I spent 24 hours with watchOS 26 for the Apple Watch – here's the good, the bad and everything in between

After 24 hours of tapping, swiping and sweating through Apple’s latest smartwatch software, I can confidently say watchOS 26 is… fine. There are some useful upgrades, a few subtle design changes, and the long-overdue arrival of the Notes app. But is it exciting? Not especially.

Announced at WWDC 2025 and now available in public beta, the newest Apple Watch OS feels more like a light refresh than a bold step forward. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, unless you were hoping for something more transformative.

Liquid Glass is here, but is it really?

One of the headline features is Apple’s new design language, Liquid Glass. It's meant to give interface elements a more translucent, layered look, and it does, kind of. It’s certainly more noticeable on iPhones, where there’s space for icons and text to breathe. On the Apple Watch? Less so.

The smaller screen size limits how far Apple can push this aesthetic. Any loss of contrast on such a compact display risks harming usability, so most Liquid Glass elements feel more like gentle tweaks than dramatic overhauls.

Notifications and Smart Stack cards now float inside frosted-glass boxes, while the photo watch face uses a new Liquid Glass font that subtly enhances your images (see hero image above). It’s nice, just not game-changing.

watchOS 26 brings a slightly more intelligent Smart Stack, which now shows contextual 'hints' based on what you’re doing on your iPhone. While playing Spotify, for example, the music controls appeared at the top of my Smart Stack automatically; a seamless experience that nicely reinforces Apple’s cross-device harmony.

It’s less predictive than something like Siri Suggestions and more reactive – think of it as Smart Stack 1.5, not 2.0. Still, it’s helpful, and it shows that Apple is thinking about how the Watch and iPhone work together in the real world.

Finally, the Notes app arrives

After years of waiting, the Apple Watch finally gets its own Notes app. And yes, it works surprisingly well. You can dictate notes using your voice, view your existing notes from your phone, and quickly capture ideas on the go.

Honestly, it’s so convenient that it makes you wonder why it took until 2025 for this to happen. Yes, the Apple Watch didn’t always have microphones and speakers, but even so, it feels like a basic utility that should’ve been here long ago.

Also, the fact that Notes is now a headline feature in watchOS 26 says a lot about how iterative Apple’s updates have become.

Fitness tracking gets a makeover (again)

Apple has once again redesigned the Workout app, making it easier to navigate mid-exercise. The new layout lets you tap the top-left corner to access metrics and the top-right for workout tools like Custom Workouts, Pacer and Race Route. These changes make a real difference, especially for users who like to tweak their sessions on the fly.

There’s also a fun new feature that recommends a workout soundtrack based on your Apple Music history and the type of workout you’re doing. It’s a neat touch if you subscribe to Apple Music. Sadly, Spotify users are left out in the cold.

The most attention-grabbing addition is Workout Buddy, Apple’s new AI-powered exercise companion. It’s still in early stages and limited to eight workout types, but the idea is simple: your Apple Watch pipes up with personalised prompts mid-session.

It’s reminiscent of Spotify’s AI DJ, only instead of curating playlists, it’s shouting encouragement or suggestions while you’re sweating through a run or strength workout. It’s not bad, but it also feels like a weird halfway house.

The fitness world is currently saturated with AI influencers and virtual trainers: some are moderately motivational, while others are plain unsettling. Apple’s approach is somewhere in the middle.

Personally, I’d rather see this AI power used to offer deeper, more actionable health insights (e.g. advice on sleep, stress or recovery) than simply shouting generic prompts mid-squat. Apple has the data; it just needs to use it better.

Steady steps, no big leaps

There’s no denying that watchOS 26 is a polished update. Everything works well, and the changes are mostly positive, but they’re also mostly small. This is a refinement, not a reinvention.

Apple was once the pacesetter in both hardware and software. Now, it feels like the company is coasting a bit on the wearable front. The Notes app debuting in 2025, a Smart Stack update that’s barely smarter, and an AI coach that’s more reactive than revolutionary. None of it truly moves the needle.

Here’s hoping the hardware announcements in September give us more to get excited about. A major Ultra refresh or a surprisingly capable Apple Watch SE could change the tone entirely. Until then, I’ll be here… jotting things down on my wrist like it’s 2018.