Apple Watch just got a makeover and a personal trainer with watchOS 26
The 2025 update comes with significant design and intelligence improvements that align the Apple Watch with the rest of the ecosystem while making daily use more efficient. The most immediate change in watchOS 26 is visual. Apple introduced a new design language built around what it calls Liquid Glass — a real-time rendering system that brings depth and light refraction to menus, pop-ups, and navigation elements. The Smart Stack, Control Center, notifications, and even the Photos watch face all adopt this aesthetic, creating a sleeker, more expressive UI that feels fresh, albeit still very Apple.
With watchOS 26, Apple Intelligence arrives in the Workout app through a new feature called Workout Buddy . This AI-powered coach delivers spoken feedback and motivation during workouts, using data such as heart rate, pace, distance, Activity rings, and historical milestones.Workout Buddy offers personalized encouragement, highlighting progress toward goals, celebrating achievements, and even recapping performance after a session. It's powered by a new text-to-speech model trained using voice samples from Apple Fitness+ trainers, and it works with Bluetooth headphones when paired to an Apple Intelligence –capable iPhone.
For now, Workout Buddy will support activities like running, walking, cycling, HIIT, and strength training.
The Workout app redesign continues, with simplified navigation with four new corner buttons for quicker access to features like Workout Views, Custom Workouts, and Race Route.Users can also now set music or podcast playback to trigger automatically when a workout begins. Apple Music will suggest or autoplay personalized playlists based on recent habits and workout type.
watchOS 26 upgrades the Smart Stack with contextual hints that proactively surface helpful suggestions. These prompts appear subtly with Liquid Glass animations—for example, suggesting a Backtrack session when in a remote location or surfacing a Pilates workout when arriving at a familiar studio.
Messages on Apple Watch now support Live Translation through Apple Intelligence , allowing texts to be instantly translated into a user's preferred language. The feature is available on Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 when paired with a supported iPhone.Other upgrades include: Wrist flick gesture : A new one-handed motion to dismiss notifications, silence timers, or decline calls.
: A new one-handed motion to dismiss notifications, silence timers, or decline calls. Automatic volume adjustment : Apple Watch now dynamically adapts notification volume based on ambient sound levels.
: Apple Watch now dynamically adapts notification volume based on ambient sound levels. Expanded Messages tools : Smarter replies, Check In suggestions, polls, and custom backgrounds all sync with iPhone.
: Smarter replies, Check In suggestions, polls, and custom backgrounds all sync with iPhone. Live Listen upgrades : Real-time captions now show on Apple Watch during iPhone audio sessions for users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
: Real-time captions now show on Apple Watch during iPhone audio sessions for users who are deaf or hard of hearing. Notes app : Access, pin, and edit notes directly from your wrist with dictation, the keyboard, or Siri.
: Access, pin, and edit notes directly from your wrist with dictation, the keyboard, or Siri. New watch face gallery : Apple also refreshed the watch face gallery, grouping faces into collections both on the watch and inside the Watch app for iPhone. Compatibility and release
Developers can get their hands on watchOS 26 starting today via the Apple Developer Program, while a public beta will open up next month through Apple's Beta Software Program.
The final release is scheduled for this fall and will be available as a free update for:
Apple Watch Series 6 and later
Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
All Apple Watch Ultra models An important note is that Apple Intelligence features like Workout Buddy and Live Translation require newer iPhones, more specifically the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any of the iPhone 16 models — with Siri and the device language set to a supported language.
As it's always been the case, feature availability may vary by region and device, so check Apple's official site if you want to be sure.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Phone Arena
24 minutes ago
- Phone Arena
Apple Maps learns a few new tricks with iOS 26
Apple used its WWDC 2025 keynote to unveil iOS 26 , and while the spotlight was shared with the major UI redesign, the Apple Maps app got a few neat changes of its own. With iOS 26 , Maps becomes more intelligent, more personal, and more helpful, while still preserving the user's privacy. With iOS 26, iPhone can detect when you're at locations like restaurants or stores and automatically log them. | Image credit — Apple One of the new features is Visited Places, which lets users choose whether they want their iPhone to detect and log locations such as restaurants, shops, and other points of interest they've stopped at. All of this data is end-to-end encrypted and stored securely on-device, meaning not even Apple can access will be able to browse their location history directly within Maps, helping them remember favorite spots, revisit hidden gems, or get a birds-eye view of their routine/travel history. Is it enough of a challenge for Google's Timeline feature, though? Well, personally, I prefer the layout and design of Apple Maps, but there's no doubt that Google Maps is still the more versatile app from the two, and that probably won't change anytime soon. iPhone will be able to use on-device intelligence to learn your daily commute. | Image credit — Apple Apple Maps also gets a serious upgrade in how it handles your commute. With iOS 26, iPhone now uses on-device intelligence to learn your typical routes. For example, the phone can recognize your drive to work or trip home, and it then proactively presents your preferred route, complete with real-time updates, alternate suggestions, and delay notifications. Again, this is all processed locally. For daily commuters, this should mean less time fumbling with navigation and more time trusting that your iPhone knows where you're going and how best to get there. And while it is a whole other part of iOS 26 , the new Liquid Glass aesthetic spreads throughout the whole operating system, which includes Maps. The redesign adds subtle depth, translucency, and more dynamic layering to the interface, improving readability and making multitasking more fluid. For instance, Maps notifications now stay partially visible even when switching to other tasks, so you never lose sight of key navigation updates. Expect these updates to roll out later this fall when iOS 26 becomes publicly available.
