WWDC25 wrapped up earlier this week, but the excitement isn’t going anywhere just because the livestream ended and Apple Park went quiet. If anything, the real conversations are just kicking off. Between now and the official release of all OS 26, the community will keep breaking down every second of the keynote. Developers will scramble to add Liquid Glass to their apps like it’s the new must-have design trend, and the rest of us will keep guessing which features make it through the beta tests.
We’ve already covered iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. Now it’s time to turn to something smaller, but no less important – watchOS 26 (we’re gonna assume you already know why it’s 26 and not 12 – if you’re here, you’re in the loop). Ready to see what Apple squeezed into its tiniest screen this year? Then let’s begin.
Table of Contents
New Design of the watchOS and Other Interface Updates
One of the most obvious changes across all OS 26 releases, including watchOS, is the new Liquid Glass design. If you expected subtle tweaks and another coat of watchOS-blue, think again. Apple brought out the digital polish. This new design language replaces flat interfaces with dynamic transparency, soft glow, and what Apple calls glass-like depth. In short, your Apple Watch now looks like it wandered into a visionOS bar, had one too many, and came back shiny.
Liquid Glass adds fluidity and dimensionality to interface elements – buttons, menus, widgets – all while keeping things readable and responsive. In fairness, the design does make things feel smoother and more premium. Apple didn’t reinvent the layout, but the Watch now carries the same futuristic vibes as your iPhone or Vision Pro.
Another notable change comes to the Smart Stack, Apple’s widget carousel introduced in watchOS 10. In version 26, it gains a brain. The stack now serves proactive suggestions based on time, location, and context. You might see a hint to start your usual morning workout before you even consider moving. If you’re hiking in a remote area, the Backtrack widget might slide into view without any scrolling. This kind of predictive behavior feels a bit like the old Siri watch face, but smarter, quieter, and less desperate for attention.
Apple refreshed the Photos watch face. Now, instead of covering half your grandma’s birthday picture with oversized time digits, the clock floats gently in Liquid Glass. The numbers allow more of the background photo to show through without sacrificing visibility. For once, you can have sentimental wallpaper and still tell the time without squinting like it’s 2009.
While Apple didn’t unveil any brand-new watch faces this time (likely saving them for the fall), the Face Gallery now looks less like an endless scroll and more like an actual gallery. Categories like Health & Fitness and Astronomy help you browse faster and find a face that matches your vibe. If you own a newer model like Series 10, you also unlock smoother analog seconds in Always-On mode. Is it revolutionary? No. Is it unnecessarily satisfying? Absolutely.
Overall, the new design brings visual unity to Apple’s ecosystem. The interface still feels familiar, but now it reflects light, mood, and just enough smugness to remind you that yes, your watch did get the OS 26 treatment.
New Features in watchOS 26
Well, of course, Apple didn’t stop at design – they also rolled out a bunch of new features. For some users, nothing will really change. But for others, they could turn the Apple Watch from just a fancy step counter into a legit mini phone strapped to your wrist when your iPhone’s buried in your bag or stuck in your pocket.
Here are the most important additions in watchOS 26:
- Apple introduced Workout Buddy, which basically turns your Watch into a coach who never sleeps, never stops talking, and never forgets your past fitness sins. Using on-device intelligence, Workout Buddy speaks to you during your run or HIIT session. It praises your efforts, calls out your laps, and even celebrates milestones you didn’t realize you hit. You may roll your eyes, but admit it – you’ll feel seen when it says, That was your longest run in the past 28 days.
- Forget fumbling through translation apps. Now, if your friend sends a text in Spanish or Korean, your Apple Watch quietly translates it beneath the message. Respond in English, and the Watch sends the translated reply right back. It feels subtle, clean, and more useful than anything Siri has attempted in five years. The feature runs on-device, which means your Watch isn’t calling a cloud server every time you receive ¿Dónde estás?
Source: Apple’s official website - Message replies now make sense. Instead of tossing out generic Sure or Can’t talk now, the Watch understands context. If someone asks for $20, your Watch may suggest replying with an Apple Cash link. It’s like having a mini assistant who actually reads your texts and doesn’t misinterpret everything.
