The Apple Watch Series 12 and its big sibling, the Apple Watch Ultra 4, were the latest wearables announced alongside the iPhone Duo at Apple’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ event, and the array of new health features haven’t let me down.

Though I didn’t get the design upgrades I was hoping for (I wanted Apple to do a 180-degree turn and debut a completely fresh look for its watches), we got some smart new color options in the process. But that aside, the new monitoring tools do more than make up for the lack of visual upgrades — they’re smarter, insightful, and more personal than ever.

It’s hard to tell if all the new wellbeing tracking tools will be available for previous models — for anything powered by Apple Intelligence, it’s likely that these will remain native to the Series 12 and Ultra 4 — but we still think they’ll make for welcomed additions for health-conscious users.

On-camera fitness testing

As part of the wider Health app revamp, health monitoring using the Apple Watch paired with the iPhone's camera is a new feature, starting with full body assessments. The assessments allow the Health app to measure VO2 max — the the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use while exercising, a key measure of fitness — along with flexibility, strength, balance, and movement mechanics.

All you have to do is prop your iPhone vertically against a wall so that your whole body fits in the frame, and it will get you to follow a coach-guided workout. Apple says in order to measure VO2 max, you’ll need an Apple Watch, AirPods Pro 3, or a third-party heart rate sensing device.

Health Age

Apple is slightly behind on the Health Age feature — Garmin and Whoop got there first with Fitness Age and Whoop Age, respectively — but it’s finally coming to Apple Watch.

Health Age can be found under the new Longevity tab in the Health app, a hub for displaying deeper insights for different health topics including heart health, mental wellbeing, nutrition, and hearing health.

Your Health Age reading takes different aspects of your health profile into account and combines them into one score to show how your metrics compare to the average health and fitness level for your age and gender.

Health Sensing System

This is a technical upgrade to the Apple Watch itself, and a welcomed improvement to how the wearable reads your health data.

Both the Apple Watch Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 come fitted with new LED sensor arrays designed for better skin contact, including a new heart-rate sensor for more accurate heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements — which helps to determine the new Readiness score, which we'll discuss in a moment.

Under the new sensors are larger green LEDs, which now measure your heart rate up to every five seconds, all day long. Apple claims that it's the most accurate heart rate measurement on any wearable, and it can back this up with testing results. We can't wait to try it ourselves against an electrical heart rate monitor.

Readiness Score

Much like the Health Age metric, the new Readiness Score is a tool that's been widely adopted by rival wearables in the past — and now it’s Apple’s turn.

Diving into your Vitals, Sleep Score, recent activity, and other metrics, you'll be presented with a score from 0-10, along with a brief explanation to tell you if your watch thinks you need to pace yourself, or if you have the capacity to push yourself further.

It's a clever and handy tool that could stop you from overtraining, or change your plans to fit in a long run on a day in which you're ready for action. Readiness also updates multiple times a day as your Apple Watch gathers new data, telling you exactly what's affecting your overall score.

Insights tab

The Health app's new Insights tab looks very comprehensive. Throughout the day, Insights displays timely information about your health metrics including heart, sleep, readiness, fitness, vitals, and cycle tracking data.

It gives you short summaries about how different fitness categories are impacting your long-term health, while the 'For You' section offers personalized recommendations and even relevant health articles based on your data.

Apple's 'Surprise and Shine' event unveiled long-awaited devices including the iPhone 18 Pro and the long-anticipated iPhone Duo, but Apple Watches also had their time in the spotlight.

The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are the latest models to join Apple's family of wearables, and both pack quite a punch on the features- and health-tracking front, thanks to the combination of the new Health Sensing System and deeper Apple Intelligence integration.

Of course every new Apple Watch offers improvements over the previous generation — the question is always whether it offers enough to make it worth the upgrade. To help you decide, I've compared the new Apple Watch Series 12 against its predecessor, the Apple Watch Series 11, so you can see all the changes side-by-side.

Apple Watch Series 12 vs Apple Watch Series 11: Specifications

Design

We weren't expecting a visual overhaul with the Apple Watch Series 12, and nor did we get one.

The new model packs the same digital crown and side button that you'll find on most Apple Watch models, and size-wise the only difference is that the Series 12 is 1mm wider; if you can spot that in real life, you have sharper eyes than I do.

However, there are some design changes worth talking about. The key one is that as well as being available in Aluminium and Titanium, as the Watch 11 is, there's also now a Ceramic version — the first since the Series 5.

The Ceramic Watch 12 comes in two colors, Pearl White and Night Blue, while the Aluminum model is available in Space Gray, Black, Light Gold and the stunning new Dark Bronze shade, perfect for both casual and smart wear. The Titanium versions come in Radiant Gold and Natural.

Sticking with the Apple Watch 11? Then your choices are between Space Gray, Jet Black, Rose Gold, and Silver for Aluminum, and Slate, Gold, and Natural Polished in Titanium. And to reiterate, there is no Ceramic Watch 11 — so if you want that, you'll need the new model.

Features

Minor design changes aside, the key reasons to upgrade to the Apple Watch 12 relate to its health-tracking smarts.

Many of these stem from its new S11 chip. Apple — inevitably — describes this as its "most powerful wearable chip", and it powers the new Health Sensing System and Audio Intelligence features.

Let's start with the Health Sensing System, the redesign of the previous generation's LED heart rate sensor array. The Series 12's electrode surface area is now bigger, allowing for better skin contact for ECG tracking. It also packs new optical-sensing photo diodes to capture light more efficiently, while its brighter green LEDs support accurate HR in motion. In short, it's the most accurate Apple Watch ever, tied with its sibling the Apple Watch Ultra 4.

It records heart rate continuously, up to every five seconds, and heart rate variability (a key part of sleep tracking and recovery metrics) up to every five minutes. That's a massive 24x more frequently than it did before, ensuring peak accuracy (in theory).

However one of the new standout features is the new Readiness Score, which has finally arrived on Apple Watch. Every other health wearable seems to have one, and Apple's Readiness Score will combine your rings, vitals and other health metrics into a single actionable, frequently updated number.

There are also a significant redesign of the Health app which thrusts Apple Intelligence to the front of the experience. Now, Apple Watch lets you explore health profiles while offering personalized guidance thanks to Apple Intelligence. Once the Health app gets a sense of your health habits, it will tweak its recommendations so that they align with your health levels and data.

Health Age is another new feature that aligns your metrics and fitness level with your actual age, similar to features on Whoop and Garmin.

The Series 12 is packing tons of new fitness features, but Apple Intelligence — or at least, audio intelligence — is brand new and unrelated to health.

Audio Intelligence is comprised of four features. The Series 12 can listen out for sounds, be that a doorbell, traffic, or oncoming pedestrians, and will send alerts right to your watch face — which is ideal for users who are hard of hearing. You can also Shazam songs from your wrist.

Slightly more suspect are Live Rewind and Siri Recaps. Live Rewind allows you to go back 15 seconds to remember parts of a conversation. Didn't catch what the waiter said was new on the menu? Just double-press the digital crown and your watch will generate a transcript for you to read. Siri Recaps is a feature that, when active, listens constantly in the background, providing you with a summary of your day in the evening, including conversations.

We've covered these two features in more detail here, including Apple's privacy assurances and why the Cupertino giant might not be reading the room on this feature, as surveillance-capable wearables are receiving a lot of pushback at the moment.

You can pre-order the Apple Watch Series 12 now, which will be available starting September 18.

Apple's September 9 'Surprise and Shine' event has come and gone, and we've learned a lot about Apple's latest crop of devices. While we've got new AirPods and iPhones (including Apple's first foldable, the iPhone Duo), it's the Apple Watches that have caught my eye as TechRadar's resident fitness and wearables writer — specifically, the Apple Watch Ultra 4, the latest version of Apple's flagship watch series.

But how does it compare to the previous gen, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 — and is it worth upgrading? Read on for a full comparison of both watches, so you can make an informed decision.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Specifications

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Price and availability

• Price is unchanged from last year
• $799 / £749 / AU$1,399
• Available from September 18

Here's an easy one to start with: the Apple Watch Ultra 4's price is unchanged from last year, at $799 / £749 / AU$1,399. It's available from the September 18, so if you were considering getting an Apple Watch Ultra 3 but were holding out, there's no reason not to wait a few days for the latest model.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: design

Physically, little has changed in terms of looks, but there have been subtle tweaks. The titanium case is still there, slightly wider and slimmer than last year, and it lasts six hours longer than the Ultra 3 to make it to two days, or 18 hours with continuous GPS use.

The watch's heart rate accuracy is even better thanks to the new Health Sensing System. This redesign of Apple's LED optical heart rate sensor tech offers better skin contact thanks to an increased electrode surface area. Heart rate readings are now being taken up to every five seconds, with heart rate variability, an overnight measure of rest and recovery, being read up to every five minutes.

This makes Apple's heart rate sensor the most accurate of any wearable, according to Apple. It has apparently conducted tests against rivals using ECG chest straps, much like we do in our reviews.

I can attest that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is as accurate a wearable as it gets, so I'll be intrigued to test the new Ultra 4 against my trusty Polar H10.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Apple Watch Ultra 3: Features

• Finally, a Readiness Score
• New Audio Intelligence features
• Redesigned Health app

At last! Apple Watch gets a Readiness Score, a feature almost every other fitness wearable has had for years. Typically from Apple, it looks like the bee's knees, feeding into Vitals to generate a holistic overview of your night, and updating throughout the day, like Garmin's Body Battery function. A new Health Age feature also compares your current fitness level to those in your age group, much like Garmin's Fitness Age or Whoop's, er, Whoop Age.

It's unclear at the moment whether the Ultra 3 will get these features, or if it will be an Ultra 4 / Series 12 exclusive. But all the Apple Watch Ultra 3 features, including LTE and satellite connectivity, are available on the Ultra 4.

An incoming redesigned Health app on iPhone is Apple Intelligence-forward, offering personalized AI-powered insights, and what is clear is that this will also work with the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and all Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhones. This Health App will show you Readiness, Longevity, and allow you to measure your VO2 Max using a coached guided workout on your iPhone's camera, then update it according to your activity levels and metrics.

Audio Intelligence features are exclusive to the Ultra 4 and Series 12, and include Shazam on your wrist, Sound Recognition (your watch will let you know the doorbell's rung or a siren's going off, for example), and two more features which are sure to prove controversial.

Live Rewind has your watch listen to and instantly recall a conversation up to 15 seconds previously, by double-tapping the crown of your Apple Watch. Siri Recap listens throughout the day and uses Siri AI to process live audio files, serving you a summary of the day in the evening. There are numerous controls and privacy safeguards in place here, but there's no doubt they'll come across as creepy to many. You can read all about Audio Intelligence on Apple Watch here.

The Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 have landed, along with a revolutionary folding iPhone at this year's Apple event, but despite major advancements under the hood, the feature that is standing out to me is a software-based one.

Siri Recaps is a new Audio Intelligence feature that turns your Apple Watch into an always-listening device. The idea is that Siri Recaps, which lives on the Siri app, uses the Apple Watch's sensors to provide a summary of your day, including conversations that have taken place. It can be toggled with a schedule, or at the top of the Smart Stack.

It's a little like the Amazon Bee, which is a microphone attached to a smart band, which is used to capture and summarize conversations. While I can see this feature as being useful for people who attend lots of meetings (having a virtual assistant taking minutes in the background all day long could be very useful), there are understandably privacy concerns here.

We're told the Recaps feature doesn't record or store audio and it can't show a transcript. Instead, it processes events live as they take place, using Siri AI to turn that raw data into actionable notes, never written into permanent storage. Below is a screenshot from Apple's presentation:

Your watch, like a smartphone or smart speaker, already has to always listen for a wake word (like 'Siri' or 'Alexa'), but the audio it's listening to is not logged or recorded: only interactions starting with the wake word are.

But add an always-listening AI assistant into the mix who's taking notes on your day-to-day, including your conversations with others who may not know they're being surveilled, and suddenly Apple's latest handy feature starts to look a lot creepier. Apple's other big new Audio Intelligence feature for watches is Live Rewind, which can produce a transcript of the last 15 seconds of audio on your watch face — whether a wake word was said, or not.

I'm frankly surprised Apple even went through with this feature at this time, considering the bans and backlash other AI-powered surveillance wearables are getting.

I'm thinking, of course, about Meta, and its smart glasses being banned in some public spaces and generally disparaged with names like 'pervert glasses'. Smart glasses have obviously garnered a real stigma thanks to people drilling out the LED recording light and using them to discreetly record inappropriately and without consent for clout, content, or their own personal use.

This has created a general feeling of malaise around wearables equipped with discreet cameras and microphones in general. Like Meta Glasses, the Live Rewind and Siri Recaps features have accessibility potential for those hard of hearing, but they're going to make most people uncomfortable.

Watch: Audio Intelligence features being announced

Apple is keen to evidence its trustworthiness, with on-device AI and Private Cloud Compute and an insistence that it doesn't record or log audio and transcripts. However, if people think they're being discreetly recorded without their permission, it's possible Apple Watch wearers could experience their own slice of the abuse hurled at Meta Glasses wearers.

I wrote earlier this year that wearable tech has to separate itself from surveillance capitalism if it wishes to be cool again. It seems Apple has taken a step in the other direction.

Update: Apple has published an article on its website, specifically about Audio Intelligence, and much has been made about how Audio Intelligence protects user privacy and is used responsibly. You can read the full article here.

In short, Apple says audio is not recorded or stored because "there is no recording to share, forward, or produce if requested by any party, because no recording exists". Instead, audio data is processed by Siri live, and raw audio "is never accessible".

Your data is not accessible to Apple either, thanks to Private Cloud Compute, and "independent security experts can verify this promise at any time". Siri Recaps auto-delete after seven days too. Apple is serious about getting users to trust this feature.

This year has been chock-full of great smartwatch releases from the major players; the latest crops of Samsung, Google, Fitbit, and Amazfit watches. We had the Garmin Fenix 9 and Garmin Fenix 9 Pro at the high-end of the adventure watch category (and pricing range, some costing upwards of four-figure dollars or pounds), and soon the latest Apple Watches, with the Apple Watch Series 12 and (according to rumor) the Apple Watch Ultra 4.

However, I've had the most fun this year with a watch that costs just £55 / AU$119 (around $75).

The Casio F-B100W is a digital quartz watch which connects to your phone via Casio's Mobile Link Bluetooth function, providing a handful of techy features. So I guess you could say it's technically a smartwatch. Looks-wise, it's very similar to the classic, outrageously cheap F-91W, only a little bigger and packing a fourth button on the side rather than the F-91W's usual three.

The F-91W is beloved among watch nerds as a reliable, cheap 'beater' watch you can where anywhere. We've written about it in the past — it was worn by a young Barack Obama, due to its reliable timekeeping and seven-year battery life it was even used as a bomb timer by Al-Qaeda, and its got serious counterculture appeal due to its low-tech defiance of modern trends and the analog revival.

I'm a great advocate of having a 'beater' watch to throw on and wear during gardening, DIY, construction work or any time you want a break from your smartwatch. However, I've always thought the F-91W looked like a child's toy on the average person's wrist, with a tiny size of just 38.2 × 35.2 × 8.5 mm. The F-B100W is slightly bigger at 41.9 × 38.1 × 8.8 mm, a difference of less than 4mm, but it goes a long way towards feeling more like a watch.

It packs more features than the F-91W: as well as a timer, stopwatch, LED and alarm functionalities, it's got dual-time zone features and some very basic fitness tracker functionality thanks to its Bluetooth capabilities: notably, a step counter.

Not only do your steps display on the watch's LCD screen, but it also feeds your steps into the Casio Watches app, where you can see historic graphs of your steps across weekly and monthly views. In this way it acts as a virtual pedometer, just like the original Fitbit did before things got complicated. It also, unbelievably, has a Find My Phone feature, activated by holding the bottom-right button down.

And that's it. It's a stripped-down Bluetooth watch which looks like a classic Casio, with the most basic of fitness tracking functionalities, a useful Find My Phone feature and a two-year battery life. Reader, I am in love.

It's an absolute belter of a watch for the price. I enjoyed taking it for a five-mile hike and watching my step count tick up, and it's extremely light on the wrist at 26g. I've always liked the look of Casio watches, and as someone who perpetually misplaces almost everything I own, the Find My Phone feature is a near-essential tool. I like that it's got a step counter broken down by graphs, but I also like that this is the only fitness tracking functionality it has, apart from the timer and stopwatch — which are in themselves ideal features for interval training, or timing rest periods in the gym.

In an era of all-singing, all-dancing smart technology that tracks everything, and often requires a subscription to sell your own data back to you, it reminds me of a simpler time in wearable technology. It's not a great contributor to surveillance capitalism like lots of wearable tech these days (beyond having to make a Casio account): it's just a fun digital pedometer, and is good value enough to be a 'fun' purchase for many people, rather than a serious investment.

It's accurate, as you can set the time of the watch with your phone and the digital quartz movement is notoriously reliable, and will cost you nothing more than £55 / AU$119 (around $75) and a cheap watch battery every two years — a pack of 10 might run you about $5.99 / £4.99 / AU$8.99.

The F-B100W is sold out on Casio.com right now in the UK, and is "coming soon" in Australia. It's not yet available in the US, but keep your eyes peeled for restocks — this archaic-looking, secretly-smart digital watch is the stripped-back digital pedometer you never knew you needed.

