watchOS 26 adds several subtle yet meaningful improvements that make using Apple Watch even more convenient. Here are the top 17 new features and changes you should know about.
17 new features to check out in watchOS 26
watchOS 26
How to use the new Wrist Flick gesture on Apple Watch
Learn how to use the new wrist flick gesture in watchOS 26 to silence calls, dismiss alerts, snooze alarms, and more without touching your Apple Watch screen.
How to use the new Apple Notes app on your Apple Watch in watchOS 26
Learn how to use the new built-in Notes app on your Apple Watch to capture quick thoughts, view notes with rich text styling synced from other devices, and more.
watchOS 26 spots Apple Watch battery drain early—top up before it’s too late
Battery management in watchOS 26 has improved with a new Apple Watch notification that alerts you if battery drain is faster than normal.
How to change iMessage chat background on Apple devices
Learn how to set an image or color-based animation as the chat background in the Apple Messages app on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and watchOS 26 to add flair to your family and friend conversations.
watchOS 26 lets you use Control Center toggles from your iPhone
The watchOS 26 operating system permits your Apple Watch to use Control Center toggles from its paired iPhone for the first time.
How to minimize Liquid Glass effect in iOS 26, macOS 26, etc.
Learn how to minimize the new Liquid Glass transparency effects across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV user interfaces.
Apple is updating parental controls with new child safety features, including permission to text new numbers
Apple has updated parental controls in iOS 26 and other operating systems with new child safety features, including permission to text new numbers.
Only select Apple Watch models can use watchOS 26’s new Wrist Flick gesture
When Apple announced watchOS 26 at WWDC 2025 on Monday, one of the takeaway features that stood out to me was that they were adding a new gesture to dismiss incoming notifications that doesn’t require the use of the touch screen.
How to get watchOS 26 beta or non-beta on Apple Watch
Find out how to download and install watchOS 26 on your Apple Watch to use the new watch faces and experience all the latest features.
Apple’s upcoming software updates announced at WWDC 2025 will support these devices
At WWDC 2025, Apple announced a flurry of software updates that will be available for all its devices this Fall, including iOS 26 for iPhones, iPadOS 26 for iPads, macOS 26 Tahoe for Macs, watchOS 26 for Apple Watches, visionOS 26 for Apple Vision Pros, and tvOS 26 for Apple TVs.
Apple releases the first developer betas of iOS 26 and other operating systems
Following the conclusion of its WWDC25 keynote, Apple has released the first developer betas of iOS 26 and its other renamed operating systems.