(Image credit: Apple)

Apple’s big September launch event earlier this week was dominated by all the usual hardware headlines. Alongside the iPhone 17, you had the Apple Watch Ultra 3 flexing with satellite SOS, and then the Series 11 and AirPods Pro 3 also quietly slid into the line up.

But beneath all those shiny announcements, the thing most people will actually notice in daily life is about to arrive: watchOS 26. Rolling out on September 15, the software update won't be earth-shattering in terms of new features, but it does promise to be crammed with plenty of little tweaks that could make the Apple Watch feel fresher than it has in years.

Here are the features I'm most looking forward to and how they'll make a difference on your wrist.

A refresh you can actually see

(Image credit: Matt Kollat)

The thing most people will notice off the bat when upgrading to watchOS 26 is Liquid Glass - Apple’s new glossy, translucent look that bleeds through the Watch UI. It’s not a total makeover, but it will still make the Watch feel fresher.

The revamp will see Notifications, Smart Stack cards and Control Centre sit in frosted panels, with the Photos face getting a slick Liquid Glass time treatment that bends around your image. It’s subtle on a small screen, but it'll make all the difference. T3 Active editor, Matt Kollat, called it more of a gentle polish than a complete overall after spending 24 hours testing the software the other month, adding that it won't see you relearning your watch - it just looks less flat.

The Smart Stack is getting smarter, too. It'll nudge the right card to the top based on what you’re doing, for example, put music on and the controls will float up automatically, or head out and weather will pop into view. It’s still more reactive than predictive, but it’s likely to be better at staying out of your way and surfacing the right thing at the right moment than before.

A (sort of) coach on your wrist

Arguably, the most headline-grabbing change in the 26th iteration of watchOS is Workout Buddy. Apple’s calling it an AI trainer, but I wouldn't go that far. In reality, it’s probably more like a supportive gym mate who pipes up with encouragement when you’re flagging.

The feature will look at your past stats, your pace, your ring streaks, then nudge you mid-session with spoken prompts. Sounds good on paper, but I'm not so sure how well this will go down IRL - we'll have to wait and see.

The Workout app has had a redesign, too, and is supposed to make it easier to flick between tools like Pacer, Race Route or Custom Workouts without breaking stride. Along with an additional Wrist Flick gesture, which lets you dismiss notifications or silence alarms one-handed, these updates should make the Watch feel less fiddly and more like it’s working with you.

(Image credit: Apple)

Some long-overdue fixes

Other updates to watchOS are more on the small tweaks-level, but still worthwhile by the sounds of it. Take the arrival of the Notes app, for example, which has been a long time coming in my opinion. Being able to dictate shopping lists or scribble quick thoughts on your wrist, I think, will be far more useful than it sounds, and you’ll wonder why it wasn’t there sooner.

And while watchOS 26 won’t transform your Apple wearable overnight, what it will do is smooth any rough edges, add useful little tricks to make your life that bit easier, and make the Watch interface feel generally more intuitive and less tired. Roll on 15 September!