If you’ve been hoping for a faster way to dismiss calls and alarms on your Apple Watch, you’ll soon be able to upgrade to watchOS 26 and take advantage of a new wrist flick gesture. First announced at WWDC 2025, watchOS 26 has already been available to developers and those willing to try the public betas, but starting on September 15th it will be available to everyone — or at least those with an Apple Watch Series 6 or onward, the second-generation Apple Watch SE, or any of the premium Apple Watch Ultra models.
One of the simplest but potentially most useful upgrades arriving with watchOS 26 is the new wrist flick gesture. It will be limited to the Apple Watch Series 9 or later, but by flicking your Apple Watch away and back again, you can quickly dismiss incoming calls and notifications, silence timers and alarms, or jump back to your watchface. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by audible notifications, watchOS 26 can track ambient noise levels and automatically adjust their volume so they’re not as loud in quiet situations.
A new Apple Intelligence-powered Workout Buddy leverages your health data and recent physical activity to provide personalized insights, including letting you know how close you are to a specific goal or if you’ve set a personal record. Other watchOS 26 upgrades powered by Apple Intelligence include automatic two-way translations in Messages and contextual app suggestions in the Smart Stack — like starting a workout — based on the time or your location.
Apple is also finally bringing its Notes app to the Apple Watch through watchOS app, letting you create new notes, pin existing ones, or check off entries on a list. The Apple Watch will also look a bit different after the update thanks to Apple’s new Liquid Glass design language, which will bring a transparent aesthetic to many UI elements like widgets, notifications, Control Center, and even watchfaces.