• A new leak has shed light on a rumored new watchOS 27 feature
• It could see improvements to Apple’s Workout app on Apple Watch
• The app might let you log individual reps and sets for strength routines

Apple’s watchOS 27 is almost upon us, and it’s going to arrive alongside the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 at the company’s Surprise and Shine event tomorrow. When that happens, there could be a new feature for the best Apple Watches that finally fixes a problem that has bugged me for years.

According to information supposedly found in the watchOS 27 beta and posted on the MacRumors forum, Apple is planning to boost the Workout app with a new feature that adds more control to your strength-based exercise routines.

Specifically, the leak asserts it will take the form of “richer details in strength workouts”.

“The new implementation can describe individual sets and store repetition counts, weight, equipment, body side, and duration for each set,” the leaker added. “A workout activity can now represent a session with multiple sets, with different loads and repetition counts in each.”

In other words, Apple might finally be implementing features that rival apps have offered for years. SmartGym gives you this kind of functionality, for example, and it’s one of the best Apple Watch apps around — it was even named Apple Watch App of the Year by Apple in 2023. Apple is evidently aware that its Workout app has fallen behind in this area — but will its solution be enough to catch up?

It’s about time

While I’ve been able to log my workout sessions in my Apple Watch’s Workout app, I’ve had to store the actual routines — including rep and set counts for each machine — in the Notes app. It means having to constantly flick between the two apps while I’m exercising, which is far from ideal.

Add to that the fact that the Workout app just records a single monolithic workout, with no way to log my reps and sets, and I come away from my time at the gym with no insight into how I did on any particular exercise.

So if this rumor ends up being on the money (and the feature actually works as intended), it could end up being one of my favorite additions to the Apple Watch ecosystem. If Apple is able to let me create an exercise plan filled up with rep and set counts, then take me through it when I hit the gym, I’ll be one happy camper.

That said, there are still some unanswered questions. For instance, SmartGym works completely independently of your iPhone and shows you everything you need on your Apple Watch face. Will Apple’s updated Workout app be able to do the same? That would make it even more useful.

And yes, you can already create a set and rest timer system, with labelling to show which exercises you've completed, using the lesser-known Custom Workout routine, but is still much more limited than I’d like it to be. It’s more of a workaround than a real solution.

With the new Apple Watches and their features set to be unveiled tomorrow, there’s not long to wait to see if my wish becomes reality. If Apple is finally able to match its rivals, it’ll be a case of better late than never — but I won’t mind one bit.

Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, and now John Ternus: those are the three Apple CEOs of the 21st century, and I've seen them all in action. From keynotes to deep product dives during WWDC, each had his own presentation style, but what Jobs and, eventually, Cook shared was an uncanny ability to focus attention through the force of their personalities. Now it's Ternus'...er...turn. He's far from untested in these situations but has never led a major Apple keynote. That changes on Wednesday, September 9, when Ternus leads Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.

In many ways, this should be a predictable event; the product lineup is widely rumored. Here are the anticipated highlights:

• Apple's first folding iPhone, the iPhone Ultra with two rear cameras and a truly creaseless design
• iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max (while they hold back the iPhone 18)
• AirPods 5 with ANC
• Apple Watch Series 12 with continuous heart rate tracking
• Apple Watch Ultra 4 with a new S Chip and blood pressure monitoring
• Apple 4K TV box with an A18 Chip and more RAM to support AI
• HomePod mini 2 with deeply integrated Siri AI
• A possible HomePad combo device with some robotic elements

Things get interesting, though, when we try to assess what kind of Apple Event keynote Ternus will run. The new CEO could take a page from the Tim Cook playbook and appear briefly on the Steve Jobs Theater stage before handing it over to a series of canned product-launch videos.

I find that hard to believe. First of all, Apple has had since April to plan for a keynote built around John Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran who is, unlike Cook, a true technologist. Ternus might relish staying on stage to explain, in depth, some of Apple's most exciting new products.

Alternatively, Ternus could let the videos handle all the product launch walkthroughs except for the folding iPhone Ultra. Sure, it's the world's worst-kept secret, but imagine if Ternus officially launched his time as CEO with a memorable "One more thing."

Ternus has some charisma, and it would make sense for Apple to lean into showcasing that on stage, live.

Maybe he'll spend some time talking about the official launch of Siri AI and how it ties together all of Apple's new products. Siri will be in evidence on the new HomePod, AirPods, Apple Watch, Apple TV 4K, iPhone 18, and Apple Watch models. Not to mention the entire recently updated Mac, MacBook, and iPad lineup. Ternus could do one of Steve Jobs' classic live demos that weaves an exciting story of life at home with Apple products and Siri AI. Maybe he'll even joke and ask everyone in the theater to turn off their WiFi (if you know, you know).

Ternus also faces a critical test in how he reassures Apple fans and detractors that it will be more careful than others with the expansion of AI across almost every part of Apple's business without breaking privacy promises or adding to the growing outrage over resource use and data centers.

People will be looking to these moments to understand who Ternus really is and compare him to Cook and even Jobs (yes, inevitably, all roads lead back to Steve Jobs).

Many people have asked me if I expect Ternus to put his own stamp on the event, and I think the answer is yes. It's a massive opportunity for him (and Apple), and one I think that he is fully aware of. All eyes will be tuned in to learn about Apple's latest iPhone lineup and to confirm that folding phone, but also, and maybe even mostly, to see Ternus in action on Apple's biggest stage. It is, in truth, his moment to shine.

You can officially mark your calendars for September 9, 2026, as Apple has just made its annual September event official by sending out invitations with the tagline "Surprise and shine," announcing the Special Event.

In true Apple time, the September 9 event kicks off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST (3am September 10 AEST) and will be livestreamed at Apple Park, specifically in the Steve Jobs Theater. We’re fully expecting the Cupertino-based tech giant to stick with a virtual format, though, for the keynote itself, and if you didn’t score an invite, fear not, as it’ll be livestreamed to the world, and our expert team here at TechRadar will be breaking it all down in real time.

“Surprise and shine” doesn’t just stand as the annual event where we expect Apple to unveil its next generation of iPhones, Apple Watches, and a few other devices, but it arrives eight days after John Ternus steps into the role of CEO. Our bet is that he still kicks off the show with a ‘Good Morning,’ and who knows, Tim Cook might still make an appearance.

The rumored hardware list is long for September 9, and all eyes are pointing to Apple entering the folding phone market with what will likely be called the iPhone Ultra. A device that’s purported to be similar in overall size and shape to the most recent Galaxy Z Fold 8, and that might make the foldable phone category a bit more mainstream with some Apple touches.

That won’t be the only iPhone, though, as the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are expected, but don’t hold out hope for a standard iPhone 18 or second-generation iPhone Air. According to the rumor mill, the focus will be on the Pros, with the follow-up to the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air arriving later. You can expect a next-gen Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Series 12, and we might see a new HomePod Mini and a long-awaited update to the Apple TV.

What does the ‘Surprise and shine” invite tell us?

After months of rumors, our eyes now turn to examining every part of the invite for 'Surprise and shine." For one, it's on a bright blue background that somewhat resembles the skies over Apple Park, but the center features an Apple logo with colorful flare and blur around it.

There also appears to be a circle flowing from it, which might hint at the venue, the Steve Jobs Theater, the circular Apple Park Ring, or how the new Siri AI ebbs and flows.

Potentially, the middle of the Apple logo shows a vertical line, which could hint at the folding iPhone. Though your guess is as good as ours at the moment.

The best news? Apple is promising us a surprise, and that's something we can all get excited about.

What can we expect at the event?

For starters, it will be John Ternus' first special event as Apple's CEO, and it arrives at an interesting time, with a ton of hardware expected. And just weeks before the event, Apple unveiled its next-generation M6 and M5 Ultra chips and refreshed both the Mac mini and Mac Studio. Might it have been to get some of the devices out of the way for a packed September event?

It could very well be, as we're expecting the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, the foldable iPhone – likely named iPhone Ultra –, the Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4. There are also chances for new AirPods, though it'll likely be the next-generation entry-level — AirPods 5 and AirPods 5 with ANC, replacing the duo of AirPods 4 — and not the recently leaked AirPods Pro with Cameras, as recent reporting suggests those won't be due out until 2027.

Then there's also a rumored refresh of the HomePod mini and the Apple TV 4K — the streaming box that connects to the TV, not the Apple TV streaming service, though it does run on this device — that's been rumored for quite some time, and was theoretically waiting on Siri AI to be released to power some new features.

Considering that Siri AI will release this Fall, likely in the back half of September, as a beta for consumers with a waitlist at first as part of the generally available iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Tahoe, watchOS 27, and tvOS 27, there is a good chance that Apple will debut these next-generation home products. It's also likely a necessary stepping stone before we get the reported Home Screen device with a robotic arm. Still, even more importantly, Siri AI needs a spot in the home rather than just on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

Both the next-gen HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K are reportedly on Apple's roadmap for 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman; alongside that AirPods Pro leak, several other products were mentioned, including a new Siri Remote for the Apple TV.

It's likely, though, that the iPhone Ultra will be the big reveal — and potentially the first one more thing in the Ternus era at Apple — alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max.

The only other question mark as we roll into September is the next Beats product: over-ear headphones likely to be named Beats 360, according to recent leaks. Considering product pages were up, and Beats has coyly seeded some units to superstar athletes, it feels like a reveal could be coming in the next few weeks. It's unlikely we'd see these at Apple's September event, as Beats rarely gets time during the keynotes, but anything is possible. These might be released around the same time these new products formally debut.

The good news on all fronts is that we don't have much longer to wait — with Apple invites out for the 'Surprise and Shine' September 9, 2026 event and even some visual teasers out and about, we're just 14 days away from the next special event.

TechRadar will be on the ground, myself included, as well as our Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff, and our team of experts will be working around the clock to break it all down come September 9 and in the days after, but most importantly, come back that day to join in the festivities for our live blog featuring real-time reporting. And before then, vote in the poll below to let us know what you're most excited for Apple to reveal.

Apple makes some of the best smartwatches you can buy in 2026, especially if you're already an existing iPhone or MacBook user and embedded in Apple's ecosystem.

In many ways, the Apple Watch is Apple's most personal device, sitting right on your wrist, with plenty of color and band options – not to mention loads of different watch faces to pick from. The face you pick is where the fun really starts, as it can make the same watch feel sporty, traditional, playful, or completely different from one day to the next.

I tend to favour simpler, less complicated faces that make the time easy to read without cramming the screen with data, all of which is still available inside various apps. But I've included all sorts here. From my daily-driver Flux face to Snoopy’s wonderfully unpredictable animations, these are the 10 Apple Watch faces I’d recommend trying in 2026.

What's your favorite watch face? Let us know in the comments below!

Infograph – best Apple Watch face for complications

Infograph is the obvious pick for anyone who wants plenty of information on-screen. It supports up to eight complications, although I prefer a cleaner setup with just four fitness-focused ones in the centre.

Why it works: You can tailor it around work, exercise, weather, or everyday shortcuts, and most complications open the relevant app when tapped. Leaving a few spaces empty also makes it much easier to read at a glance.

Limitations: It can become cluttered very quickly, especially once you start mixing lots of colors and data types. If you mainly want to check the time, Infograph is probably more watch face than you need.

Flow – best Liquid Glass Apple Watch face

Flow is one of the clearest showcases for watchOS 26’s Liquid Glass design, with oversized translucent numerals set against a colorful animated background. You can switch between different colors, two typefaces, and a static or moving backdrop.

Why it works: The large numbers are easy to read, while the refraction effect gives the face much more depth when you move your wrist. Blue and purple suits the glassy look particularly well, but brighter combinations can make it feel completely different.

Limitations: There are no complications, so Flow is firmly a design-first face. Its glossy, futuristic style is also probably too bold for anyone who wants their Apple Watch to resemble a traditional watch.

California – best traditional Apple Watch face

California is the closest this list gets to a classic watch dial, mixing Roman and Arabic numerals in its most recognisable form. You can also switch between several numeral styles, use a circular or full-screen layout, and add a handful of complications.

Why it works: It gives the Apple Watch a more traditional look without losing useful extras such as the date, weather, or app shortcuts. Darker colors and restrained complications suit it especially well.

Limitations: Bright or overly detailed complications can clash with the clean dial, while the full-screen version leaves less room for information. It's also less playful than Apple’s more modern faces.

Numerals Duo – best bold digital Apple Watch face

Numerals Duo fills almost the entire screen with oversized hours and minutes, like Flow, making it one of Apple’s easiest faces to read at a glance. You can change the colors, numeral system, and choose between Filled, Hybrid, and Outline styles.

Why it works: The huge numbers give it some personality without making the time difficult to find. My multi-colored Hybrid version is especially playful, but a simpler two-color setup can look much cleaner.

Limitations: There are no complications, so you lose quick access to weather, fitness data, and so on. It is also unapologetically digital, which may not appeal if you prefer a more watch-like design.

Snoopy – best character Apple Watch face

Snoopy brings the Apple Watch to life with short animations featuring Snoopy, Woodstock, and the clock hands. The scenes change throughout the day, while different color options give the face a slightly different feel.

Why it works: The animations are really charming and varied enough to stay fun beyond the first few days. My “ARF!” scene pictured above captures the playful side of the face particularly well.

Limitations: There are no complications, and some animations briefly make the time harder to read. The Snoopy face might work best as a weekend-only option.

Flux – best dynamic digital Apple Watch face

Flux is my daily-driver face, combining oversized numerals with a block of color that rises from the bottom as each minute passes. You can switch between different colors and Western Arabic, Eastern Arabic, or Devanagari numerals.

Why it works: It is simple, bold, and immediately readable, but the constant movement stops it from feeling static. The numerals also shift into a new shape whenever the minute changes. Really cool face.

Limitations: Flux has no complications, so it only tells you the time. The unusual numeral shapes can also take a little getting used to, particularly with some color combinations.

Color – best minimalist analogue Apple Watch face

Color is a clean, flexible analogue face that can be dressed up with bright shades or kept deliberately understated. You can choose between circular and dial layouts, including a full-screen version, and then add complications or a monogram.

Why it works: It keeps the focus on the time while still leaving room for a useful shortcut or two. My full-screen version uses a single Camera Remote complication, but the circular layout can carry much more information.

Limitations: It lacks the personality of Apple’s more animated faces, and adding too many complications quickly undermines its simplicity.

Timelapse – best scenic Apple Watch face

Timelapse turns your watch into a tiny moving cityscape, with options including London, New York City, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Mack Lake. My pick is the London version, because it's where I live, complete with Westminster and a small weather complication.

Why it works: The shifting background gives it more atmosphere than a static photo face, while the time stays easy to spot. It also feels a little more personal when you choose a location you know.

Limitations: The selection of scenes is quite limited, and readability can vary depending on the frame. There is also likely to be a higher battery drain, and it offers far less customisation than Apple’s Photos face.

Artist – best art-led Apple Watch face

Finally, Artist turns the screen into a tiny changing portrait, with the time worked directly into the illustration. Tapping the face produces a new combination, so it rarely looks exactly the same twice.

Why it works: It feels more like a small piece of digital art than a traditional watch face. The shifting faces and colors give it plenty of personality without relying on animation. A slightly offbeat, cool pick.

Limitations: There are no complications, and some combinations are easier to read than others. It is also the least practical option here if you mainly use your watch as an information hub.

How to add and customise Apple Watch faces

The easiest method is through the Watch app on your iPhone.

Open the Face Gallery, choose a design, then adjust its colors, style, numerals, and complications before tapping Add to Watch.

The available controls vary a lot: Flow mainly offers visual tweaks, while Infograph lets you change almost every piece of information on-screen, and so on.

You can also make changes directly on the watch. Touch and hold the current face, tap Edit, then swipe through the available options and turn the Digital Crown to make your selections.

How to pick the right Apple Watch face

The best place to start is with what you actually want to see when you raise your wrist. That might be nothing more than the time, or it could include your next appointment, Activity rings, weather, and a shortcut to your most-used app.

Complications are useful, but from experience, more is not always better. Too much information can make things feel cluttered, especially if you have a smaller model like my Apple Watch SE.

It's also worth setting up a few faces for different situations. You might use Infograph during the working day, switch to something fitness-focused for a workout, then move to Snoopy at the weekend.

Finally, test each face outdoors and at a quick glance – a color combination that looks great in the Watch app may be much harder to read on your wrist.

The Google Pixel Watch 5 has landed, alongside a slew of compatible phones including the Google Pixel 11 and its Pro, Pro XL and even Pro Fold variations. While the phones look great, It’s the watch that’s drawn my attention, and there’s a lot to like here.

Arriving in two sizes (41mm and 45mm) just like in previous years, with Canyon, Obsidian and Fog colored bands, as well as a special NBA-star Stephen Curry-themed edition, the Google Pixel Watch 5 is priced starting from $399.99 / £369 / AU$649 for the 41mm model, and $429.99 / £399.99 / AU$699 for the 45mm model, with LTE-capable models costing extra.

What do you get for your money? Well, the Pixel Watch 5 has received several quality-of-life improvements over last year's model. These include Google’s ever-improving wrist-based Gemini integrations, Google Health's new AI fitness coach, GPS that can reportedly go head-to-head with the likes of the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, and a new suite of handy background health features called Health Guardian, which is available on Pixel Watch 3 and up.

