{"id":229237,"date":"2025-09-15T17:22:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/229237\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T17:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T17:22:14","slug":"watchos-26-is-now-available-heres-whats-new-for-apple-watch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/229237\/","title":{"rendered":"watchOS 26 is now available, here\u2019s what\u2019s new for Apple Watch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t<img width=\"1600\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757956929_744_watchOS-26.jpg\" class=\"skip-lazy wp-post-image\" alt=\"watchOS 26\"  decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Apple has released watchOS 26, the latest major update for Apple Watch. The new version is available as a free update starting today for compatible devices. Here\u2019s where to get started after updating.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Design and interface updates<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>watchOS 26 introduces a refined design highlighted by Liquid Glass, which gives apps, widgets, notifications, and the Control Center a more expressive look.<\/p>\n<p>The Smart Stack gets smarter with new hints that surface relevant widgets, and a new wrist flick gesture makes it easier to dismiss alerts or return to the watch face with a quick motion.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The redesigned Workout app offers simpler navigation with quick-access controls. Workout Buddy, powered by Apple Intelligence, provides real-time voice motivation and personalized insights based on your fitness history.<\/p>\n<p>The update also adds automatic workout media, letting Apple Music or Podcasts pick the right playlist for your activity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Health features expand<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>watchOS 26 introduces hypertension notifications, a first-of-its-kind feature that uses the optical heart sensor to analyze blood vessel response and track signs of chronic high blood pressure over time.<\/p>\n<p>If consistent signs of hypertension are detected, users receive notifications that can prompt them to seek medical advice or lifestyle changes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"512\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sleep-score-apple-watch.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1018560\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>watchOS 26 also debuts sleep score, which combines data like duration, bedtime consistency, sleep stages, and nighttime interruptions into a clear nightly score.<\/p>\n<p>The Sleep app now shows a breakdown of these factors, while trends can be tracked over time in the Health app on iPhone.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"576\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Apple-WWDC25-watchOS-26-hero-250609.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1011375\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Messages now supports smarter replies, contextual actions, and Live Translation powered by Apple Intelligence, making it easier to stay connected in multiple languages.<\/p>\n<p>The Notes app arrives on Apple Watch for the first time, enabling quick capture and access to pinned notes.<\/p>\n<p>The Phone app gains Call Screening and Hold Assist, features that work with iPhone to transcribe unknown callers or wait on hold until a live agent is available.<\/p>\n<p>Live Listen expands accessibility with real-time captions for what your iPhone hears, shown on Apple Watch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New watch faces<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>watchOS 26 adds two new watch faces:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Flow, which displays Liquid Glass numerals with dynamic swirls of color that respond to wrist movement.<\/li>\n<li>Exactograph, a modern take on a regulator clock that separates hours, minutes, and seconds for precise timekeeping.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"512\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757956930_292_watchos-26-new-faces.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1018424\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>For Apple Watch Ultra, a new\u00a0Waypoint\u00a0face provides a live compass, quick access to satellite communications, and Night Mode for low-light visibility. Over 20 existing faces are also updated to support a ticking seconds hand in always-on mode.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" height=\"512\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757956931_595_apple-watch-ultra-3-face.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1018425\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>watchOS 26 is available today for Apple Watch Ultra or later, and Series 6 or later, as well as Apple Watch SE (2nd generation or later), when paired with iPhone 12 or later running iOS 26.<\/p>\n<p>You can find 9to5Mac\u2019s watchOS 26 since June <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/guides\/watchos-26\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/9to5mac.com\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-source-badge-dark\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1756837811_734_google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Mac as a preferred source on Google\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-source-badge-light\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1756837812_347_google-preferred-source-badge-light.png\" alt=\"Add 9to5Mac as a preferred source on Google\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer-affiliate\">FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. <a href=\"https:\/\/9to5mac.com\/about\/#affiliate\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/3VLdfqA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1018980\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/09-04-iPhone-17-Series-Grip-Banner.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"205\"\/><\/a>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apple has released watchOS 26, the latest major update for Apple Watch. The new version is available as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":157372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[705,158,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-229237","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-gadgets","9":"tag-technology","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115209473455668029","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}