Extra Reliant On The iPhone Than Ever

The Apple Watch has been round for a decade now. Over time, Apple has made its wearable much less reliant on the iPhone by including mobile connectivity, longer battery life, and a number of other different enhancements that gave customers the flexibility to go away their cellphone at dwelling… at the very least for a couple of hours.

One of many issues I appreciated probably the most in regards to the Apple Watch was how helpful it was if I ever occurred to overlook my iPhone at dwelling whereas operating errands. In fact, in the event you’re as related as I’m, you are in all probability not forgetting your iPhone at dwelling fairly often within the first place, however having a backup plan is all the time appreciated.

That is why utilizing an Apple Watch Extremely 2 for the previous couple of years has been such an awesome expertise. That mentioned, despite the fact that the watchOS updates have not been groundbreaking, I used to be anticipating a bit extra from watchOS 26. Whereas it provides loads of Apple Intelligence options, it is also making the Apple Watch extra reliant on the iPhone. That is our evaluation of watchOS 26, with all the nice, the dangerous, and in-between of this software program replace for Apple Watch customers.

Apple left out watchOS 12 in favor of the all-new watchOS 26. Now all of the names match, so there must be much less confusion when Apple rolls out a brand new spherical of software program updates. Whereas we journalists respect that, the title change can be extra vital than that, as Apple is upgrading all of its software program with a brand new Liquid Glass UI for much more cohesion.

Whereas this new design is extra noticeable on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, Apple Watch customers will discover new parts on the Lock Display, Management Heart, passcode display, and Good Stack. Although it is delicate, have a look at the corners of icons to see how they mirror on a close-by object.

José Adorno/BGR

That mentioned, what many Apple Watch house owners stay up for with each main watchOS replace is the brand new watch faces. This time, Apple is providing 4 new choices along with tweaking a couple of others to benefit from the brand new show know-how obtainable on Apple Watch Collection 10 and Apple Watch Extremely 3.

Customers can now change their watch face to Waypoint, Circulation, Exactograph, and Images. Whereas Circulation and Images do their finest to spotlight Liquid Glass, the Waypoint watch face is ideal for the Apple Watch Extremely, and the Exactograph is a kind of attention-grabbing choices that many individuals will uncover as their new favourite. We went hands-on with all four new watch faces shortly earlier than launch.

Apple Watch would not formally help Apple Intelligence. Nevertheless, in case you have an iPhone 15 Professional (or newer) close by, you can make your watch a bit more efficient. Apple continues to enhance notification summaries, nevertheless it’s additionally including help for Reside Translation and tweaking Genmoji.

Although these options are principally being mirrored out of your iPhone (reminiscent of a PNG background to your iMessage chats), Apple continues to make the Apple watch extra clever with out essentially calling it Apple Intelligence.

Among the many new modifications, there is a Wrist Flick gesture that may allow you to simply dismiss a notification or a name, and the Good Stack is claimed to be smarter. Over these previous three months of beta testing, I have not gotten a suggestion to begin Power Coaching whereas at my gymnasium, however now and again I see a Good Stack suggestion that has some relevance to my present state of affairs. Nevertheless, a very powerful Apple Intelligence characteristic of watchOS 26 is Exercise Buddy. And, actually, it is the one cause why I am scripting this evaluation.

To make use of the brand new Exercise Buddy, you want an Apple Watch Collection 9 (or newer) paired with an iPhone 15 Professional (or newer). It gathers the info obtainable in your Well being app to inspire you throughout exercises, reminiscent of whereas operating or doing energy coaching.

Workout Buddy celebrates your workout goals and reminds you of your nice achievements in current weeks. We expect that this may be a preview of how Siri will behave as soon as it may possibly truly work as an AI companion. In fact, it is not potential to work together with AI-generated coaches, however I discovered it to be uplifting to listen to that AI-generated voice holding me motivated mid-workout.

That mentioned, I additionally dislike the truth that Apple could not make Exercise Buddy work with a mobile connection and the S10 SiP. Having to hold my iPhone whereas operating is in direct opposition to the primary cause why I’ve a mobile Apple Watch within the first place. Whereas this may be the start of a brand new period for the Watch, I do hope Apple addresses this challenge in the course of the subsequent technology. The corporate already gives an awesome combo with the Apple Watch and AirPods, however carrying three units without delay feels a step backwards.

Throughout the beta cycle of watchOS 26, the battery life on my Apple Watch Extremely 2 drastically decreased. Nevertheless, with the Launch Candidate model, I began to get the same expertise to what I would see on watchOS 11. For instance, I slept with my Apple Watch on and went for a 48-minute run one morning. An hour after that, I nonetheless had 87% battery life. Across the time I went to mattress, I nonetheless had round 50% battery left, which meant I might sleep with the watch on and go for one more run within the morning with out charging in between.

The watchOS 26 expertise has additionally been impressively dependable. That is seemingly the case as a result of there aren’t many new options obtainable on watchOS 26, and the Liquid Glass modifications are extra delicate than on iOS 26. That mentioned, Apple Watch customers should not stress about having a worse battery life or having their favourite apps not working as anticipated.

It is completely price putting in watchOS 26 immediately. It is an awesome replace that pushes the Apple Watch in the appropriate course. I want watchOS 26 wasn’t so reliant on the iPhone, however Apple additionally added different options that show the watch remains to be an awesome standalone wearable. For instance, there is a new Notes app so you’ll be able to dictate your ideas whereas on the go, after which load them in your iPhone, iPad, or Mac later.

watchOS 26 additionally continues to enhance the expertise for customers with newer Apple Watch fashions, and they’re going to quickly be capable to take advantage of the blood pressure monitor that’s making its method to Apple Watch Collection 9 and newer units as a part of the replace. I am additionally enthusiastic about what’s coming subsequent. In spite of everything, Apple hasn’t revealed what else it has in retailer for the remainder of the watchOS 26 replace cycle, as the corporate has been very cautious to solely announce options that it knew can be prepared for the primary model.