While I haven’t gone hands-on with the watch just yet, judging by its specs sheet the Pixel Watch 5 is every inch a competitor to the Apple Watch Series 11 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9.

It’s slightly difficult to compare watches from different ecosystems, but while it’s unlikely the quality of a smartwatch is going to be a tipping point for someone changing phones, and possibly tablets or computers to better work within a particular walled garden, these features could be a contributing factor to a decision to switch from Google to Apple or Samsung, or vice versa.

Let’s look at each flagship watch’s specs side-by-side below (I've used the larger models for clarity: the 45mm Pixel Watch 5, the 46mm Apple Watch Series 11 and the 44mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 9), then I’ll go through all the unique stuff Google’s just announced.

Specs comparison table

As we can see above, one of the key things that we can take away from this year’s top crop of smartwatches is that they’re all starting to look and feel the same, at least on paper. Similar prices, specs, battery life and feature sets: there’s very little separation here in terms of nuts-and-bolts quality. However, there are a few aspects — some featured in the table above, some not — that help the Pixel Watch 5 stand out from the pack.

Repairability

One of the best things about the Pixel Watch 5, which debuted last year on the Pixel Watch 4, is the fact that it’s repairable. You can use a standard Torx T2 precision screwdriver set to disassemble the watch and replace its battery and display, an unusual feature for small, water-resistant electronics like smartwatches — but certainly a welcome one, as anything that extends the life of the device and reduces e-waste is a fantastic initiative in our books.

It’s a feature we’d love to see adopted across the board — including by Apple and Samsung.

Battery life

While the Google Pixel Watch 5’s battery life seems to be roughly equal to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9’s offering, both devices handily beat out the Apple Watch Series 11’s 24 hour guarantee, even though that’s an improvement from the 18 hours of previous iterations. At smaller sizes, the Pixel and Samsung watch’s battery lives return to up to 30 hours; still not a lot and a pain point for people used to the likes of the best Garmin watches, but better than Apple’s offering.

The Google Pixel Watch 5, like Apple's wearable, offers fast charging, with just one hour until full. However, it’s also got a neat little charger held over from last year: a dock that allows you to turn your watch into a little upright bedside alarm clock. Cute!

GPS

This is a tricky one. Practically speaking, there might very little in this competition in terms of GPS accuracy, but Apple is on the back foot here. While Apple’s Ultra 3 comes with some of the most sophisticated and accurate GPS credentials on the market, the mainline Apple Watch Series 11 only offers single-band GPS in comparison to the Galaxy Watch 9 and Pixel Watch 5, which offer dual band L1+L5 GPS.

The Google Pixel Watch 5 also connects to more satellite networks than either watch, and is said to match the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra 3 in terms of accuracy — according to Google. This is yet to be tested in the field, but I’ll run or cycle my usual routes with an Ultra 3 or Fenix 8 Pro once I get my hands on the watch to test this for myself.

Satellite comms

Speaking of satellites, they’re good for more than just GPS accuracy. While all three watches have LTE-enabled models, allowing you to add them to your phone’s data plan (available at an additional cost) the Google Pixel Watch 5 has a feature usually reserved for premium, Ultra-tier watches: emergency SOS satellite communication messaging.

A holdover from the Pixel Watch 4, satellite connectivity allows you to use the watch to communicate with emergency services using the Skylo satellite network, offering two-way messaging and location sharing. It works without your phone and is optimized for ultra-low power consumption.

New health features: Breathing Emergency Detection and Insulin Resistance Trends

The Google Pixel Watch 5 gets a handful of new features, including blood pressure (long thought of as the holy grail for optical LED heart rate sensors, blood pressure or hypertension detection is starting to make its way into the smartwatch market now), and Breathing Emergency Detection. Similar to last year's Loss of Pulse Detection, the Pixel Watch 5 can detect a marked drop in oxygen saturation and auto-contact emergency services, even sharing your location.

Most intriguingly, it also packs an Insulin Resistance Trends feature. This isn’t available yet (said to be coming September 2026) but neither Samsung nor Apple watches have this feature right now. Insulin Resistance Trends is billed as a non-invasive way (unlike continuous glucose monitors, which require needles) to monitor or estimate your body’s efforts to regulate blood sugar.

Google says the feature is 'a personal efficiency meter, giving you a sense of how efficiently your body absorbs energy from food and manages it throughout your activities.' Eating and drinking spikes your blood sugar, and exercise brings it back down as glucose is used for fuel.

The Insulin Resistance Trends feature works as part of Google's new Health Guardian suite of features, monitoring health trends in the background. Essential for diabetics, it’s also useful for weight management in general, and I’m intrigued to see the consensus on this feature, and how it works, once it lands.

These days, millions of us have smart devices strapped to our wrists, fingers and arms, measuring our metrics and building a picture of the “quantified self” to make us healthier, more active and better prepared for a medical emergency.

Wearables can help improve our wellbeing and nudge us towards better habits, but it’s less common to hear about the flipside: the anxiety at failing to close your rings, the frantic exercise to ensure you maintain your streak, and the obsession with meeting your targets on a daily basis.

These are feelings I know all too well. Having worn some of the best Apple Watches for close to a decade, I’ve watched it become an essential part of my life — so much so that I’ve tried closing my rings when I’m ill, on vacation, or should otherwise be resting and recuperating. I obsess over those little rings on my watch.

I know this is a problem for me. But what I wanted to find out was whether this is a more widespread issue, and if it is, what can be done about it. Is wearable tech making us more anxious? And can it be redesigned to push back against these tendencies and help us feel more relaxed, not less?

To find out, I spoke to tech and wellness experts who shared their thoughts on the ways wearables can impact our health — for better or worse.

The endless streak

During the FIFA World Cup in July, I was preparing to wake up in the early hours to watch England play Mexico at 1am local time. I set my alarm, went to bed early, and got ready to cheer on my team without waking the neighbors.

Yet there was one thought that I couldn’t get out of my mind as I contemplated the looming disruption to my sleep: my Apple Watch is going to hate this.

It’s now become part of my morning ritual to check my sleep score on my Apple Watch. Every high score gives me a little dopamine hit, every low result a crushing sense of disappointment. And I knew that waking up at 1am and staying awake for two hours in the middle of the night was going to make my Watch very disappointed indeed.

In the end, I rolled over and went back to sleep when my alarm woke me for the game. I didn’t watch it, and I know that was only partly because I was woken at some ungodly hour — it was also because, to a certain extent, I’ve allowed the scores and metrics on my Watch to govern the way I live my life.

That’s not the only way this has happened to me. I recently hit a streak of closing my Move ring for 2,000 consecutive days. But I’d be lying if I said there weren’t some days when I entered a fake exercise to get me past my calorie goal on a day when I was ill, tired or simply unmotivated.

Why cheating is fine, but resting is not, is something I admit doesn’t make much sense. But what I do know is that the thought of losing my streak absolutely fills me with dread. 2,000 consecutive days on my Move streak sounds like a lot, but knowing myself, I’m sure I’m going to try to continue it until the day I die, such is the anxiety associated with the idea of my streak ending.

The dark side of wearable tech

I’ve long had perfectionist tendencies, but it’s through observing the way I interact with my Watch that it’s really become clear to me how strongly my device’s gamification of fitness has struck a chord with me — and led me into some unhealthy, possibly obsessive behaviors.

I spoke to Dr Dana McKay, Associate Dean of Interaction, Technology & Information at RMIT University in Australia, to get her opinion.

“These technologies are often designed to help us form habits,” McKay pointed out. "They often use tools for so called ‘persuasive design’.... to persuade us to do something we wanted to anyway when we bought the device."

There are two problems with this:, Dr McKay points out: the possibility of becoming “unhealthily focused” on the device, and the prospect of being convinced to don a wearable by an outside party, like an insurance company, and sharing data we don’t want to share. Some private health insurance companies may subsidise the purchase of a wearable in exchange to access to lower premiums, and sharing your tracker's information to an insurer's app.

Yang Wei, Professor of Wearable Technology at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, agreed, saying that while wearables can help us form positive habits, we also need to be careful around them.

“For many people, wearables can be motivating and empowering,” Wei noted, “but for some users they can also create pressure, anxiety, guilt, or unhealthy dependence on data.” After all, wearables “create a framework for what counts as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ activity, sleep, recovery, or productivity,” Wei said. If that data is framed the wrong way, it can push users in an unhelpful direction.

Wei also warned that “One of the risks is that people may start to trust the device more than their own body. For example, someone may feel they slept badly because their watch gave them a poor sleep score, even if they felt fine. Or they may feel they have failed because they did not close a ring or reach a step target, even if they had a perfectly reasonable day.”

That certainly resonates with me: I consciously work to close my Apple Watch’s rings, viewing it as a requirement for each day. A full set has almost become a condition for having a ‘good’ day, regardless of how I’m feeling or what I’ve achieved. And this overreliance on a piece of tech strapped to my wrist feels key to the negative habits I seem to have formed. So what can I do about it?

How to push back

If wearables have the potential to form negative habits, what can we do to put things right? The answer is often remarkably simple, both McKay and Wei believe: take your watch off from time to time.

“There is no need to wear your device while on vacation unless a health practitioner recommends it,” McKay advised. If your relationship with your fitness tracker has become a problem, “start by turning all the notifications off, limit checking of goals to help reduce obsession, and consider not using the device at all if possible.”

You also need to understand why you are using the device in the first place, Wei contends. “Is it to be more active? To understand sleep? To monitor a specific health concern? Or simply to be more aware of daily patterns? Having a purpose makes it easier to keep the technology in perspective.”

“I would also encourage people to treat wearable data as guidance, not judgement,” said Wei. “These devices can be useful, but they are not perfect and they do not understand the full context of a person’s life. Illness, stress, caring responsibilities, disability, travel, recovery, or simply needing rest can all affect what a ‘good’ day looks like.”

And both McKay and Wei said that if your device is causing significant anxiety or obsessive behavior, it might be best to speak to a medical professional. As Wei put it, “The aim should be for the wearable to support the person, not control how they feel about themselves.”

But this has to go beyond the user’s own actions — wearables themselves should be designed to better support healthy habits and discourage negative ones. For McKay, that includes “allowing people who use trackers to set the number of notifications they get” and hide those they don’t want to see, as well as “removing gamification elements like badges and sharing (competing) with friends and family.”

Many of these features, like push notification controls, are already buried in the watch's settings, but a lot of smartwatch users don't go looking for them.

“I think we need to move from a data-driven relationship with wearables to a more reflective and human-centered one,” Wei added. That means designers should “move away from purely addictive or performance-based features” and towards focusing on “long-term wellbeing rather than daily judgement.”

Ultimately, Wei said, “I think the best wearable technologies will be those that help people feel more confident and informed, not more anxious or dependent.”

I can’t change how Apple designs its smartwatches, but I can reduce the pressure on myself to hit my goals day after day, even when my body is telling me to rest. Staying fit and healthy is a worthwhile pursuit, but when it comes at the cost of anxiously worrying what will happen if your streak ends, it might just be time to bite the bullet, take off the watch, and enjoy some tech-free time with friends and family. After all, losing a streak is not the end of the world.

Apple's long-rumored product leasing program, which it calls unironically "Apple Upgrade," is finally here, and it looks like a low-cost way to slide into the Apple ecosystem whether on the shiny surface of a gleaming iPhone 17 Pro, a Snoopy-faced Apple Watch, a clamshell Apple Silicon Mac, or an ultra-slim iPad Pro.

With no upfront fee and monthly charges as low as $11.99 a month (it's only available in the US for now), your new Apple Watch might cost you far less than your daily Starbucks mocha latte.

Honestly, this sounds like a great program, especially when you can snap up a powerful MacBook Pro for as little as $38.99 a month. Naturally, most people might be looking at the Upgrade program, a leasing program actually run by Klarna, for their next iPhone and probably the popular iPhone 17 Pro Max, which starts at $34.99 a month. Still, when I asked on a pair of social media platforms (X and Threads) if people would be leasing their next iPhone, the sentiment was decidedly negative.

On Threads and with 199 votes in, 80% said no. On X, with 105 votes, 78% said nah. I was surprised, but some of the responses to my anecdotal polls offered a little insight.

One thing a few talked about was ownership. Apple Upgrade works like most other lease programs, which means ownership is not really a thing. Here are the highlights:

• You have to qualify for the program (might be a credit check)
• You pay a fixed fee for 12, 24, or 36 months
• You're not paying off the cost of the phone
• At the end of the lease term, you own nothing
• You can return the phone
• You can turn it in for an upgrade and continue paying
• A better device (upgrading from an iPhone 17 to an iPhone 17 Pro Max) will increase your monthly fee
• You can buy the leased device at the end of the lease term (it's the full price minus whatever you've paid thus far via the lease program)

Virtually every part of this resembles a typical lease program you might have with an automobile.

"I have an Apple Card for a reason… I like being able to pay it off whenever and ACTUALLY own the thing," wrote brianniesniak on Threads.

The ownership argument is the sole reason I've never leased a car. I always buy them with a substantial down payment and then pay the rest off. Of course, I tend to hold onto my cars for a decade or more. In the world of technology, like smartphones, laptops, watches, and tablets, technical advances are so rapid that it rarely makes sense to hold onto them for that long.

On the other hand, there are people who own their tech for extraordinarily long times and only upgrade when companies like Apple, Microsoft, or a necessary third-party application force them to through lack of support. These days, many companies, including Samsung and Google, tout years of OS and security updates, but in a world of leases, none of that really matters. Every two years, you could have a new device; it will always have the latest software and security protections.

Access for all

"If you can’t buy it, you can’t afford it," argues Mrmarchall on Threads. I mean, isn't that the whole point of credit and lease programs? They throw open the doors of access to these products to those who don't have the funds to cover full purchase. Yes, there is the risk of someone who unexpectedly is unable to afford the lease, and then, if they try to leave the program, they're still on the hook for the remainder of the program (they leave at 3 months and still have to pay 21 months).

Even though most in my poll respondents were anti-lease, some saw the obvious benefits. "People who picked no, you seriously have $1000 laying around?" wrote Ajvizz on Threads.

"Yeah, probably. I can't personally think of any negatives in my situation," surmised Dilpickle1 on Threads.

Others on X pointed to the excellent option of refurbished iPhones, which offer access to pre-owned iPhones (sometimes higher-end models) at far more reasonable prices. And you get the added benefit of true ownership, if that's your thing.

The endless age of subscriptions

Apple Upgrade's inherent lack of ownership and never-ending payments because you're in an endless upgrade cycle does raise some concerns and correlates to an unfortunate and rapidly growing trend.

"It is absolutely crazy that we have entered the era of leased consumer electronics. "Everything is a subscription!" should not be the new normal," wrote Tech Journalist Matthew Keys on X.

I had to agree. Last year I wrote about tech services subscription culture and how companies are now often placing key features behind subscription paywalls. At least in this instance, you're getting the whole device and all its capabilities. The lease only equates to a subscription in that there's an assumption you will jump from one leased device to another, hence the name "Apple Upgrade".

If I were asked, I think I'd look more positively on Apple Upgrade.

Smartphones, laptops, smart watches, desktop computers, and tablets are, in some ways, a fact of life. No one leaves home without a phone in their pocket. Frustration over aging iPhones that can't support the latest OS or whose battery life ends faster than a summer vacation is all too real. The knowledge that with a relatively affordable monthly payment, you're guaranteed a better phone in 24 months might be a relief.

It's an irrefutable fact that as soon as you unbox your shiny new iPhone, it's worth less than it was seconds before. Those who buy cars know that depreciation, which begins the moment you drive it off the lot, is real. It's no different with consumer electronics. Maybe ownership isn't all it's cracked up to be. So what if joining Apple Upgrade means, for the next 24 months, Apple kind of owns you?

Having spent decades covering Apple, I understand and respect its efforts to maintain a shroud of secrecy over its product development. Reading this line in the blockbuster Apple vs OpenAI lawsuit, I can hear the voices of countless Apple execs and PR people who, rightly or not, feel deeply wronged by what it considered a trusted partner: "OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets."

Late last week, Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and, more specifically, a pair of key employees who, over the last two years, left Apple to join OpenAI's hardware business. The massive filing, which calls for a jury trial, accuses the pair of corporate espionage, essentially stealing a raft of trade secrets to help bolster OpenAI's still unrealized efforts to build AI hardware (it's currently working with Jony Ive to build what may eventually become a wearable device).

I've spent some time poring over the documents and, to be honest, the accusations are stunning and, if true, seem unaccountably brazen for people who spent years with the Cupertino tech giant.

From the inside out

Tang Yew Tan, who currently serves as OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer, was at Apple for a quarter of a century and, according to his own LinkedIn profile, "Oversaw the design and development of iPhone and Apple Watch Product Design, Interconnects Design, Acoustics and Materials technology centers."

Chang Liu (whose LinkedIn handle is "changliu-apple") spent almost a decade as an iPhone Electrical Engineer.

Apple's NDA's that they hand to journalists like me are almost legendary (the first time I signed one, I swear my hands were shaking). I can only imagine the intensity of the Intellectual property agreements (IPAs) Apple says it asks employees to sign from time to time. The language is probably appropriately terrifying; it's hard to conceive of how Liu and Tan could ignore them, and yet, according to the lawsuit, that's exactly what the pair did both during their waning days at Apple and in the time after when they joined OpenAI.

