Apple announced watchOS 26 at WWDC 2025, and the new Watch update comes with a fresh new look and plenty of features. Apple has ensured there are plenty of watchOS 26 supported devices, so if you have a relatively new Watch you should get the update this year.
And no, you haven’t missed a volley of updates since watchOS 11 in 2024. Apple has skipped a bunch of numbers, so instead of giving us watchOS 12 in 2025, we got watchOS 26 alongside iOS 26, macOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26 and visionOS 26.
There’s a lot to like in the watchOS 26 update, so you’ll probably want to know whether your Apple Watch qualifies for the upgrade.
The good news for Apple Watch owners is that every model which received the watchOS 11 update in 2024 will also get the watchOS 26 update. That means watches dating back to 2020 are in-line for the new software update.
To be able to get the new Apple Watch update, you’ll need one of the following models:
It’s also worth noting that watchOS 26 requires an iPhone 11 or later, or iPhone SE (2nd generation or later) with iOS 26 to work.
Apple has confirmed the final version of watchOS 26 will be ready for download in fall this year. That probably means September, when we expect Apple to make the update available after the iPhone 17 launch sometime in the middle of the month.
Apple is releasing an watchOS 26 public beta in July for those who don’t want to wait until later in the year, but be warned. This is a development build of the platform and could be full of bugs. If you depend on your Apple Watch on a daily basis, we’d advise against downloading the beta software.
Fear not, as we have all the details for iPhone owners with the list of iOS26 supported devices and iPad owners with the iPadOS 26 supported devices list.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.
We buy fitness bands and activity trackers to keep tabs on our exercise, but it is easy to forget to start tracking or switch modes when moving between different activities. For Fitbit and Pixel Watch users, that could soon become a lot less annoying, as Google is rolling out a major upgrade to automatic activity tracking that can recognize more than 100 types of exercise, up from just 10 before.
Google first showed off the improved tracking earlier this month alongside the Fitbit Edge. It is now coming to Fitbit Air and the Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, and Google claims the added context behind the system makes workout detection nearly twice as accurate while cutting missed activities by more than half. Fitbit Edge will support it too.