Here are the watchOS 26 features I’ve been loving most – 9to5Mac

watchOS 26 is the Apple Watch’s latest major software update, and I’ve been using it in beta for a few months now. Here are the new watchOS 26 features I’ve been loving most throughout that time.

Sleep score

This is admittedly a very recent introduction.

Sleep score wasn’t included in the watchOS 26 beta this summer, because Apple saved it for the unveiling of new Apple Watch hardware.

I’ve been sleep tracking with my Apple Watch for the past year or so, and the clear, simple sleep score has been a helpful way to make sense of the sleep data that previously felt far too ambiguous.

Always-on seconds for more watch faces

Last year when the Apple Watch Series 10 launched, watchOS offered very few watch faces that supported Series 10’s new capability of showing seconds in always-on mode.

Fortunately, watchOS 26 has corrected that oversight. Now, timed with Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11 adding support for always-on seconds, Apple has updated many of its watch faces to at last support the feature.

Wrist flick gesture

There are plenty of scenarios when I don’t have a second hand free to interact with my Apple Watch. For example, when I’m carrying a cup of coffee, or my ever-growing toddler.

Wrist flick has been an excellent new gesture for occasions like these. Now, when notifications or phone calls come in and I don’t have a free hand to dismiss them, I just flick my wrist back and watchOS 26 dismisses them with some nice haptic feedback.

Liquid Glass design

Liquid Glass may not make as big an impact on the Apple Watch as it does on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. But watchOS 26 still has some nice design updates for Watch users.

The keypad for unlocking my Apple Watch now has a fresh Liquid Glass look, as do several widgets inside the Smart Stack, and also Control Center and the Now Playing screen.

None of these Liquid Glass changes makes a huge difference, but they do help watchOS feel new again.

Upgraded Smart Replies

Smart Replies have long been a part of the Apple Watch’s Messages app. In theory, they ensure you don’t have to pick up your iPhone as often to reply to a message.

In practice though, I’ve historically found Smart Reply suggestions pretty lacking.

Thankfully in watchOS 26, Apple Intelligence has made Smart Replies much better than before. Far more often now, they actually sound like something I might write myself.

Brand new Notes app

I haven’t used watchOS 26’s new Notes app as much as I thought I might. But it’s definitely still been nice to have.

I’m not one for dictating notes, though I imagine if you are, you probably appreciate having Notes on the Watch more than I do.

But I do use Apple Notes all the time on my other devices, and being able to reference notes on my Watch has come in handy.

Third-party Control Center controls

Last year brought a major overhaul to Control Center on the iPhone, including adding support for controls from third-party apps.

Now, many of those same iPhone controls can be brought over to the Apple Watch too.

watchOS 26 has a new ‘From Your iPhone’ section when adding new controls, allowing you to access some of your go-to iPhone controls right from the Apple Watch’s Control Center.

Which new watchOS 26 features have you been enjoying most? Let us know in the comments.

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