OpenAI's only public response so far has been from its Director of Strategic Communications Drew Pusateri, who said on X, "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere."

The company's co-founder and CEO Sam Altman also only obliquely referenced it on X when someone accused him of being afraid of Apple. He wrote, "I am not afraid of Apple, but I have tremendous respect for them. s-tier company." ("S-Tier" basically means "elite").

I won't ask you to read the full document and instead have cherry-picked the most eye-watering accusations:

A potentially sneaky exit

When Liu left Apple, he allegedly took his work laptop with him. If you've ever worked in a corporate environment, you know this is a no-no. Most companies will pursue you to the ends of the earth to retrieve that hardware and whatever corporate access and secrets it contains.

It gets worse

Lui apparently didn't shelve the old (we assume) MacBook. Instead, he, according to Apple, exploited a network vulnerability and used the system to access Apple network folders. If true, that's an incredibly bold move. Surely Liu would've known how Apple's internal forensics could discover what was accessed by whom and when.

Boasting

While allegedly downloading Apple's proprietary files (details on unreleased products, presentations, tech data, specs, and more), Liu may have messaged someone through the Apple-issued laptop, celebrating how he was pulling the wool over Apple's eyes with "LOL" and "so funny". Again, was Liu the most careless corporate spy ever? Who would boast when they know Apple would eventually stumble on these details?

Coaching recruits

Apple claims Liu was actually recruiting Apple employees and coaching them on how to gather data before leaving the company. He may have told them how to email themselves files before exiting Apple.

Now, I understand how some of your, say, personal data, can end up intertwined with corporate data and you may want to hold onto some of that. On the other hand, if you didn't keep a firm line between work and personal files, that's on you.

A real betrayal

Tang Yew Tan spent 25 years with Apple, and what he's being accused of has surely enraged and disappointed Apple. "Mr. Tan has been methodically using Apple’s confidential information to benefit OpenAI," claims Apple.

Like Lui and other Apple recruits, Tan may have emailed himself proprietary Apple info.

Using Apple codenames

Apple claims Tan is asking Apple recruits about upcoming projects using code names only Apple employees would know.

We have their OK

This one is kind of mind-blowing. Apple alleges that OpenAI has used Apple info to get a partner to apply a "specific trade-secret metal finishing technique," because they convinced the partner Apple was OK with them doing so.

Carry out

This last one might be the boldest move of all. Apple alleges that OpenAI instructed potential Apple recruits to bring everything from CAD files to actual prototypes or parts to OpenAI interviews.

That's a particularly stunning accusation, and again, just seems so reckless. What kind of corporate spies operate with this level of impunity?

Naturally, OpenAI will, at some point, respond properly to this lawsuit, perhaps with one of their own. Apple could also eventually settle this suit out of court. They've done so before with similar cases, though I don't think they were quite at this level.

Can they come back from this?

Whatever happens with this case, it's hard to imagine the Apple / OpenAI relationship, which is already somewhat fraught, survives.

For now, you can explicitly choose to use ChatGPT to handle requests in the new Siri in iOS 27 dev beta, and it's a key part of Image Playground and Visual Intelligence. Apple could pull those options and lean harder into its Google Gemini foundation Model partnership while this case works its way through the courts.

I don't think that will materially impact your iPhone experience, but the loss of direct access to those hundreds of millions of iPhone customers could hurt OpenAI, a company that, as Apple acknowledges, is trying to build its own hardware business.

Plus, if OpenAI loses, it could see a lot of the in-house hardware innovation potentially tied to Apple's work blocked from ever reaching consumer hands.

And, obviously, it'll be hard for the partnership to come back from this passage in the suit:

"Apple lacks visibility into what’s been happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership. This much is clear, however: at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information."

Your smartwatch is probably not the first bit of festival kit you pack. Tent, charger, waterproof jacket, earplugs, decanted booze, possibly a slightly optimistic number of outfits – all of those usually come first.

Still, the right watch and some tweaked settings can make a big difference once you’re through the gates.

A smartwatch can help you pay for food without digging out your phone, find your way back to your tent, track down a missing device, contact help in an emergency, and keep basic features running long after your phone is dead.

The slight catch is that most of this needs setting up before you arrive. Patchy signal, crowded fields, low battery, and tiny on-watch menus are a poor combination when you’re trying to fix something in the moment.

So before you head to your next festival, spend a few minutes getting your watch ready. These are the five settings and features I’d check first.

Download offline maps and save locations

A festival map in the official app is useful, but it won’t help much if your phone battery is limping along or the signal has vanished at exactly the wrong moment. Your smartwatch can give you a small but handy backup.

On Apple Watch, you can sync offline Apple Maps from your iPhone to your watch, so saved areas are still available when your phone isn’t nearby. Wear OS watches, including Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch models, can also use offline Google Maps, provided you download the relevant area before you leave. Some Garmin users may have a proper mapping setup, depending whether your model has full-color maps such as the Garmin Fenix 8.

The best move is to save more than just the festival site. Download the surrounding town, the route to your accommodation, the nearest station, and any pick-up or drop-off points you might use at the end of the night.

If your watch lets you save favorite locations, mark your tent, your car, or a meeting spot with friends as soon as you arrive. For example, you could set your tent up as a Waypoint if you're using an Apple Watch, and always know the direction via the Compass complication.

Yes, this sounds a bit boring, but you'll be glad of the simple directions when you're stumbling back in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Set up contactless payments and travel cards

Festival bars and food stalls are not the place to discover your watch wallet is still half set up. Add your usual payment card before you leave, then test it somewhere first, like your local coffee shop.

Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, and Garmin Pay can all turn a compatible smartwatch into a wrist-based payment card, though support varies by watch, bank, country, and card provider.

Add a backup card if you can, especially if you’re travelling abroad, and check whether your watch can handle transport cards, IDs, or passes for the journey to and from the site. This is still a backup, rather than a reason to leave everything else behind. A physical card and a bit of cash are worth keeping somewhere safe, because small vendors, patchy terminals, and dead batteries still exist.

But once your watch payments are ready, you’ve got one fewer reason to pull your phone out in a crowd. In the UK, most festivals are now completely cash-less, so you could feasibly do a whole weekend paying only with your wrist.

Turn on Find My and other alerts

A festival is basically a stress test for your phone, earbuds, keys, and bag.

You’re moving between stages, sitting on the grass, squeezing through crowds, and handing things between friends, so it’s very easy for something to end up in the wrong pocket or under a camping chair.

Before you go, make sure Apple’s Find My, Google’s Find Hub, or Samsung’s SmartThings Find is properly enabled for the devices you’re taking.

On an Apple Watch, for example, you can ping your iPhone from your wrist, check the location of devices, and use left-behind alerts for some items.

Android users can get similar help through Google or Samsung’s tracking tools, depending on their phone and watch setup.

This is also where trackers earn their keep. An AirTag or similar tracker on your keys, bag, or tent pouch can be a lot less annoying than retracing your steps through a field at midnight.

It still pays to be realistic – location tools can struggle in dense crowds or low-signal areas – but switching them on before the chaos starts gives you a much better chance of finding things quickly.

Configure SOS, Medical ID, and satellite safety features carefully

Smartwatch safety features are easy to ignore until you need them, so take a few minutes to set them up before you leave. Add your emergency contacts, fill in your Medical ID or health information, and learn the shortcut for Emergency SOS on your watch.

If you’re using a newer Apple Watch Ultra or Pixel Watch with satellite SOS support, it’s also worth checking how the feature works before you’re somewhere with no signal.

The slightly awkward festival wrinkle is that watches can sometimes get a bit overexcited. Fall detection, crash detection, or collision alerts are useful in the right situation, but a mosh pit, packed crowd, or particularly enthusiastic dance tent can look dramatic to a wrist sensor. For most people, the sensible setup is: keep Emergency SOS, Medical ID, and emergency contacts ready, then learn how to cancel a false alert if one starts.

If you know you’re heading into a big crowd, consider temporarily switching off crash or collision detection. Your watch should be a safety net, not the reason you accidentally phone the emergency services during a guitar solo.

Learn to enable a battery-saving festival mode

A smartwatch is only useful if it still has charge when you need it, so give yourself a battery setup before the day gets going. Turn on Low Power Mode or Battery Saver earlier than you think you need to, especially if you’re using GPS and mobile data.

The display is usually the easiest win. Always-On Display looks great, but it’s not essential when you’re trying to stretch a watch through a long festival day. Auto-brightness can help outdoors, while Theater Mode, Sleep Mode, or a low manual brightness setting can stop the screen lighting up constantly at night.

For multi-day festivals, pack the smallest charger or power bank that works with your watch, then make charging part of the routine rather than a panic job.

A quick top-up while you shower can keep the useful stuff running without turning your watch into another thing to worry about.

I’m under no illusions that John Ternus’ Apple will be the exactly same as it has been under Tim Cook. Initially though, there will be few, if any, changes. Ternus is not an outsider with wild anti-Apple ideas intended to wake a sleeping giant. He's been here for decades, through all the major releases that made Apple, well, Apple. Claims that he's arriving in September to revive Apple's design excellence are, if not off base, then just wrong-headed.

First of all, the argument presupposes that there is something fundamentally lacking in Apple's Industrial design: Jony Ive was obviously lighting in a bottle, and current design lead Molly Anderson is a pale, albeit also British, imitation. (Granted, Anderson has not been in the position that long, taking over from Evans Hankey, who left in 2023.)

But accepting that presumption is to ignore all the beautifully designed products that have arrived under Cook's leadership, with and without Ive, and also often under the watchful eyes of Ternus.

Remember the Pro — oh

But since Ive's skills as a designer are so vaunted, let's start with a failure. Perhaps you remember the Mac Pro. No, not the cheese-grater design unveiled in 2023. While that had its detractors, it was miles above the trashcan design unveiled in 2013.

It was the ultimate expression (at least in PC terms) of Ive's "form meets function" obsession. The internal structure was sort of a triangle of boards that seemed perfectly wrong for a squat, circular enclosure. Ive's fingerprints were all over the impractical system, one that Craig Federighi later admitted to me (during a mea culpa meeting on the Pro) had boxed Apple into a thermal corner. It was hard to upgrade and was roundly rejected by pro system users.

Ive was also responsible for the Apple Pencil. With it, his penchant for skeuomorphism extended from app design into the physical world. The Apple Pencil fully resembled a white plastic version of a real, pencil, and to accommodate that, it had, under a custom cover, a hidden Lightning charging plug. You even needed a special adaptor to charge it. Later, wirelessly charging Apple Pencils, which I think Ive also designed, fixed this mess.

Naturally, Ive's hits far outweighed his misses, and many big ones came during the Cook-Ive collaboration period, including the iPad Air, the Apple Watch, and AirPods (which started awkwardly but gradually improved).

The more divisive Apple Vision Pro was likely designed under Hankey and Anderson's watchful eye. I do think it's a pleasant intersection between the needs of extremely high-end innovation and aesthetic appeal. Goggles will be goggles, after all.

Even iPhone design has remained, if not excellent, interesting.

The iPhone is still beautiful...discuss

When Apple introduced the first iPhone in 2007, there really was no other handset quite like it. Apple set the bar and, over the years, every other manufacturer followed. It became harder and harder for Apple to differentiate its metal and glass slab from its competitors. The ever-larger camera arrays have provided a sort of design challenge and an opportunity at the same time. Hankey and Anderson, at least, came up with a giant island that's quite recognizable from a distance. And let's not discount color. The orange was a stroke of genius and the new MacBook Neo's playful Blush and Citrus colors are lively, proving Anderson knows how to marry form with expression.

Ternus' role as hardware lead means he's been seeing these designs for years. My sense in sitting down with him after the launch of the iPhone Air is that he is intimately involved with the process of shoving all that technology into ever-thinner, but shockingly strong frames. He gets that you need to marry engineering skills with industrial design to get a durable and usable product that's still attractive.

When I think about what Ternus will do when he finally takes over in September, I am reminded of relay race runners. Cook continues to pace around the track while slowly holding out the baton behind him. Ternus is nearby, running just behind Cook with one hand outstretched. Neither man will stop. The handoff will happen in a few months, with everything still in motion.

The process of finishing the rumored iPhone Ultra (the folding phone) continues as we speak, and Ternus is not going to suddenly pull a Steve Jobs and throw the design into a fish tank, to see if bubbles rise, thus proving they could make it smaller. He won't demand that all plastic be replaced with glass, or even that one more color be added to the mix.

When, as the recent Bloomberg report claims, Ternus said of Apple's design history and appeal to customers, "We’re going to make sure that stays the case,” he's not talking about making huge changes to achieve that goal.

Ternus will stay the course and support Anderson. He may hire more design support and, down the line, Ternus will look for his signature initiative or product; he will want to have his own iPhone or iPod. But that's a natural inclination for any incoming CEO. Job one, though, is staying the course, shepherding the in-the-pipeline products to market and ensuring that Apple remains Apple.

I think Ternus knows exactly how to do that.

Last week, Apple unveiled Siri AI across all its devices at its annual WWDC event. While much time was given to how you'll be able to use Apple's new virtual assistant on iPhone, iPad and Mac, the Apple Watch was overlooked — despite the fact that, according to Apple, it's "the most convenient way to interact with Siri" more often than not.

That quote comes from Apple's own David Clark, senior director of watchOS software engineering. I had the opportunity to ask Clark, as well as Cait Dooley, Apple Watch and Health Product Marketing Manager, about how they see Apple Watch users interacting with Siri AI on their wrists.

Clark said one of the goals of watchOS 27 was "to expand the intelligence story on Apple Watch and make it a true co-partner to Apple Intelligence". It's doing so by being a first point of contact, as a wearable is a convenient place to house a microphone for asking Siri questions.

"We really wanted to make sure the Siri experience is a singular and consistent experience, whether I decide to ask Siri on my wrist a question, or whether I have my phone in my hand and I decide to interact with Siri there. We really wanted to feel like it’s one Siri, that has access to your data and is able to personalise it in a consistent way.

"One of the things that Apple Watch brings to the picture is the fact that it’s on your wrist all day, [so] oftentimes it’s the most convenient way to interact with Siri. You can imagine you’re on the go, your hands are full, you have that quick question for Siri and you can interact with Apple Watch. Of course, with the new Siri app, if you want to continue that conversation or go more deeply into some topic you’re interested in, later on you can pull out your phone and pick up right where you left off.”

Clark gives me an example of a grocery list in a store: with hands full, he's able to ask Siri on Watch for the ingredients he needs for a particular recipe. When he gets a moment, he can then open his phone to view that ingredients list in an easier-to-read way. "Working together is that superpower," he says, "and having it all being consistently driven by your data."

The elephant in the room: watchOS 27 and compatibility

As the announcements were rolling out, however, there was a pall over watchOS 27 as it was announced that five older models — the Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, the SE 2 and even the original Apple Watch Ultra — won't get watchOS 27, and so won't get the new Siri AI features. They'll only receive basic security support going forward.

I asked the watchOS team exactly why so many watch users have been left high-and-dry.

"With every software release across every single one of our platforms, we always want to ensure that you have the best experience, so we make power and performance a priority," said Dooley.

"The great new features in watchOS, including the capabilities of SIri AI and the new tap gesture, work best with the processing power that is in Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Ultra 2 and later, and SE 3. Older devices can still be paired with iPhones that are running the latest software and continue to receive security updates, so they can continue to have a great Apple Watch experience."

So while you'll be able to use older your watch with iPhones running Siri AI-powered software, you won't be able to access the new and smarter assistant on your watch. Although Dooley and Clark wouldn't confirm this is the case, it's likely only Apple Watches running Apple's powerful S9 and S10 chips can handle the technical demands of Siri AI.

• Apple’s Walkie Talkie feature seems to be missing from watchOS 27
• It lets you chat to a companion via your Apple Watch
• Users have reported it’s nowhere to be seen in the first watchOS 27 beta

When Apple announces new software, as it did at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8, the usual procedure is that the company adds new features. But this time, eagle-eyed sleuths have noticed that an enjoyable feature has been removed from watchOS 27 — and there’s no indication that it’s coming back.

The feature in question is called Walkie Talkie, and it lets you raise your wrist and chat with another connected Apple Watch user. It’s a fun little way to communicate with other people and can be especially entertaining for younger children.

Yet it appears that Walkie Talkie is entirely absent from the watchOS 27 developer beta that Apple recently released. Although Apple hasn’t made any official announcement on this topic, Walkie Talkie appears to be missing from the first watchOS 27 beta.

Users have taken to social media to voice their disappointment, with user ra4oasis lamenting: “Well that sucks. My son and I use it all the time.” User Loupetron_Primal, meanwhile, explained the usefulness of the feature: “My best friend and I live in a split-level apartment. He’s upstairs and I’m downstairs. We’ve used this feature for years instead of shouting.”

A sadly neglected feature

While I can’t say that I’ve been a frequent user of Walkie Talkie, it’s had its moments over the years that I’ve owned an Apple Watch. It’s a great retro throwback and has genuine utility for those times when you don’t need a full-on phone call or text conversation.

Yet Apple has barely given it a second glance since launching Walkie Talkie in 2018. It’s had no significant updates in the years since, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that many Apple Watch users don’t even know it exists. That suggests this could be a deliberate app retirement from Apple rather than a mistake or oversight.

