moments—such as a kickoff speech, your training for splits and key milestones, and a summary of your effort upon completion—by quickly analyzing your fitness history and comparing it with your current workout. is compared.
- Choose from three voices developed using a text-to-speech model with voice data from Apple Fitness+ trainers.
- Your fitness data is processed privately and securely using your nearby Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone and Private Cloud Compute.
Smart Stack
- Smart Stack in watchOS 26 features an improved predictive algorithm that provides a Smart Stack hint when there’s a suggestion that’s immediately useful. For example, if you’re at a remote location, you’ll see a prompt to begin Backtracking.
- Configurable widgets let you customize the display of widgets in the Smart Stack so you can see what matters most to you. For example, select a home accessory in the Home widget that you want quick access to.
Messages
- Live translation in Messages leverages Apple Intelligence to automatically translate incoming text, including group messages, and send a reply in your preferred language—translation occurs upon delivery (available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later when paired with an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone).
- In Messages, smart actions are suggested based on the context of a conversation, such as adding a new friend or group message. For example, starting a check-in when a friend asks a user to share when they’ll be home.
- Smart replies are made even more accurate by an improved on-device language model that can generate relevant responses based on the content of a conversation.
Watch faces
- Exactograph is a modern reinterpretation of a traditional regulator watch that separates hours, minutes, and seconds for more precise timekeeping.
- Flow uses liquid glass digits that refract a liquid color sphere that reacts to your wrist movements.
- Waypoint acts as a live compass, showing your location relative to places saved in Maps or points of interest (available on Apple Watch Ultra).
- Hermès Faubourg Party features animated short films that appear with a range of characters depending on the time of day or movement (available on Apple Watch Hermès).
- The Photos watch face is enhanced with a new liquid glass design, highlighting the numbers so you can see even more of your photos.
- The Photos watch face now blends images based on featured content from Photos, so you can see images of your most memorable moments every time you raise your wrist or tap the display.
- Explore and discover watch faces more easily with the redesigned Watch Face Gallery, which groups watch faces into collections.
More Features
- The new layout of the Workout app in watchOS 26 makes it easier to use your favorite features. Tap the icons in the four corners to quickly access metrics and views, features like Custom Workout and Pacer, media, Workout Buddy, and notifications.
- The media experience in the Workout app is more integrated and intelligent, as Apple Music can now select the best playlist based on your workout type and personal taste, or you can see playlist or podcast suggestions based on what you’ve recently listened to during that particular workout.
- The Notes app comes to Apple Watch, allowing you to access your notes right on your wrist, pin and unlock notes, complete checklist items, and create new ones with Siri, Dictation, and the keyboard.
- Wrist Flick is a new one-handed gesture that lets you Dismiss notifications, mute incoming calls, mute timers and alarms, or return to the watch face (Available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later).
- Over 20 watch faces, including Exactograph, Activity Digital, Reflections, and the Stopwatch and Timer apps, receive 1Hz support. These apps display the seconds in Always-On mode (available on Apple Watch Series 10 and later).
- Apple Watch can automatically adjust the volume of your notifications, incoming calls, timers, alarms, and Siri based on ambient noise.
- Hold Assist and Call Screening are available in the Phone app when an iPhone is nearby. Hold Assist puts you on hold while you wait for a representative and calls you to resume the call once the representative arrives. Call Screening lets you filter incoming calls from unknown numbers and learn the name and reason for the call before the phone rings.
