Earlier today, Apple announced watchOS 26 and with it, a selection of updates and new features for the Apple Watch. Alongside all of Apple’s other platforms, watchOS will adopt the new Liquid Glass design language, albeit in a less significant way.
watchOS didn’t feature any Apple Intelligence features when it launched last year, and that continues to be the case, even though it is merely a technicality now. That’s because the new Workout Buddy feature, which you interact with from your Apple Watch, still requires an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone nearby. This is presumably a technical limitation that may be overcome in the future with a more advanced Apple Watch chipset.
Outside of this sizable new feature, the Workout app also gains four new buttons in the corners of the screen to customize your workouts even more. For example, the workout screen for an Outdoor Run offers quick access to music, notification announcements, workout views, and custom workout settings.
You can also set up your exercise soundtrack from within the Workout app. Apple Music will even suggest a playlist based on the workout type and your listening history.
Smart Stack
The Smart Stack is improving its suggestions this year by displaying an additional icon at the bottom of your watch face when the Smart Stack is not visible. Using additional sensor data and contextual information, the system might display a Smart Stack hint to start a yoga workout when you arrive at your yoga studio, or an icon to start the Backtrack feature could appear when you are in a remote location with no signal. Tapping these suggestions will open the Smart Stack to show the actionable item.
Messages
Messages now supports Live Translation, a new Apple Intelligence feature that’s also coming to Apple’s other platforms. As with Workout Buddy, a nearby iPhone is required.
The app will also suggest actions, such as using Apple Cash or starting a Check In, based on the context of a conversation. Finally, any message backgrounds you set up on other devices will also appear in watchOS.
Another Wrist Action
Double Tap is an excellent feature that allows you to perform actions with your Apple Watch when your other hand is otherwise occupied. With watchOS 26, you can now dismiss notifications and calls, silence timers and alarms, and return to the watch face all by flicking your wrist away from you. This gesture is enabled by a machine learning model and the watch’s accelerometer and gyroscope. It seems like a great new feature, so I’m hoping it will be opened up to third-party apps for more uses.
I’m not someone who ever has the alert sounds enabled on my Apple Watch, but if you are, you will be happy to know that watchOS will now detect noise levels around you and adjust the volume of alerts so they don’t echo through a library but do get loud enough to hear when you’re in a noisier environment.
In addition to Hold Assist and Call Screening (which are available as long as there is an iPhone nearby), the Notes app is also arriving on watchOS. You can pin notes, create new ones, and check off items in a checklist.
And finally, developers can now take advantage of new APIs to create custom controls for Control Center, the Action button, or a Smart Stack widget.
Initial Thoughts
watchOS 26 looks to be a disappointingly small release, and after there was some good progress on the platform last year, that’s a shame. However, I am happy to see another wrist gesture for interacting with your watch, and Smart Stack hints look like a handy, unobtrusive way for the system to helpfully suggest actions for you to carry out.
I’ll be delving more into watchOS 26 over the summer in anticipation of its release this fall.