As well as that, Walkie Talkie has been the subject of complaints and criticism over its occasional unreliability. On Reddit, for example, user nate390 argued that it was always a little flawed: “It was a really nice idea, but in my experience, it didn’t work well. Well, it did when both parties were on cellular, but not so much when one or other end was connected to an iPhone via Bluetooth.” With that in mind, perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised to see it fail to make the cut in watchOS 27.

Still, it’s disappointing that this feature has apparently been removed entirely — perhaps Apple felt it wasn’t worth the effort to fix it up. While there’s a small chance that Apple could change course before watchOS 27 launches to the public in the fall, don’t bet the farm on it.

Today's WWDC 2026 conference has given Apple fans something they've craved for years: a powerful, agentic version of Siri, with its own dedicated app. The new Siri AI is designed to work across the entire suite of Apple tools, from powerful Macs to the smallest watch. But the AI health features we did see were lacking compared to Google's.

One of last year's headline Apple Watch features, Workout Buddy, has been improved: users can now get guidance and encouragement in their ears during exercise while just wearing a watch, and they don't need to bring their phone, as they did in watchOS 26. Plus, new insights, such as heart rate zones, will be built in.

Other expanded health and fitness features include the inclusion of menopausal and perimenopausal conditions in cycle tracking (a significant and helpful addition for many women) and improved accuracy of treadmill metrics. Siri AI's health capabilities were also shown off on the watch, using its ability to look for healthy recipes and describe stretching routines based on its broad intelligence.

However, despite rumors saying an AI model specifically dedicated to health and fitness was in the works, nothing materialized this year. Which is a shame, as I've already been using the Google Fitbit Air and its accompanying AI health coach, and I've seen how powerful such a feature can be.

Watch: Marques Brownlee gives his verdict on Siri AI

Despite existing Fitbit fans bemoaning their loss of community features, I ended up liking Google's Health Coach. Unlike the Apple Watch, the Google Fitbit Air is screenless, with all chatbot interaction taking place on the phone in the Google Health app.

To be honest, this works well: if you're going to read reams of text about stretching or your metrics, you want to do it on a proper 6-inch screen oriented specifically for readability, not a 1.9-inch squircle as was demonstrated in Apple's keynote speech.

What's more, the Google Health Coach works with its own library of Fitbit workout and meditation content, allowing you to custom-build workouts just by asking the chatbot, and getting demonstrable, video instruction rather than just a block of text. It also takes your illness or injuries into account, as I found out when I got sick, and the Coach changed my workout plan to recommend rest days and shorter runs.

Apple already has a vast library of fitness content through its premium Apple Fitness+ service, and I expected a health coaching feature to be rolled into that subscription as part of the Siri AI revamp. Maybe that's a feature we're more likely to see at WWDC 2027. But its absence wasn't quite as much of an own goal as Apple's decision to only roll out watchOS 27 to a handful of modern watches.

UPDATE 09/06: This article has been updated to reflect that the Apple Watch Series 9, which was originally missing from Apple's list of watches compatible with watchOS 27, has now been added.

Another WWDC, another set of operating systems. This year's WWDC 2026 keynote has been chock-full of highly-advanced AI-powered features, led by a revamped Siri AI designed to work across the whole Apple ecosystem — but these advanced features need devices capable of running them.

Because Apple updates its software each year, users of older versions of the best iPhones, MacBooks and, of course, the best Apple Watches worry their old technology may not get the new update, and thus official support for it would end.

Although there was no mention of compatibility in this year's keynote speech, the official Apple website confirms it that five watches that support watchOS 26 won't be able to make the upgrade to watchOS 27 — presumably because those models can't handle the new Siri AI.

Here are the watches that will still be supported when watchOS 27 lands later this year:

Which watches will get watchOS 27?

The full list of compatible models are as follows:

• Apple Watch Series 9
• Apple Watch Series 10
• Apple Watch Series 11
• Apple Watch Ultra 2
• Apple Watch Ultra 3
• Apple Watch SE 3

These are the recent models without support for watchOS 27:

• Apple Watch Series 6
• Apple Watch Series 7
• Apple Watch Series 8
• Apple Watch Ultra
• Apple Watch SE 2

The Apple Watch Series' 6, 7, and 8 do not appear on Apple's list of compatible devices. Users running those watches can only expect to receive basic security and maintenance upgrades in the future.

The first-generation Apple Watch Ultra — which is only four years old and was, let's remember, quite a premium product — and Apple Watch SE 2 are also included in this list.

This will be a blow to so many users. Traditionally, Apple has ended support for watches after six or so years, not three or four — to place this in context, last year's watchOS 26 supported Apple Watch Series 6, which was originally released in 2020.

First-generation Apple Watch Ultra users will also be incredibly irate — spending $799 / £849 / AU$1229 on a watch that was only supported for four years will be seen as a very predatory move by Apple, and may drive some customers away to competitors such as Garmin. After an exciting WWDC speech for AI fans, this news will leave a sour taste.

All the above watches' core features will still work, although users will run into problems as the watches reach the end of their lives. For example, you may be unable to update apps which are designed to work with the latest software features.

Series 9 is now the oldest watch to receive new versions of watchOS.

How to download the watchOS 27 beta

If you do have a supported watch and can't wait until September to try out all the new features, you can sign up to beta test Apple's latest OS. To do so, you'll need to enrol in Apple's beta program, which you can do either on Apple's developer portal here for the developer beta, or wait until the public beta next month, which most users will want to do. Remember to always back up your devices before doing so.

On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates, , and action the software update when available.

Once the update is installed, you can go to the Watch app on your phone and use a similar pathway: My Watch > General > Software Update > Beta updates, enter your passcode and away you go.

Apple is not on its back foot, but there's no question that it's under intense pressure to deliver a razzle-dazzle WWDC 2026 keynote on June 8 at 10AM PT.

It's been tradition over the past four or five years of quick in-person opening remarks before Tim Cook cedes the stage to a series of pre-recorded videos, but that may not cut it. It has to, for instance, tell and show, in real time, the product of deep AI foundation model work that it (and partner Google) is bringing to the all-new Siri.

We've seen videos before and then waited two years for a full Apple Intelligence delivery that never came. That won't work this time. What we want is to see the all-new Siri working on an iPhone 17, demo gremlins and all.

Being that vulnerable on stage will break with recent tradition and whisk us back to the Steve Jobs era, when, without a digital net, Jobs would demonstrate new hardware and software on stage. It's true, he occasionally admonished everyone in Apple's Town Hall at One Loop to "turn off their WiFi," but we'll never forget those moments.

Give us the "Cook" moment

I also think developer and media attendees will demand more than a brief glance at the outgoing CEO. This WWDC keynote will be Cook's swan song as Apple CEO before John Ternus takes over in September, just in time for the iPhone 18 rollout.

We'll want Cook to remark about his impact on the company, a video retrospective, and maybe even some frank comments about highs and lows ("Okay, maybe we went a little too far with Liquid Glass...").

Please, Apple and Tim, let's get real here and embrace the moment in a way that, again, no one will forget.

A series of live presentations

If I had my way, the entire keynote format would be switched up so that Cook engages with each platform lead to walk through the big changes coming with iOS 27 and the rest of the "27" platforms.

The biggest chunk should be reserved for a sit-down with Tenrus, who could walk Cook through the new Siri. It will all be far more impactful than an hour or more of videos, even the humorous ones featuring Craig Federighi's hair.

The hard truth

Any time I mention the possibility of "one more thing" at a WWDC Keynote, I'm reminded that it's not a hardware event...except when it is. The trash can Mac Pro made its debut there, as did the Vision Pro.

I think it's altogether possible that this WWDC 2026 keynote could be the one where Apple gives us a surprise glimpse of the iPhone Ultra (iPhone Fold).

As I've written before, a folding, and possibly two-screen iPhone would make special demands of iOS 27, ones that I think would be hard to hide from the public as dev and public betas start rolling out throughout the summer.

I'd suggest Apple embrace the sea change and reveal that "Of course, we're working on a folding device!"

Tim Cook holding the iPhone Ultra prototype over his head as the company announces an important new entry in the iPhone lineup is quite the image. It will be a brief look, and I'm sure Apple will offer scant details, but can you imagine the excitement and satisfaction for Cook, who will not have the opportunity to do so in September when I suspect the iPhone Ultra officially launches alongside the rest of the iPhone 18 lineup.

The other possibility here is that Cook gets to preview Apple Glasses, maybe even casually walking out on stage wearing the AR spectacles and not revealing the fact until he closes the keynote. People would lose their minds.

For all the success Apple has had in 2026 (mostly thanks to the MacBook Neo), it's clear it's lagging in key areas like foldables, AR, and especially AI. Business as usual will not suffice.

So this is my call to Apple: Don't play it safe, don't prerecord those videos. Leave the comedy behind, and go for an all-live event with high stakes and real impact.

That, my friends, will be a WWDC keynote for the books.

The Google Fitbit Air is here, and early adopters are getting to grips with the new screenless fitness tracker and its AI-powered premium Google Health Coach.

I've shared my early thoughts after a few hours of testing and we've covered existing Fitbit users' disappointment and anger over some of the app changes — but how does it compare against an Apple Watch, perhaps the best-known and certainly the most commonly-spotted fitness wearable on wrists everywhere?

To find out, I went on a 10-kilometer evening run (braving the UK heatwave) with the Google Fitbit Air on one hand, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on the other. I was also wearing the Polar H10 heart rate monitor, intending to use it as a litmus test for accuracy, but the chest strap malfunctioned so I don't have any meaningful results to publish here.

I'm primarily looking at metrics such as heart rate and calories burned. Both wearables use optical heart rate sensors — LED lights that monitor blood flow on your wrist to estimate your heart rate. The estimation of calories burned combines your heart rate data with movement data and other metrics to calculate your energy expenditure.

As well as calories burned and average heart rate, I've included the results for average pace here too. I'm expecting the Apple Watch, with its built-in GPS, to be more accurate than the Fitbit Air, which is piggybacking off the GPS from my iPhone as it doesn't have any GPS capabilities itself.

It's also worth noting I have not linked Google Health and Apple Health at the time of writing, so these results are separate.

The results

Below are the results from my 10km run. Tap the 'next' tab on the graph to cycle through all three metrics.

Previous

1 / 4

Next

Average heart rate

Google Fitbit Air

158

Apple Watch Ultra 3

161

050100150200

Average heart rate Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	158
Apple Watch Ultra 3	161

Average Pace

Google Fitbit Air

5.37

Apple Watch Ultra 3

5.47

01.534.56

Average Pace Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	5.37
Apple Watch Ultra 3	5.47

Calories burned

Google Fitbit Air

773

Apple Watch Ultra 3

750

0200400600800

Calories burned Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	773
Apple Watch Ultra 3	750

Distance

Google Fitbit Air

10.43

Apple Watch Ultra 3

10.03

03.757.511.2515

Kilometers

Distance Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	10.43
Apple Watch Ultra 3	10.03

As you can see in the graphs above, both heart rate and calorie readings are quite close. The average heart rate for my workout was just a 3bpm difference between the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the Google Fitbit Air. It would have been nice to have information from my chest strap to compare this as well, but I'll try this again before my full review with a different electrical heart rate monitor.

However, on previous tests the Apple Watch Ultra 3 matched the electrical heart rate monitor exactly, indicating that the Google Fitbit Air is pretty dang accurate too.

Likewise, the calorie counts on both wearables were relatively similar, with the Google Fitbit Air exceeding the Apple Watch Ultra 3's calculation by less than 25 calories. No two wearables are going to be exactly alike here, but this is close enough that I'd feel comfortable using the Google Fitbit Air day-to-day.

Average pace is a different matter. As previously mentioned, the Google Fitbit Air has no onboard GPS of its own, and although it showed a lovely map of my route obtained via my iPhone's GPS, it also overestimated my pace and thought I was a whole 10 seconds faster per kilometer than the Apple Watch did.

I know how my paces feel — it was a hot day and I had steep declines and inclines at either end of my run, so I ran slower than my usual brisk clip. I'm far more inclined to agree with Apple's assessment than the Fitbit's pace estimation here. Apple also gave me far more detail about my run, such as stride length and vertical oscillation (how bouncy I was during the run), whereas the Google Fitbit Air collects no such information. What Fitbit does surface, however, is steps taken during the workout (9,342 to be precise), which the Apple Watch Ultra 3 doesn't.

Fitbit also massively overestimated my run at 10.43km rather than 10.03km, even though it shows exactly the same map as my Apple Watch, with an identical finishing point, as you can see below in the comparison pic. Unlike 3bpm or 23kcal, over 400 meters and 10 seconds of pace are big differences.

Apple Fitness

Google Health

Analysis

In terms of the metrics relying on the onboard heart rate monitor, the $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199 Google Fitbit Air is very accurate compared to the $799 / £749 / AU$1,399 Apple Watch Ultra 3.

I wouldn't have expected the Google Fitbit Air to be as reliable for run tracking as one of the best running watches, considering it doesn't even have GPS — as long as it's consistent for casual users, that'll be fine for most people. Anyone (like me) who cares enough to want maps, technique information like stride length, and pinpoint-accurate pace will likely gravitate towards a dedicated running watch anyway. Still, I was hoping for a smaller difference here.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has proven itself to be a very accurate wrist-based optical heart rate solution, so far superseded only by dedicated heart rate monitors. Based on this, I'm happy the Google Fitbit Air cleaves closely to this standard — although it's a shame I can't rely on GPS data harvested from my phone for more than a rough estimation.

• A new report based on 'market expectations' indicates Apple could be making some changes to its Watch Ultra series this year
• The report states a new sensor array is on the way, alongside a 'full redesign' for the Watch Ultra 4
• While new sensors could improve or add more features to Apple's already stellar health tracking, I don't believe a huge-scale redesign of the Watch Ultra is on the cards

Rumors about the Apple Watch Ultra 4 have been thin on the ground until now, but we're finally beginning to hear a few tidbits here and there. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 only launched in September last year (snagging the top spot on our best Apple Watches list), but given that the original Apple Watch Ultra only lasted a year before it was succeeded by the Watch Ultra 2, it makes sense that Apple might announce the 4 during its annual September Event this year.

The report by Digitimes (spotted via 9to5Mac) based on 'market expectations' mentions a 'significant upgrade to sensing functions' for the Ultra 4, with a redesigned sensor array expected to create a large volume of orders from its sensor supplier, Taiwan-Asia Semiconductor.

The Watch Ultra 3's heart rate sensing functionality is already superb (I've personally tested it alongside a Polar H10 chest-mounted heart rate monitor and found it almost 1-1), so a sensor upgrade is likely to focus on improving another feature. Apple has cracked hypertension, which alerts users of potential chronic high blood pressure after 30 days, and packs sensors such as blood oxygen and skin temperature to support features including sleep tracking and women's health tracking.

If a new sensor array is on the horizon, we're likely to see either an entirely new feature from Apple, or an even more accurate version of one of the features above.

A 'full redesign'?

It's the next part of the report that has me pressing 'x' to doubt. Digitimes mentions a 'full redesign' coming alongside the new sensor array, which sounds exciting, but I'm expecting any redesign to be relatively minor.

Apple tends to find a design that works and stick to it, creating a very strong brand identity — you only have to look back at the last 10 years of Apple Watches to see that. The Watch Ultra series was an enormous change (by Apple's standards), equivalent to last year's iPhone Air.

There might be a change in thickness, materials or battery efficiency, but I'm very much expecting the Watch Ultra 4 to look, at first glance, almost identical to the Watch Ultra 3. Granted, it might be marketed by Apple as a redesign, but in real terms I'm not expecting much to change.

• A report claims a new feature is coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 4
• This could measure your blood pressure using new sensors
• It’s apparently currently awaiting FDA approval

It’s safe to say that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is a fantastic fitness tracker. Not only is it the best Apple Watch money can buy, but it’s our pick for the best smartwatch on the market, period. And now, it could be about to get even better thanks to a new feature that’s reportedly just around the corner.

According to a report from DigiTimes (via Gadgets & Wearables), the Apple Watch Ultra 4 — set to be unveiled this September — will come with a new feature that can track and measure your blood pressure, giving you timely alerts if something seems to be amiss. DigiTimes believes will lead to a “sharpening [of] the device’s health-management appeal.”

Although this exact feature isn’t here yet, watchOS 26 brought a confusingly similar sounding hypertension alert tool to Apple’s smartwatch range. That uses the Apple Watch’s optical heart sensor to send notifications to your wrist, and DigiTimes states that the new blood pressure feature will work in a comparable manner.

The fact that the tool reported by DigiTimes isn’t here yet is apparently because it is currently undergoing FDA approval. That might mean it needs regulatory clearance before being added to the Apple Watch; if so, gaining that could suggest it’s a more advanced feature that relies on new hardware to provide more accurate metrics.

Many unanswered questions

The idea that this blood pressure system is linked to new hardware makes sense. Apple is rumored to be launching a major design overhaul of the Apple Watch this September, and that might go beyond a mere visual facelift and include new sensors that the blood pressure feature can take advantage of.

Still, this feature might not be as advanced as some people are hoping. Gadgets & Wearables, for instance, suggests that the platform might offer simple notifications rather than detailed systolic and diastolic numbers, implying it is “more like pattern detection than cuff-style measurement.”

