Subj : Surprised to learn your older Apple Watch can run watchOS 26? You
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Tue Jun 10 2025 13:45:08

Surprised to learn your older Apple Watch can run watchOS 26? You might still 
be missing out on some great new features

Date:
Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:33:10 +0000

Description:
Apples watchOS 26 update has a few new features that are only supported by 
newer Apple Watch models.

FULL STORY
======================================================================Apple 
unveiled watchOS 26 at WWDC yesterday watchOS 26 is compatible with Apple 
Watches going back years But some of its best features require a more recent 
device 

When Apple unveiled watchOS 26 at WWDC 2025 yesterday it showed off an 
operating system that had been upgraded with a welcome range of new features 
and abilities . If youre hoping to try these out, though, youll want to check 
if your Apple Watch is compatible  because plenty of the most popular models 
wont be. 

On the face of it, most of the best Apple Watch models will work with watchOS 
26. Apple says its compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 or later, the 
second-generation Apple Watch SE, plus every Apple Watch Ultra model; youve 
also got to pair your Watch with an iPhone 11 or later thats running iOS 26 . 
Thats a good range of devices going back many years. 

But there are several features that will only work if you pair your Watch 
with a much more recent iPhone. For a start, anything powered by Apple 
Intelligence will require an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any device 
from the iPhone 16 range. That immediately raises the threshold for 
compatibility with Apples artificial intelligence (AI) platform. 

As well as that, some of the new features introduced in watchOS 26 have 
requirements of their own. The 'wrist flick' gesture, for example, needs an 
Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10 , or Ultra 2. Again, this excludes many of 
the older devices that can technically run watchOS 26. Check the small print 
(Image credit: Apple) 

Potential limitations like this show that its important to check device 
requirements before you get excited about downloading an update like watchOS 
26. That one new tool that caught your eye might not work with your existing 
hardware. 

And its especially vital to do this before buying a device. You might have 
found a great deal on an older Apple Watch , for example, but if it cant run 
the features youre dying to try out, youll be out of luck. 

WatchOS 26 has a bunch of interesting new updates, including a Liquid Glass 
design overhaul , a Workout Buddy fitness assistant, improved Smart Stack 
algorithms, and more. If you want to give any of these a go, be sure to 
double-check if your Apple Watch is compatible. You might also like watchOS 
26: these are the 6 big updates coming to your Apple Watch soon  including an 
AI Workout Buddy and a Notes app WWDC 2025 as it happened: all the iOS 26, 
MacOS Tahoe, and iPadOS news, with live video from Apple Park Workout Buddy? 
Forget it: watchOS 26's most exciting addition was only hinted at



======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/smartwatches/surprised-to-learn-your-
older-apple-watch-can-run-watchos-26-you-might-still-be-missing-out-on-some-gr
eat-new-features


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
 * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)

.