- Wrist Flick takes it a step further. If a notification pops up, just flick your wrist (in a controlled, not-going-to-throw-soup-across-the-room way), and it disappears. This also works for declining calls or silencing alarms. It sounds minor, but it reduces how often you need your other hand – great news if one of them is currently holding a coffee, a leash, or life in general.
- Finally. After years of ‘why can’t I just write a note on my watch?’ Apple delivered. Now you can open Notes, dictate or type a thought, view your checklist, and pin important items. It doesn’t support fancy formatting, but who needs bold text when you’re trying to remember to buy batteries? It works, it syncs, and it’s long overdue.
Source: Apple’s official website - watchOS 26 brings over two new calling tools from iOS 26 – Hold Assist and Call Screening. The first alerts you when the customer support robot finally hands you off to a human. The second asks unknown callers to explain themselves, then transcribes their reason on your wrist. From there, you can pick up, decline, or send a reply (all without reaching for your iPhone).
So yes, watchOS 26 still counts your steps. But it also translates languages, nags you through workouts, silences calls with a flick, and lets you take notes without using your phone. Not bad for a screen the size of a cracker.
What Developers Get in watchOS 26
During WWDC25, Apple also opened the gates for developers, tossing them more than just breadcrumbs this time. In fact, watchOS 26 gives developers access to new tools, APIs, and UI elements that let third-party apps behave more like first-class citizens – and less like polite guests tapping at the window.
- Apple extended the Liquid Glass look to developers. With updated SwiftUI APIs, third-party apps can now match the slick, frosted interface found in native apps. This means developers can stop pretending their app lives in 2019. Buttons, cards, and backgrounds can finally reflect light and look glossy, just like everything else in OS 26.
- Big win here – developers can now create actual controls for Control Center, Action Button, or Smart Stack. That’s right – Control Center is no longer Apple-only territory. This opens up new surface areas on watchOS that third-party apps couldn’t touch in watchOS 10 or earlier.
- Widgets now appear when they matter. With the new relevance API, developers can set triggers based on time, location, and activity. Arrive at a ski resort? Your slopes app can appear in the Smart Stack. Finish work at 6 p.m.? Your habit tracker shows up like a clingy friend. Apple wants apps to be useful without users begging them to show up.
- Developers also gained access to Apple’s on-device language models. No, not for building knockoff ChatGPTs, but for things like writing prompts, text suggestions, and smart replies inside their apps.
In short, Apple finally handed developers more parts of the Watch to play with. Apps can now blend in with the system, offer smarter widgets, and drop quick controls in places Apple used to keep locked down. With watchOS 26, the Watch becomes more useful – not just because of what Apple added, but because of what it allowed others to add too.
Final Thoughts
Well, somehow, that’s it. We covered only the parts that seemed interesting after Apple’s WWDC25 presentation. For more details, you can visit Apple’s official site or watch the keynote itself (the section on watchOS starts at 41:40).
Now for a very important caveat – everything we just described won’t show up on every Apple Watch out there. Only the following models support watchOS 26:
- Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, 9, and Series 10 (from 2024)
- Apple Watch SE (2nd generation – the 2022 version)
- Apple Watch Ultra (2022) and Ultra 2 (2023)
If you’re still holding on to a Series 5 or that first-gen SE, Apple has officially left you behind. The company based this decision on hardware limits – older models lack the necessary chips and sensors to handle Liquid Glass visuals, on-device AI, and one-handed magic tricks like wrist flicks. Translation: time to upgrade if you want in on the fun.
If you already own one of the supported models and are a member of the Apple Developer Program, you can install the watchOS 26 beta now and share your experience on social media. If not, don’t rush. The public beta is scheduled to land in July, and honestly, waiting for the official release in the fall will save you from the bugs and battery drain that often come with early betas.
Yes, Apple Watch received fewer headline features than iPhone or Mac this year. But this is a smartwatch, not a laptop. You don’t write essays or edit 4K video on it. Judging by the Watch’s purpose, Apple nailed it. Every update feels logical and useful. We couldn’t find a single feature that seemed pointless or half-baked. So no, watchOS 26 doesn’t change the world. But it makes your tiny screen feel smarter, faster, and just a little shinier. And that’s more than enough.