Whether or not this feature comes to older Apple Watch models is unknown. Several Watch versions boast optical sensors of the kind used by Apple’s hypertension alerts, which might enable them to work with the new blood pressure tool. Alternatively, Apple may decide that it requires newer hardware found only in more recent devices. We probably won’t know until Apple unveils new Watches later this year.

Aside from this feature, DigiTimes says the Apple Watch Ultra 4 will get a “full redesign” and a ring of eight sensors on the underside of the device, presumably including the optical sensor for blood pressure detection. If you’re after a high-end wearable that looks after your heart, it could be one to watch.

• Apple has long been rumored to be planning Touch ID on Apple Watches
• These plans have been put on hold, according to leaker Instant Digital
• The leaker says Apple is more focused on improving battery life and health sensors

For some time now, we've been hearing rumors that Touch ID, possibly via the digital crown, would make its way onto the best Apple Watches. But if the latest rumors are correct, don't expect this to be announced anytime soon at this year's WWDC or Apple's September events.

Posting on Weibo (spotted via 9to5Mac), leaker Instant Digital posted that Apple's plans for the Touch ID feature are hokum. They wrote (translated from Chinese via Weibo's native service) that 'currently, claims that wearable devices like the Apple Watch will be equipped with biometric authentication are purely rumors.'

'Apple’s current strategy still prioritizes using the iPhone to unlock other devices via seamless connectivity.'

It makes a lot of sense to keep the phone as the central hub bringing all your accessories together, but I can see why a Touch ID feature could be tempting. We often hear about the ability of an LTE-capable Apple Watch to act as a 'mini phone' of sorts, keeping your contacts, messages, and wallet all close to hand — pun fully intended — when you leave your house without your phone.

Biometric security is a logical step for LTE models, but it remains a niche use case, especially since the watch already locks itself with a passcode when removed from your wrist.

However, the leaker claims Apple isn't focusing on this right now. They write: 'Apple’s current focus is on packing in larger batteries and relentlessly refining its advanced health sensors. Integrating a fingerprint sensor, at least for now, only adds unnecessary cost and directly encroaches on battery space.'

Focusing on what's important

This is music to my ears. I know Apple Watches well, as I review them every year, but I've recently switched ecosystems to Apple, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 has gone from a testing device to my daily driver.

I would previously switch between the Garmin Fenix 8 and Garmin Venu 4, so I'm used to 10 days between charges. While I love the Apple Watch Ultra series, I won't lie that the need to charge it every couple of days is my biggest annoyance. After the convenience of Garmin's enormous batteries and low power consumption, living with a shorter battery life is an adjustment.

It's great to hear Apple plans to beef up the battery further — and it's good to hear that health sensor accuracy is Apple's priority right now.

Dear Nomad Goods. I'm sorry. I was wrong for making fun of and laughing at the Universal Cable for Apple Watch when you announced it early last year.

When I first saw pictures, I sent them to friends and even family members, laughing at the idea of an Apple Watch charging puck built into a USB-C charging cable.

I mean, look at it. It just looks silly.

I still think it looks weird, but after using the Universal Cable for Apple Watch for a half dozen trips, I'm sold. Let me explain.

I'd consider myself a frequent traveler, as if I'm not hopping on a plane for a quick work trip, I'm driving a few hours away for a baseball tournament. One of the last things I pack for each overnight trek is a charging setup for everyone who's tagging along.

That usually means a wall adapter, typically with two ports, along with a USB-C cable for an iPhone and an Apple Watch Charger. I have a one-gallon plastic bag I use to store everything, so it's easy to access when it's time to hit the road. Multiply that default setup for five people, and I'm sure you can imagine the giant pile of spaghetti living inside said bag. Simply, it's a mess.

Over the years, I've tried, tested, and even reviewed several travel chargers, each one designed to streamline charging on the go. Solutions like the Mophie 3-in-1 Portable Travel Charger, which folded up nicely to fit in a backpack, or Anker's latest Prime Wireless Charging Station. Both do what they advertise, but they're bulky. In Anker's defense, that charging station isn't advertised as a traveling charger — but its overall footprint and design beg to be taken on the road.

A couple of months ago, Nomad sent me the Universal Cable for Apple Watch along with its 65W Slim Adapter to test. A few days later, I went on an overnight trip and took both gadgets with me.

My initial thoughts after unboxing the cable were that it definitely looks weird, and the end with the Apple Watch charging puck is heavier than I anticipated. The braided cable is the same as the rest of Nomad's cables, which means it's built to last. I have one of Nomad's 3-meter USB-C to USB-C cables that's been run over and chewed up by our robot vacuum more times than I can count, and it still has not a single mark on it.

Depending on your setup, you can plug the end with the Apple Watch charger into your wall adapter, leaving the standard USB-C end to plug into whatever device you're charging, which makes sense if the charger is placed horizontally on a table or desk. That arrangement allows you to charge your watch while also using and charging your phone, for example.

However, hotel outlets are almost always inconveniently placed, so I've been using it the other way — with the Apple Watch puck near my iPhone —and it works perfectly for me. I don't usually place my Apple Watch Ultra 3 on the charger until I'm either getting ready in the morning or I'm going to bed, at which point my phone is sitting on the nightstand or desk anyway.

The cable can charge at up to 100W with the appropriate wall adapter, while the Apple Watch charger can fast charge compatible models. Those included the Apple Watch Ultra 1, 2, and 3, the Series 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11, and the Apple Watch SE 3.

Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that you can also place AirPods Pro 2 or newer on the Apple Watch charger to top off the charging case. Bonus!

What I like most about the Universal Cable for Apple Watch is that it streamlines what I have to pack for myself. No longer do I need to have multiple cables, which inevitably get tangled and look like a spider's web when I take them out of my plastic baggy.

It's a single cable that can do multiple things, and for that reason, it's now a staple in my travel gear, even if it looks weird.

Right now Nomad Goods has it in stock in the 1.5-meter length – there are 0.5-meter and 3-meter sizes, but both are sold out – for $85 / £69 / AU$129, in your choice of carbide or white. Indeed, it's pricey for a charging cable, but it's not just a cable. You're paying for the additional feature of charging your Apple Watch, along with the durability that Nomad's cables offer.

Most cities and large towns — usually anywhere with a college or university presence or an outdoor sports center — have an oval 400-meter running track that's open to the public. Large cities like London have quite a few.

I've been using the best Apple Watches and testing them during running workouts for quite a few years now, but I'm not a big track runner. I like long, slow, plodding runs, and I like the change of scenery as I jog.

On the track, there's nowhere to hide, and whether you're doing 200-meter speedwork or lap after lap, the asphalt is punishing. It lays all your sins bare: no hiding poor results behind elevation, traffic stops, or the other variables that occur when running in the real world. So I rocked up to the track wearing my Apple Watch Ultra 3 with more than a little trepidation.

Thankfully, you don't have to fiddle with the Apple Watch settings to properly log your track run efforts, as Apple Watches have a couple of neat features that make track running a bit easier. Unless you're a habitual track runner, you've probably never used these, but I encourage you to find your nearest one and give them a try if you're keen to improve your running performance.

Over the past few years, Apple Watches have leveraged GPS and Apple Maps data to automatically detect when you're near an oval track. When you start an Outdoor Run workout within the vicinity of a track, the Workout app will discover the oval and prompt you to start a track workout. This is genuinely very impressive, and according to an Apple representative, "no other smartwatch has this feature". And you'd never know this feature was in there unless your workout took you past a track!

By selecting Track Workout, you'll be prompted to choose a lane by swiping over to the left-hand tile for more accurate measurement. You can adjust lanes during the course of the workout if you find yourself moving lanes for whatever reason, so you're not locked in. You can then use the segment button to mark laps or sections, such as the 200-meter mark. I was doing interval work, putting a lot of effort behind a 200-meter dash, then using the following 200 meters for recovery.

It took all the guesswork and planning out of using the track, so I could just rock up and do my thing. Apple is great at making your life easier if you use all its tech together. While its closed-loop approach to its ecosystem may be frustrating for users who don't want to invest in everything Apple, it allows all your gadgets to work more or less seamlessly.

In this case, the Apple Maps app interfaces with the Workout app to do all the legwork behind the scenes to guess your intentions — work out on a running track — in a very, dare I say it, agentic way. Having recently switched over to Apple tech in a more permanent capacity than my usual testing, I'm consistently impressed by little features like this — and it's certainly motivated me to add more track work into my training.

Why do track training?

A report from the University of Warwick said that track training, be it sprinting or longer-distance training, is a "controlled environment" that "provides an opportunity to enhance your personal performance".

The track offers the ability to precisely measure distance and pace control without variables like traffic or elevation, and the flat, consistent surface provides opportunities to work on your technique, like cadence and stride.

Running loops rather than a changing landscape requires mental resilience, a bit like the best treadmills, and running track offers an opportunity to develop this mindset too. It takes a special kind of person to run in a circle for hours.

• A ban on Apple Watch blood oxygen metrics has been overturned
• A judge has now dismissed the appeal against that decision
• Apple fans could soon see the blood oxygen feature return in full

Apple has been involved in a long-running dispute with medical tech firm Masimo over its top smartwatches, with the latter claiming that all the best Apple Watches infringe on its patents.

In December 2023, that led to an import ban for several Apple Watch models in the US, including the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Yet in a momentous move, that legal decision was recently overturned — and now a judge has declined to hear Masimo’s appeal, scoring a major victory for Apple.

Specifically, Masimo had asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to reinstate the import ban that was recently lifted against the Apple Watch models. That decision was made in March and ruled that Apple’s devices did not infringe on Masimo’s patents. But a judge at the ITC has now declined to grant Masimo’s request (via Reuters), and as a result the case has been closed.

What does that mean for you? Quite simply, it means you should soon be able to buy an Apple Watch with its blood oxygen feature enabled. If you want an Apple Watch and that kind of medical tracking is important to you, that’ll be great news.

While this latest development might appear to end the back and forth between the two companies, Masimo still has other options. It could appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, although the company hasn’t yet commented on whether it will do so. Time will tell how far it wants to go before ending the dispute.

Not over yet

The original court ruling against Apple meant that the Cupertino company was forced to disable the blood oxygen feature from all of its best Apple Watches, entirely depriving users of the ability to check their health in this key way.

Later, Apple devised a workaround whereby users could take a blood oxygen reading on their Watch and then have that statistic displayed on their iPhone, which apparently skirted around the judgment. But it was still inferior to being able to measure your blood oxygen levels and see the result on the same device.

Now that Masimo’s appeal has been rejected, however, none of that should be necessary anymore. The way has been cleared for Apple to restore its blood oxygen measurement feature to its wearables and bring back a tool that has been sorely missing from its devices.

Speaking after Masimo’s appeal was rejected, Apple said: “We thank the ITC for its decision, ​which ensures we can continue to offer this important health feature to ​our users. For more than six years, Masimo has waged a relentless legal campaign against Apple, and nearly all of its claims have been rejected.”

Yet with Masimo still being able to appeal – and with Apple appealing against a separate $634 million judgment it lost in November 2025 – we might not have seen the end of this lengthy saga.

• Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 is now available from the App Store
• The update adds Apple Watch camera controls and monitoring of iPhone footage
• New features also include support for ATEM camera controls

Blackmagic Design, the company behind the popular DaVinci Resolve editing software, has launched a big update to its Blackmagic Camera for iOS app.

Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 brings a host of new functions and features - but the highlight for me is the ability to monitor and control the camera using your Apple Watch.

It also brings ATEM camera control for anyone using their Apple device as a live studio camera.

What's new?

The Blackmagic Camera app adds camera controls and image processing, effectively giving iPhones and iPads the ability to recreate a cinematic style of a high-end film camera using mobile devices.

The newly updated companion app gives you control and monitor what the iPhone is filming directly from your Apple Watch.

Blackmagic Design says this lets users "monitor framing and audio levels, start and stop recording and adjust key settings including exposure, focus and LUTs." You can also switch lenses and control the zoom.

All useful stuff, which the company said is "perfect for situations where an iPhone is mounted out of reach or in a position where physically touching it would cause camera shake."

In a press release, Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO, said: “We really want to help everyone use their iPhones in professional productions and to come up with new ways that the iPhone can be used. The Apple Watch companion app does that because it means you can mount an iPhone anywhere and still have full control of it from your wrist.

On top of that, the app also now adds support for ATEM camera control, which allows the iPhone to be "used as a live studio camera."

Hook up the phone to the company's ProDock, and it also offers Blackmagic Focus and Zoom Demands.

Petty called this "the most exciting feature," adding that ATEM camera control support, "means you can use the iPhone as a studio camera while holding onto the tripod handles to focus and zoom. It's a real studio camera and it's a lot of fun."

You can download the free Blackmagic Camera for iOS 3.3 from the App Store by clicking here.

All the features added to version 3.3 - Patch notes via Blackmagic Design

• Camera control and monitoring with companion app for Apple Watch.
• Support for ATEM camera control with Blackmagic Camera ProDock.
• Support for Blackmagic Focus and Zoom Demands with Blackmagic Camera ProDock.
• Support for full screen portrait mode HDMI output.
• Front camera now supports portrait and landscape without rotation for iPhone 17.
• Support for ProRes RAW stabilization in iOS 26.1 and above.
• General performance and stability improvements.

I review the best smartwatches for a living. I’m a keen runner and gym-goer. I analyse my sleep and movement data. I'm the biggest smartwatch advocate you'll ever meet, and yet, every time I’m at a formal occasion or I want to look stylish, I switch it out for an analog rotary watch, because smartwatches just don’t look or scream ‘cool’ to me anymore.

I’m certainly not alone. In 2024, a bride and groom banning guests from wearing smartwatches to a wedding ceremony went viral, with commenters equally split on the decision. A post on Reddit's r/malefashionadvice board with the title ‘Anyone else feel like Apple Watches ruin outfits?’ got over 2,000 upvotes and nearly 600 comments. Respondents mostly objected to the overreaction and emphasized how useful they are for monitoring health, tracking workouts and managing notifications, but agreeing they look tacky.

One commenter said: ‘I wish we could find a sweet spot with wearable tech and not looking like a dork’.

It’s the same problem with phones: smartwatches are no longer fun now they’re everywhere and uniform — they’re utilitarian. They’re useful for tracking health (even life-saving in some circumstances) and great for fitness, but they’re another black screen, a point of engagement in a world increasingly trying to engage us non-stop, and so they’re not very stylish. .

In fact, trends are swinging the other way. Decoupling from the constant white noise of smart technology and returning to lo-fi tech has become a statement in its own right for Gen-Z, manifesting in fads for retro tech like wired earphones (cheaper, better for the planet), the sales uptick for compact cameras (a more deliberate, meaningful experience than snapping on smartphones), a rejection of streaming and a return to physical media like CDs and DVDs, and yes, analog and digital watches. Even I wrote about how much I loved the cheap old Casio F-91W way back in 2023.

To match this trend, wearable tech is evolving. Screenless ‘focus wearables’ such as the Whoop MG, Polar Loop, Amazfit Helio Strap and even the upcoming Fitbit shown off by Steph Curry are the new hotness amongst fitness people, as are the best smart rings like Oura. On the r/malefashionadvice Reddit post above, one commenter said ‘I am legitimately looking into a fitness ring like Oura so I can wear my watches and still track steps and what not’, while I’m seeing far more screenless bands in workout classes and in gyms.

On runs and during cycling, screens are still dominant as maps and mileage are very useful to check with a glance. Function beats form here, as a smartwatch is primarily a tool.

So where do smartwatches go from here? The answer is ‘not very far’. Again, like candybar-style phones, smartwatches have reached the point where they are incredibly useful, yet very boring to look at — a slab of black glass on your wrist. Yes, customisable watch faces and always-on displays certainly help, but making them exciting again by radically changing them will remain the province of fringe brands such as Pebble for the foreseeable future.

I think smartwatch wearers (and makers) have to accept the cold hard truth — they’re brilliant functional devices, but not fashionable ones. Leaning into the techy aesthetic instead of trying to make something sleek and cool is the way forward, because when it comes time to put style first, I can’t ever see myself putting on a smartwatch over an old-school analog watch.

I want to hear from you — do you think smartwatches are ugly and unstylish, or are you a big believer in cool tech? Vote in our poll and let me know in the comments below.

I’ll be honest: I’m a complete Apple Watch fanboy. I’ve been using Apple’s wearable for close to a decade, and I went from reluctant skeptic to total convert the minute I first borrowed a friend’s Watch to see what all the fuss was about. The device is, in my opinion, the best smartwatch money can buy.

That doesn’t mean it’s perfect, though. There are several aspects of Apple’s device that I’m less keen on, from the single-day battery life to the eye-watering price of its straps. And there are two Apple Watch annoyances that top my list of problems: the Wrist Flick gesture and Live Activities. Both are consistent sources of frustration in my day-to-day usage.

With Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) just around the corner, I’m hoping for some changes this summer. Here’s why these two features grate so much for me — and what I hope Apple will do to fix them.

1. Wrist Flick

When it was introduced as part of watchOS 26 in summer 2025, the Apple Watch’s Wrist Flick gesture was pitched as a quick and convenient way to dismiss notifications with one hand. All it took, Apple said, was a speedy backwards flick of the wrist and any on-screen alert would be banished, all without the need to do anything with your other hand.

