Excellent news, Apple Watch homeowners. In the event you’ve obtained a Collection 6 or later, it seems to be such as you’ll have the ability to set up and run watchOS 26.
On June 9, as a part of its WWDC keynote presentation, Apple will announce this yr’s large software program replace for the Apple Watch, and the present concept is that this can be referred to as watchOS 26 (as within the yr 2026). This may include new options and certain a redesigned interface, and better of all, it received’t value a penny to put in.
The true query, nonetheless, is whether or not you’ll have the ability to run it. Not each Apple Watch can run each model of watchOS, as a result of they turn out to be extra spec-intensive over time as Apple consists of extra demanding options and extra complicated graphical parts.
In the event you had a Collection 4 or later you can run watchOS 10 when it launched two years in the past, however the Collection 4 and Collection 5 had been each dropped from the record of supported gadgets when watchOS 11 got here out in 2024. Collection 6 homeowners will subsequently be scanning the tech information websites nervously to see in the event that they’ll have the ability to seize the replace this yr.
The excellent news is that Apple doesn’t appear to be planning to drop any extra gadgets this yr. In line with a reputable new leak reported by MacRumors, the record of supported Apple Watches for watchOS 26 would be the identical because it was for watchOS 11: the Collection 6 and later. The one change would be the addition of the late-2025 watches.
- Apple Watch Collection 6
- Apple Watch Collection 7
- Apple Watch Collection 8
- Apple Watch SE (2nd gen)
- Apple Watch Extremely (1st gen)
- Apple Watch Collection 9
- Apple Watch Extremely (2nd gen)
- Apple Watch Collection 10
- Apple Watch Collection 11 (anticipated)
- Apple Watch SE (third gen, potential)
- Apple Watch Extremely (third gen, potential)
To be frank, this might have been predicted earlier than the leak emerged. Apple has by no means reduce watches from its supported record two years in a row: watchOS 5, 7, 9, and 11 all dropped fashions (generally a number of fashions without delay), however the ones in between stored issues regular. It will have been a significant shock if Apple had swung the hatchet for a second yr working.
To be honest, that shocking flip of occasions might but occur. MacRumors’ supply is a personal account on X/Twitter, and whereas the positioning insists this supply has “a confirmed observe file for upcoming software program updates,” it’s unimaginable to make sure they’re proper on this event. The one approach to know the reality with any certainty can be to tune into the WWDC keynote on June 9. Macworld, evidently, can be overlaying all of the bulletins as they occur.
