watchOS 26 tips & tricks

Apple's latest, greatest watchOS is a glass act

- WRITTEN BY CARRIE

WHEN YOU UPDATE your Apple Watch to the latest watchOS, you'll make a big jump: the successor to watchOS 11 isn’t watchOS 12, but watchOS 26. That's to fit with Apple's new year-based naming policy — so is the new Watch operating system 15 times better than watchOS 11? Not quite, but there are definitely more than 15 really important and useful upgrades that make this the latest, greatest version of watchOS yet.

The first thing you'll notice when you update your Apple Watch is that Apple has given it a fresh new look to match the Liquid Glass design of your Mac, iPhone and iPad. Moreover, Apple has redesigned the Watch Face Gallery and the Workout app, which also gets a new Al-powered helper, plus there are lots of improvements in the apps you use every day, from smarter Smart Stacks to a new way to deal with notifications and automatic language translation in Messages.

What's hot in watchOS 26

watchOS is more than just a pretty (watch) face

Wrist Flick

There's a new Wrist Flick gesture in Settings > Gestures: when a notification comes in, flick your wrist round to dismiss it. The feature works on Series 9, 10, and Ultra 2 models or later.

WATCHOS 26 IS the best-looking watchOS yet thanks to Liquid Glass, and there's plenty of substance to match the style. Apple has focused on improving the things you do every day: health and fitness, communicating, and staying on top of the things you care about.

Liquid Glass doesn't just make your buttons and controls look cooler, either. It has improved the appearance of your widgets, made the Photos watch face even better, and it makes your watch feel brand new again. But it's what watchOS does behind the scenes that will really make your days easier.

GET SMART