Yet in practice, I’ve found this gesture to be frustratingly flaky. Sometimes it just doesn’t register my action, leaving my repeatedly rotating my wrist as the notification stays firmly in place, mocking my plaintive irritation. Other times, I’ll raise my wrist to check the alert, but my Watch interprets this action itself as a wrist flick gesture, leading to the notification being dismissed when I in fact wanted to read it.

In other words, I often find that wrist flick doesn’t work when it should and does work when it shouldn’t.

Adding to the problem is its inconsistency. Wrist Flick is not always an issue for me – indeed, sometimes it works perfectly. Most of the time, raising my wrist to check a message does not accidentally invoke the gesture. Yet occasionally it does, with watchOS maddeningly misreading my intention.

That makes it very hard to determine if I’m doing something wrong or if the gesture is just a little buggy. I can never tell when it’s going to work and when it’s not.

Despite that, I love the idea behind it. Like watchOS’s Double Tap gesture, Wrist Flick is a great addition for those times when you’ve only got one free hand and still want to be able to perform an action on your Watch. Ultimately, though, it feels like it needs a little more time in the oven.

Hopefully, Apple will fix it up at WWDC. I don’t need a full-blown wrist flick overhaul. Just a little attention to make it more consistent.

There are reports that iOS 27 – coming at WWDC – will be focused much more on performance and stability improvements rather than new features. Hopefully that applies to watchOS 27, too, with wrist flick getting a spot of much-needed love.

Live Activities

While I’m happy that my Apple Watch can forward texts from my iPhone, record my workouts and start timers on the go, much of the time I just want to use it as a regular, everyday clock. Yet there’s one feature that frequently gets in the way of this: Live Activities.

If you haven’t used Live Activities in watchOS yet, the feature basically works like an automated mini app that mirrors ongoing activities from your other Apple devices. So, if you’re playing music in Spotify on your Mac, for instance, you’ll see a little Spotify ‘now playing’ widget appear on your Apple Watch.

The idea is to give you a way to control what you’re doing on your other devices without having to be physically sat in front of them. In the Spotify example, you could pause your music from your wrist, even if you’re some distance away from your Mac.

That sounds like a pretty handy feature, and it frequently is. But my problem is with how Live Activities tend to take over your watch face – often without you even realizing.

I use an Apple Watch face with four of my favorite complications around its edge: the date, my Watch’s battery level, the temperature, and my activity rings. Tapping one of those complications brings up more detailed information. For that reason, I like to have my Watch face displaying most of the time so that I can quickly use these complications in a frictionless way.

The widgets launched by Live Activities, though, interfere with that. With a Live Activity taking over my Watch display, I have to dismiss it to get to my complications, then bring it back to get the added functionality granted by Live Activities. It’s disruptive for the way I want to work.

As well as that, Live Activities launch themselves automatically – you don’t bring them up manually. Because of that, I often forget they’re there. I’ll raise my wrist to check the time or tap a complication, only to find that the information I need is obscured by something that’s not even happening on my Apple Watch, but is instead taking place on one of my other devices. That makes it feel like my Watch has prioritized something of less importance and relevance to me.

I’m aware that I can disable Live Activities on my Apple Watch – I wrote a how-to guide on disabling the feature, in fact – but the problem is that your only options are severely limited. Essentially, you can either switch off Live Activities entirely or leave them as they are. Yes, you can disable Live Activities on a per-app basis, but you can’t really change how they work. It’s an either-or, on-off situation, with little middle ground.

I would prefer to have an option that sits somewhere between full-blown screen takeover territory and a complete absence of Live Activities. And I’ve got an idea of how that could work.

In fact, that idea comes straight from Apple in the form of Smart Stack hints. These are tiny icons that appear on your Watch when Apple thinks you might want them, such as a workout suggestion right when you’re about to start your daily 8am jog. It’s all arranged through harnessing artificial intelligence to predict what you might want to do with your Watch.

Why not take out the AI guesswork and expand these hints to Live Activities? When you start playing music on your Mac, your Watch could show a little Spotify icon at the bottom of your screen. One tap and the full Live Activity would launch. That would be a good compromise, enabling you to still get Live Activity functionality without the feature dominating your display.

Now, before you tell me this already exists, I know that there’s a toggle called Auto-Launch Live Activities buried in the Apple Watch’s Settings app, and disabling this stops Live Activities starting by themselves. But if you do this, the app that would otherwise trigger the Live Activity is restricted to a tiny icon at the top of your screen – one which I struggle to hit half the time. Smart Stack hints, on the other hand, are a touch larger and therefore much easier to press.

As well as that, the existing situation – tapping the minute icon at the top of your display – launches the full-blown Watch app. A Smart Stack hint, meanwhile, fires up a Live Activity, which often preserves important watch face information like the clock. Personally, I prefer the latter.

Making that idea a reality is something I’d love to see at WWDC. Apple has already laid the groundwork in the form of Smart Stack hints. Now it just needs to open the system up to Live Activities and tweak the feature.

And who knows, perhaps Apple will come up with something even better. For a company well known for its intuitive software, I’m sure it can rustle up something impressive. I’ll be watching with bated breath.

Apple Watches are brilliant devices, but sometimes their accessories can be a little fiddly. Straps that don’t quite suit your wrist, screens that pick up little scratches, and charging setups that feel like a nightly puzzle can all chip away at the experience, even if the watch itself is great.

The good news? You don’t need to spend big on accessories to fix the most common annoyances.

To help you get the most out of your best Apple Watch, we’ve picked a handful of genuinely affordable accessories that make your smartwatch easier to wear, tougher to live with, and simpler to keep charged.

How we picked the accessories

To compile this guide, we focused on affordable accessories that make a real day-to-day difference – better comfort, more protection, and easier charging – without feeling disposable.

Wherever possible, we used products we’ve already spent time testing, prioritising designs that are stable, travel-friendly, and straightforward.

1. Upeak Sport Strap: a spare, breathable sport strap

A spare sport strap sounds basic, but it’s one of the quickest ways to make a smartwatch feel more “daily wearable” – especially if you already train a few times a week.

When we tested budget-friendly straps like the Upeak Sport Strap, the big win was comfort: softer materials, more give, and less of that sticky feeling you can get once you’ve built up a bit of heat.

It’s also practical. A cheap, dedicated “gym strap” means you’re not constantly swapping and wiping down your nicer band, and you can rinse it after a run without worrying you’ve ruined something expensive.

Just double-check you’re buying the right connector size for your watch, and give it a quick wash now and then to keep skin irritation at bay. If you're after a variety of bands for all occasions, you can check out our best Apple Watch bands guide.

2. HAPAW Screen Protector: a tempered-glass layer for everyday scuffs

The screen is the part of your smartwatch that takes the most abuse, which makes it the main thing to protect.

When we’ve recommended Apple Watch screen protectors like the HAPAW option above, it’s largely because a simple tempered-glass layer can save you from those faint scratches that slowly causes the display to look tired.

The best part is the payoff-to-price ratio. A multi-pack usually costs less than a single replacement strap, and once it’s on, you can basically stop worrying.

Look for a protector that stays clear, doesn’t mess with touch sensitivity, and actually covers the main impact area without lifting at the edges.

3. Griffin Survivor Tactical Case: a clip-on bumper for extra protection

If your smartwatch already has a few battle scars – or you know it’s only a matter of time – a clip-on bumper case is an easy, low-cost upgrade.

When we tested rugged Apple Watch cases and protective accessories like the Survivor Tactical Case, the appeal was simple: it takes the hit so your watch doesn’t have to.

This kind of case makes the most sense for busy, hands-on days – DIY, the gym, festivals, travel, and so on.

The trade-off is a bit of extra bulk, plus the fact that dust and grit can build up underneath over time, so it’s worth popping it off for a quick clean occasionally.

4. Anker MagGo Wireless Station: A useful bedside dock for multiple devices

Charging is the one smartwatch chore you can’t ignore, and if there's any kind of pain point, it’s easy to fall out of the habit and end up running low at the worst moment.

The Anker MagGo Station 3-in-1 Stand keeps things simple by giving your watch, phone, and earbuds one place to live, so topping everything up becomes part of your routine rather than a nightly cable shuffle.

When we tested it, we found it was stable and nicely laid out for real life – you can drop devices on without having to line them up perfectly every time, making it a great fit for a bedside table or a desk, where you want charging to happen in the background.

It’s not the absolute cheapest option, but if you charge multiple devices daily, it’s the kind of accessory that quickly earns its keep.

5. Anker MagGo Station 3-in-1 Foldable Pad: a travel charger that actually earns its bag space

Travel is often a pain point for Apple Watches. The Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station 3-in-1 Foldable Pad is designed to tidy all of that up, charging your iPhone, Apple Watch, and earbuds from one compact, fold-up unit.

When we tested it, we found the clever, hinged design made it genuinely easy to pack away, and it even ships with its own power adapter and USB-C cable, so you’re not hunting for a spare plug at the last minute.

Charging speeds were strong for a foldable setup too, particularly for the Apple Watch, which is the device most people end up topping up daily on the road.

6. BIKLING Apple Watch Bike Mount – a handlebar mount that turns your watch into a mini bike computer

Cycling is one of the times a smartwatch can feel oddly awkward – your data is right there, but it’s also stuck on your wrist.

A dedicated handlebar mount like the BIKLING Apple Watch Bike Mount solves that by moving the watch onto your bars, so stats, timers, and navigation prompts (if you use them) are much easier to check mid-ride.

It’s a simple upgrade, but it can make structured rides feel less stop-start, because you’re not constantly twisting your arm to see the screen.

The watchOS 27 update is starting to appear on the horizon, but with months to go until it’s expected to be unveiled at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June this year, we still don’t know much about what’s supposedly on the way.

Despite that, though, I’m not concerned. At this stage, I’m not hoping for countless reams of new features to be added to all the best Apple Watches. In fact, there’s only one change I really want to see in watchOS 27: better battery life.

Of course, we don’t know for sure if that’s even on Apple’s roadmap at the moment, especially as the increased 24-hour battery life was such a flagship hardware feature of the Apple Watch Series 11. I sincerely hope that it is, though, because reducing the power consumption of its OS and extending the battery of all compatible watches would be such a boon to its users.

Right now, there aren’t many other things I can think of that will have as much of an impact as this would for Apple Watch users. If Apple wants to level up its watches in a substantial way, extending their battery life is one way to do it.

The one feature I really want

Looking back at watchOS 26, I struggle to pick out any new feature that I’ve found to be truly transformative since last summer. For example, Sleep Score is interesting but its real-world impact on my sleep and behavior is limited at best. Workout Buddy is far too upbeat for my taste – I got fed up and switched it off soon after testing it out.

Some features, like the new wrist flick gesture, are incredibly inconsistent and unreliable in my experience. Others, like the addition of Notes, just feel like bloat. The Apple Watch’s display is far too small for me to scroll through my notes, much less create new ones.

That’s led me to an inescapable conclusion: watchOS is mature enough now that it feels like the avenues for new innovations – especially on the software side – are narrowing. I’m sure Apple can add additional interesting features in the future, but it’s tough to dream up something truly transformative at this stage.

That’s why I don’t want to see any more fluff from Apple at WWDC. In fact, improved battery life is the only new feature I actually, truly want to be added to watchOS.

Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t say that Apple Watch battery life is actively bad right now. It gets me through an entire day and night at a time, and I just need to juice it back up first thing in the morning. But compare that to rival products and the differences are stark: the Garmin Fenix 8, for instance, lasted for 16 days on a single charge in our testing. That’s orders of magnitude better than the Apple Watch.

Things are even worse after a few years of use. My partner has my old Apple Watch Series 5, and she’s frequently frustrated by its lack of staying power. In fact, she can’t use it anywhere near as much as she wants to because it needs such frequent recharging.

Offering meaningful change in this area will have far more of an impact than some half-baked gestures and apps that no one asked for. It’s what Apple should be focusing on for WWDC.

The age of ‘all-day battery life’

Of course, there are good reasons for some of the glaring battery life differences when comparing the Apple Watch to rival devices. Looking at the Apple Watch Ultra 3, it uses a higher-quality LTPO3 OLED screen compared to the Garmin Fenix 8’s low-refresh-rate AMOLED display, while watchOS covers many more bases and offers a wider breadth of features than Garmin’s operating system. When you have a situation like that, it’s not surprising that the Apple Watch’s battery doesn’t last as long.

What’s more, any wearable watch – the Apple Watch included – is naturally going to be limited by its size. You can’t fit a massive battery in a case that’s only 49mm across at a maximum, as it is for the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t hope for better from Apple.

Thankfully, there are indications that Apple might be heading in the right direction in time for WWDC. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has said that iOS 27, for example, will largely focus on small improvements rather than new features. One upshot of that is that iOS 27 could bring with it longer battery life as a result.

However, Gurman also notes that Apple might not make a big song and dance of this, which suggests to me that the battery gains could be fairly minor. Regardless, I’m hopeful that Apple will extend its battery focus to its operating systems, resulting in better battery life as part of watchOS 27 too.

It’s all I’m really hoping for this year when it comes to the Apple Watch. Please, Apple, concentrate on the one thing that could make an outsized difference to your smartwatch customers and extend the battery life to something much more significant. The company’s much-discussed “all-day battery life” has had its day. It’s time to work towards multi-day longevity.

Since getting an Apple Watch, I don’t know how I’ve managed everyday life without one – it’s one of the best devices I own.

I have the Apple Watch SE 2, and as well as bringing everything I love about my iPhone to my wrist, I love how creative you can get with the endless selection of watch faces and multitude of wristband options, but Apple’s own can be quite pricey. That’s why I swapped out my standard silicone Apple Watch band for a $25 dupe from the brand WITHit.

For the past month, I’ve abandoned my Apple Watch band for WITHit’s Keeperless sports band to see how a knock-off compares, and I was pleasantly surprised with it. However, in between its many positives, my experience was met with a few setbacks that, on reflection, made me see that there’s a clear reason why Apple’s own watch bands have a higher price point.

Pros

I guess the biggest positive to pinpoint here is that WITHit’s silicone watch bands are much cheaper than Apple’s. Although WITHit has its own range of higher-priced Apple Watch bands, its range of silicone and nylon bands is almost half the price of Apple’s own range, starting from as little as $15. I opted for the gray Keeperless sport band, a reasonable $25 option.

Style-wise, the Keeperless band adopts a typical sports band design that’s not too dissimilar to the ones in Apple’s own range. It’s simple and not too flashy. But despite its reasonable price tag, it doesn’t sacrifice comfort, which is a relief, especially since I use my Apple Watch during mixed-intensity workouts.

I spent some time wearing the watch through different activities, and it’s satisfactory to say the least. I was a little worried that the band wouldn’t be able to endure my activity range like my previous Apple Watch strap, but during my weight-lifting sessions, running, and HIIT workouts, my watch didn’t budge or come loose. Now that I know this, I’ve pushed myself to go even harder with my workouts, so you could say it’s boosted my knack for the gym.

Overall, WITHit’s sports band ticks most of the boxes, which didn’t leave me disappointed. However, a few minor setbacks made it clear why it doesn’t quite match the quality of Apple’s own bands.

Cons

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a comfy wristband to wear, but sometimes it can feel quite tight (I definitely wouldn’t wear it during sleep). This is more noticeable when I am stationary and not moving around.

Another thing I couldn’t get past was how difficult it was to put on. Unlike legit Apple Watch bands, this one is a lot more flimsy and requires a lot more work to get it on. From my own experience with both kinds, regular Apple Watch bands are a lot more robust and smoother, meaning that they can slide through the fastener with ease. As for the WITHit band, the rubber doesn’t glide against my skin as much, and I have to force it through the hole to tuck away the excess band.

I’ve praised WITHit’s silicone band for its sporty design, and I stand by it, but with that comes a catch. Whenever I removed the band to charge my Apple Watch, I was more often than not left with several crease marks in my skin, which could be quite itchy at times when I wasn’t wearing the watch. It’s not a good look on anyone.

With all things considered, there hasn’t been a moment during my time using my wristband dupe where I’ve felt compelled to go back to my original Apple Watch band. It’s provided a decent enough experience for me to keep it on, but while its setbacks are microscopic, they do make all the difference.

Prior to my experiment, I used to scoff at the prices Apple was asking for its watch bands, but now I can see why.

• The Repod is a 'mech suit' for your old Apple Watch
• Ultra version is titanium, with a scroll wheel, but no headphone jack
• Designed to replace your smartphone

It's safe to say that the tech world maintains a healthy obsession with the 'classic' model of iPod, created back before gadgets were a smorgasbord of subscription services and addictive social apps — I personally dusted mine off and wrote about it last year, and someone made a cheap dupe of it recently, complete with Clickwheel-style controls. Another newly-unveiled piece of tech brings the iPod into the modern day, with quite a few twists.

A company simply called WGP has begun selling on Kickstarter (via Notebookcheck) a device called the RePod Ultra. The incredibly-low initial funding goal of HK$10,000 (roughly $1,200 / £940 / AU$1,820) was surpassed almost immediately, so the device is officially funded. It's due to ship in April, though never count your Kickstarter chickens before they hatch.

The RePod Ultra is essentially a 'mech suit' for an Apple Watch Ultra body. You house the wearable in a titanium frame, turning it into a pseudo-iPod, complete with a big scrolling wheel and its own side crown. It costs $159 (around £130, AU$260) and comes in silver, black or 'natural' colors, which are described as "bold" but… well, that's now how I would describe the hues.