GSM Arena
an hour ago
- GSM Arena
macOS Tahoe 26 brings overhauled Spotlight, Shortcuts and Live Activities
While its name might sound like a full-sized American SUV, macOS Tahoe 26 is actually named after Lake Tahoe, which sits right at the edge between California and Nevada. The update brings the new Liquid Glass design language we saw across the rest of Apple's new software portfolio. Some key features introduced with iOS 26, like Call Screening, Hold Assist, and Live Translation, are coming to macOS. Liquid Glass brings added depth, a transparent menu bar and Control Center as the most notable visual changes. Apple expanded the Control Center toggles and also added theme colors so you can make your desktop more unified. You can also select new folder colors and add emojis to them. Apple is bringing the Phone app to Macs, though it requires an active iPhone to work. You can take and receive calls and access your favorite contacts. Live Activities will now reside in the menu bar so you can check on food orders or ride-hailing requests, though like the Phone app, this feature works via Continuity from an iPhone. Spotlight gets one of its biggest updates ever. Users can now complete any tasks like sending emails, creating notes or launching Shortcuts all without opening any other apps. You can even use Spotlight to perform actions that are available inside its menu bar. Spotlight results are now listed and ranked based on relevance to the user. Shortcuts are also getting overhauled and can now be executed at predetermined times or from specific actions. Safari gets a visual overhaul in line with the new Liquid Glass design alongside improvements to loading speeds and battery life. Apple's Journal app is now available on Mac. The new Apple Games app is also here and brings a game overlay with controls for sound, brightness, paired controller and battery level. Apple is also bringing Metal 4 with Frame MetalFX, Frame Interpolation, and MetalFX Denoising. Users will also see a growing catalogue of games with more big titles coming soon. macOS Tahoe 26 is available in developer beta today. The public beta is coming next month, while the official release will drop this fall. Compatible with all of Apple Silicon Macs and Intel models with the T2 security chip (MacBook Pro, Air from 2018 onwards).
GSM Arena
2 hours ago
- GSM Arena
Apple introduces redesigned watchOS 26 with AI-infused Workout Buddy
Apple has unveiled new versions for all of its operating systems today, and of course watchOS is one of them. So, the new watchOS 26 is coming this fall, and it brings a bunch of improvements. Key is the new AI-powered Workout Buddy, which we've already covered in our article about all the new Apple Intelligence features. In short, it will use your workout data and fitness history to generate personalized, motivational insights, using a trainer-like voice. watchOS 26 also incorporates the new Liquid Glass design that Apple has unveiled across all of its operating systems, and this is going to enable "a vibrant and expressive experience that reflects and refracts content using real-time rendering". Smart Stack widgets, Smart Stack hints, notifications, the Control Center, and in-app controls and navigation will adopt the new design, while the Photos watch face is "enhanced with numerals made of Liquid Glass", letting you see even more of your photo. Next up, the Workout app gets four new buttons in the corners, which make it easier to access your favorite features, and you can set up music and podcasts right in the Workout app to automatically play when you start a workout. Apple Music can even select the best playlist for you based on your workout type and personal tastes. You'll also get suggestions for playlists and podcasts based on what you've recently listened to during that workout type. The Smart Stack has improved prediction algorithms, with more contextual data, sensor data, and data from your routine, in order to provide Smart Stack hints, which are proactive prompts for actionable suggestions. These will appear as a gentle visual prompt. Live Translation in Messages is also supported on the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 paired with an Apple Intelligence-supported iPhone. If your language is set to English, your watch will also suggest relevant actions in Messages using the context of a conversation - the examples Apple lists are starting a Check In when a friend asks you to share when you arrive home, or using Apple Cash when you're asked to contribute to a group gift. The customizable backgrounds you set on your iPhone running iOS 26 will also make it to your Apple Watch, and you can even respond to polls on your wrist, while Smart Replies get more precise for English-speaking users, with an improved on-device AI model. To quickly dismiss a notification, you can just quickly turn your wrist over and back after you've raised your wrist to check it. This can also be used for incoming calls, and to silence timers and alarms. In watchOS 26, your Apple Watch will be able to automatically adjust the speaker volume based on the ambient noise, and this will work for notifications, timers, alarms, incoming calls, and Siri. The Notes app is coming to watchOS, letting you pin and unlock notes, complete checklist items, and create new notes with Siri, dictation, and the keyboard. Hold Assist and Call Screening will work in conjunction with your iOS 26-running iPhone, and for those who are deaf or hard of hearing Live Listen controls include real-time Live Captions of what their iPhone hears on a paired Apple Watch while listening to the audio. The Apple Watch can act as a remote to start or stop Live Listen sessions. The watch face gallery has been redesigned, and the Photos face will shuffle images based on Featured content from Photos. All of these features will be available through the Apple Beta Software Program next month. Source
