In just a few hours, Apple will reveal its latest operating systems, including watchOS 26, at the highly anticipated WWDC 2025 keynote. Leaks suggest that Apple will continue to innovate with watchOS, but there’s one significant change: a rebranding.
Rumors indicate that Apple will align all its operating systems under a single version number, ’26’, based on the year they’re expected to be in use. So, watchOS 26 will follow after watchOS 11, which is currently powering Apple’s smartwatches.
The latest leak reveals a list of Apple Watch models that are rumored to be compatible with watchOS 26:
- Apple Watch Series 6
- Apple Watch Series 7
- Apple Watch Series 8
- Apple Watch Series 9
- Apple Watch Series 10
- Apple Watch Ultra
- Apple Watch Ultra 2
- Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
It’s expected that the upcoming Apple Watch Series 11, which will likely be introduced in September, will also be included in this list. Notably, this lineup of models mirrors the current devices running watchOS 11, with the Series 6 being the oldest device here, introduced in 2020. This suggests that the Series 6 will not be discarded by Apple just yet in terms of software updates.
Of course, since this is a leak, it’s not official confirmation, but it does give us a good idea of what to expect. It’s important to note that iPhones are generally supported for a much longer time, with even seven-year-old models running the latest iOS 18. In contrast, last year’s watchOS 11 marked the end of support for older devices, including the Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, and the original Apple Watch SE.
More details will be unveiled soon during the WWDC event. For now, it’s also speculated that watchOS 26 will feature a similar redesign to iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26, including transparent elements. However, until the official announcement, this remains speculation.
2 comments