Not the proud owner of a dust-gathering Ultra smartwatch? The Kickstarter also offers the RePod C1, designed for Apple Watches since Series 3, or Apple Watch SE models. This costs $99 (roughly £80, AU$160) and doesn't seem to be made of metal, but plastic or silicone (the listing doesn't say). So you have options if you own others of the best Apple Watches.

iPod, therefore iAm

According to WGP's posting, the RePod turns your Apple Watch into an iPod-looking ersatz phone. It can play games, do contactless payments, navigate with Apple Maps, set alarms and reminders, check your messages and, of course, stream music. Via Bluetooth, of course; this isn't a headphone jack-toting iPod.

In a way, that makes a lot of sense. The RePod offers a half-step digital detox, for people who find their phone too addicting but still want most of its features. However WGP's listing makes a few eyebrow-raising claims.

The product hinges on your owning an Apple Watch that you don't currently use. That's quite possible with the older and cheaper models, but still – I don't know about you, but if I owned the $799 Apple Watch Ultra, it probably would be on my wrist at every moment, so it could justify that eye-watering price tag. And if I had a new one, I'm not sure I'd have just left the old one gathering dust.

I'm curious to see how well the scroll wheel can be used to manipulate Watch OS, beyond moving through the main menu. WGP promises it can help with "volume adjustment, game interaction, option selection" as well, however it also says "no tapping" – old iPod owners will remember that the swipe wheel doubled as a D-pad, and I can't tell whether the RePod Ultra does the same.

The RePod was designed to add an extra lease of life to Apple Watches you no longer use, and I'm interested to see whether it'd encourage people to start using their wearable regularly again as a kind of super-advanced iPod nano, or if it'd inspire a brief resurgence in interest and then become a paperweight.

I'd certainly say I'm skeptical of the claim on the Kickstarter that "Held in your hand, Apple Watch Ultra becomes easier to manage" – the Apple Watch definitely works well as something designed for the wrist – but if it's good, this could be a great anti-e-waste device: don't throw out an old gadget you no longer wear, turn it into something else.

And it could be especially handy if your Apple Watch is no longer usable as a watch, but still works for other functions; if the heart rate scanner is busted, or the strap connector no longer holds the strap, you could use the RePod to ensure it's still handy.

This isn't the first such gadget to offer the same conversion. The TinyPod came out about a year prior, and it does just about the same thing; it turns your Apple Watch into an iPod, with the main difference being that it's a thin plastic device instead of a large titanium one. That comes in three sizes, for different models of watch, and has a Lite alternative that misses the scroll wheel.

Smartwatches in 2026 are basically mini smartphones, and in some ways, they are even more ubiquitous, given the placement on your wrist.

The funny thing is, most people still use them like a fancy pedometer: steps, a few notifications, maybe a run every so often, and then a vague sense of guilt when the rings aren’t behaving. However, the genuinely useful fitness features aren’t the most obvious ones. They’re the quieter tools hiding in health dashboards, post-workout screens, and settings menus you probably only opened once, when you first strapped the watch on, and never again.

Set up the right handful, though, and your smartwatch stops being a passive tracker and starts nudging you towards better training decisions. To help you make the most of your smartwatch and keep up with those 2026 fitness goals, I've found eight features worth digging into.

Feature 1: Training Load

Training Load (sometimes called workload) is a simple concept: your watch looks at recent workouts and visualises how hard you’ve been going, so you can see trends you’d otherwise miss.

On Apple Watch, you can view it in the Activity app’s Workload view, and scroll through the past seven days to get a quick sense of whether you’ve been steadily building, staying level, or quietly overdoing it.

The practical win is that it discourages accidental hero weeks.

You don’t need to stare at charts or micromanage your sessions, either. Just do a quick daily glance, plus a check-in after anything particularly demanding.

Feature 2: Rate your workouts

Here’s the problem with relying purely on pace and heart rate: two workouts can look identical on paper and feel completely different.

Heat, hills, poor sleep, stress, and even what you eat can shift how demanding a session feels, even if the numbers don’t scream it.

That’s why effort rating, sometimes shown as perceived exertion, is such a useful little add-on. Apple explicitly ties this into Training Load, allowing you to log how hard a workout felt so the load picture better reflects reality over time, while Garmin also has a smiley-face rating system. You don’t need to be ultra-precise, either; the trick is consistency.

If you keep the meaning of your ratings steady, even in broad strokes like easy, moderate and hard, your training history becomes far more honest.

Feature 3: Set heart-rate or pace targets

Most people use their smartwatch like a receipt: you do the workout, then you look at the stats afterwards. Targets flip that around.

There are two target styles that matter for everyday training. Heart rate targets are brilliant for easy runs that accidentally get harder, and pace targets are great for steady sessions where you want to stay inside a comfortable range.

In Fitbit’s ecosystem, which covers both Fitbit devices and Fitbit-powered Wear OS watches, zone-based guidance and workout targets are designed to keep you in the right intensity range during the session.

The trick is finding the target in the first place, because it’s often tucked inside workout settings, custom runs, or coaching options, not the default “start run” screen. Luckily, it only takes a few minutes to find and configure.

Feature 4: Use your Readiness Score

A readiness score is basically a daily tie-breaker. Instead of guessing whether you’re up for a tough session, your watch uses recovery signals to nudge you towards the right type of workout.

In Fitbit’s ecosystem, the Daily Readiness Score is designed to reflect how prepared your body is for activity, using factors like sleep, recent activity, and heart metrics such as resting heart rate and heart rate variability.

The best way to use it is as a decision tool, not a strict rule. A low score does not have to mean “do nothing”, but it is often a good prompt to swap intervals for an easy run, a walk, or mobility work.

Feature 5: Check your Vitals

Some mornings you wake up and feel off – not ill, just sluggish or strangely flat. This is where Vitals-style dashboards are genuinely useful, because they turn a vague feeling into something you can act on.

On Apple Watch, the Vitals app builds a typical range for overnight health metrics it collects while you sleep, then flags readings as outliers when they’re meaningfully above or below your norm. Garmin watches offer a Health Status digest with five key metrics, such as pulse ox and heart rate variability, as well as a Morning Report on how you slept.

If multiple metrics fall outside your typical range, you can also get a notification the next morning, alongside context for factors that can influence the results, such as medications, elevation changes, or alcohol.

It's important to note that you do not need to obsess over the numbers. The simplest, most useful habit is to treat it as a traffic-light check on mornings you feel questionable; if everything looks typical, you can train as planned.

Feature 6: Wrist temperature trends

Wrist temperature is easy to misunderstand, so it helps to set expectations upfront: it's not a “take your temperature on demand” feature, and it is not about obsessing over one reading.

The value is in night-to-night trends, which can add a useful layer of context when you’re trying to work out if you’re under-recovered, travelling poorly, or simply heading into a rough week.

On Apple Watch, wrist temperature is measured overnight and shown as a baseline with changes from baseline, rather than a single absolute number, and it can take several nights of wear to establish that personal reference point.

Feature 7: Irregular rhythm notifications

This one sits slightly to the side of pure fitness, but it’s exactly the sort of feature people forget they have.

Irregular rhythm notifications can run in the background and look for signs of an irregular heart rhythm, while ECG is usually an on-demand test where you open an app and follow the prompts.

On Apple Watch, Apple describes irregular rhythm notifications as a feature that can occasionally check your heart rhythm and send a notification if it detects an irregular rhythm that appears consistent with atrial fibrillation. Fitbit, Google Pixel, Samsung and Garmin behave the same way.

We need to stress that this is not medical equipment, and you should contact your doctor for anything serious.

If your watch supports these features, it’s worth enabling the notifications and making sure you know where the ECG app lives.

Feature 8: Use an adaptive running coach

A lot of people would run more consistently if they didn’t have to decide what to do every single time, which is why built-in coaching features can be such a win.

On Samsung’s recent Galaxy Watch line, the company's personalised Running Coach is designed to assess your running level and build a tailored plan, with the coaching experience running through Samsung Health.

Fitbit’s ecosystem also leans heavily into guided training and readiness-style prompts, which is why it tends to be a natural fit for Wear OS watches that prioritize health coaching alongside workout tracking.

Setting up a new Apple Watch in 2026 is deceptively quick – pair it, sign in, and you’re basically ready to go.

But I’ve found the default settings are designed for “everyone”, which often means too many pings, or a screen that doesn’t stay awake long enough to read.

So whenever I start fresh, I make the same handful of tweaks straight away out of the box, in a bid to personalise my Watch and avoid frustration.

You might not want every single one, but together they make the Watch calmer, clearer, and more useful from day one – without digging into niche health features or spending an hour in menus. Read on for 7 ways to make the best smartwatches even better.

Setting 1: Notifications

The very first thing I do is tame my notifications, because an Apple Watch that mirrors every iPhone alert quickly becomes exhausting in daily use.

In the iPhone Watch app, head to Notifications and work through the list, app by app. Anything that isn’t genuinely time-sensitive gets switched off on my wrist, while any essentials get customised so they’re useful at a glance.

For me, that usually means keeping Messages, WhatsApp, Calls, and FotMob (for my football fix), and being far more selective with everything else.

I really recommend doing this on day one to make the Watch immediately feel more focused and easier to live with.

Setting 2: Wake Duration

Next, I change how long the display stays on after waking. To me, the default can feel a bit stingy when you’re actually trying to read something.

On the Watch, go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Wake Duration, then choose Wake for 70 Seconds, which gives you enough time to scan a longer notification or check a timer without the screen going dark.

If you ever find yourself re-raising your wrist just to keep the Watch awake, this setting fixes it, and it's easy to change or reverse based on your preferences.

Setting 3: Return to Clock

After that, I make sure the Watch reliably returns to the watch face, instead of hanging around in whatever app I last opened.

While this might sound like a small thing, it happens fairly regularly and seemingly at the most inconvenient times, like when your hands are wet.

The setting is called Return to Clock, which you’ll find on the Watch under Settings → General → Return to Clock.

I like a fairly quick global return time, because it keeps the Watch feeling like a watch rather than a mini-phone, but I'll make exceptions when needs be, such as during workouts.

It’s a small change, but it reduces the “why am I still in this app?” feeling.

Setting 4: Live Activities

Live Activities can be genuinely handy on Apple Watch, but I don’t love them when they take over my screen and stop the Watch feeling glanceable.

On the Watch, go to Settings → Smart Stack → Live Activities, where you can control how they appear and how persistent they are. By default, Apple notes that the Smart Stack can stay open while a Live Activity is running.

I tend to dial this back so Live Activities are available when I choose to look for them, rather than acting like a semi-permanent overlay.

Setting 5: Fall Detection

This is the one feature I set up even though I’d love never to rely on it.

On a new Apple Watch, I head straight to Settings → SOS → Fall Detection (or the iPhone Watch app under Emergency SOS) and make sure it’s configured intentionally.

You can choose between Always On and a mode that only runs during workouts, so it’s worth thinking about when you’re most likely to benefit from it.

There’s also a small but important dependency Apple calls out: Wrist Detection affects what the Watch can do after a hard fall is detected.

If Wrist Detection is turned off, the Watch won’t automatically try to call emergency services in response to a fall, so make sure to enable it if you want the emergency call feature.

Setting 6: Workout-specific tweaks

If you use your Apple Watch for fitness at all, it’s worth taking a minute to check the Workout settings before you log your first session.

The big one for me is Auto-Pause, which can be helpful in theory, but frustrating in practice if it keeps stopping and starting your workout.

If you’re running in a city, for example, you might appreciate it pausing when you’re stuck at crossings. But if you’re doing intervals, circuits, or anything where your movement is stop–start by design, it can quickly become an annoyance. So you'll want to turn off Auto-Pause for any kind of interval training.

Setting 7: Sound and Haptics

The final thing I dial in is how the Watch gets my attention, because the default 'balance' tone can be a bit much in public.

On the Watch, open Settings → Sounds & Haptics, and think about what you actually need to hear versus what you just need to feel.

I usually tone down Sound and tone up Haptics so notifications stay discreet, while keeping audible alerts for moments where a tap could slip by, like alarms.

It’s a small quality-of-life change, but it makes the Watch feel more polished immediately, especially when working in public.

The Apple Watch may not have changed all that much in the last decade and change, at least from a design and hardware point of view, but the watchOS platform that powers it has undergone several major reinventions over its life cycle, usually to better match Apple’s ever-changing software design languages on its other devices.

Whether you’re using the Apple Watch to track your calories, triage your notifications, or maybe even call or message someone while your phone is on charge, watchOS is a core tenet of many users’ lives now – but it’s not always good news.

In the last 10 years that I’ve been using an Apple Watch, I’m still surprised by how some apps simply don’t take advantage of some of watchOS's best features.

Don’t skip the Dock view

I should preface this by saying I’m not naming and shaming apps here. Some developers are flying entirely solo, others have big teams, and each has its own challenges in that regard. Still, when I first began using an otherwise excellent fitness app on my Apple Watch, I was flabbergasted when it simply displayed an app version number when opening the Dock icon, with no other way to navigate except to go back to the app list and open the full version of the app. It was the kind of frustrating pain point that leads to uninstallation.

I assumed it was a bug, and then months and months later, it persisted. It’s gone now, thankfully (although not before I’d drafted this very article), but it got me thinking about the disparity between some apps on the Apple Watch.

Many do a great job of being almost as useful on your watch as they are on your phone. Spotify, for example, does a solid job of jumping between your watch and phone, along with smart TVs, games consoles, tablets, PCs, Macs, and much more. It makes sense that the user experience is just as slick on-watch as it is anywhere else.

Still, others leave plenty to be desired. Missing Dock widgets are a nuisance, although perhaps not too unexpected since Apple likes to change how the Dock is accessed, but it’s certainly a concern just how many apps aren’t very easy to reach or use when you need them. This is key when you’re poking at your wrist because your phone is out of reach.

Out of sync

Another major issue is syncing, although I’m fairly certain this is an Apple issue. My fitness app of choice (yes, the one that just displayed a back-end app version number for months) now has a very functional UI on the Apple Watch that allows me to log reps and adjust weights without reaching for my phone.

Still, sometimes I’m sat and using my phone anyway, so it’s frustrating to see the sync between the two get a little confused. For example, I might crank a weight from 20kg to 25kg on my watch, only for it to revert back on the iPhone app, or vice versa when I switch devices the other way.

When you just want things to work with minimal fuss so you can finish your set and get home, it adds up when you’re constantly deleting weights to re-add them.

More egregious is audio downloading, which I am certain is Apple’s own doing. Whether it’s podcasts or music (both through third-party apps), I find my Apple Watch almost always needs to be reset, to be be able to download audio from apps like Pocket Casts or Spotify to play without a phone.

An excellent citizen

My favorite watchOS app, though? Strava. Credit where it’s due, the orange running app is absolutely fantastic.

It makes great use of the dock, lets you instantly switch settings while running so you don’t have to take your eye off the route for more than a second or two, and the communication between phone and watch is seamless, so you can access all your routes and metrics from either device in moments.

Simply put, it's good at the basics and it's easy to use. I’ve taken to using it much more than other apps because it’s a great citizen on the Apple Watch, especially with all the recent revamps – and I wonder how many other fitness apps would see more success if they could say the same.

Inconsistent syncing, and a lack of general consensus over what to do with the dock, are all things holding third party apps back. The Apple Watch is a device millions of us use every day, but these small issues are ones that can mount up.

Apple is keen for developers to get on board with new features every time WWDC comes around, but there are other, longstanding features of the Apple Watch I’d love to see addressed in the coming months. The most-used Apple Watch apps are the ones that get the basics right.

• New research confirms that Apple Watch's heart health features can assist with clinical diagnoses
• The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, shows that using an Apple Watch could make it four times more likely to get diagnosed with atrial fibrillation
• Here's how to set your Apple Watch up to make sure it flags up an irregular heartbeat

Regular readers will know that most smartwatches, and many of the best fitness trackers, now come with an ECG functionality that can help diagnose heart health issues. Apple is leading the way on this, with the best Apple Watches now capable of flagging not just irregular heart rate rhythms, but also signs of hypertension or high blood pressure.

Despite the fact that these features are FDA certified, Apple Watches aren't certified for use in a medical setting. They're designed to alert you to a potential problem, so that you can go to a doctor and get confirmation and an official diagnosis. This is what happened to one TechRadar writer when an Apple Watch may have saved her partner's life.

Now, a recent study has confirmed that Apple Watches can indeed assist in the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, catching otherwise symptomless conditions before they strike, and might even quadruple the number of diagnoses doctors may otherwise miss before it's too late. The end result saves medical services money and time in treatment, and may even be life-saving for patients.

The research

Researchers from Amsterdam University Medical Center (UMC) studied 219 patients over the age of 65 and at "elevated stroke risk" with an Apple Watch, and 218 patients receiving standard care. In the Apple Watch group, 21 patients were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and received care, and 57% of those were showing no outward symptoms other than what was on their watch.

Just five patients were diagnosed in the control group, all of whom were symptomatic. The watches picked up four times as many people who ended up being diagnosed with the heart condition.

Cardiologist at Amsterdam UMC, Michael Winter, argued for smartwatches to be used in medical settings, claiming the savings in medical services would "offset the initial cost of the device".

"Using smartwatches with PPG and ECG functions aids doctors in diagnosing individuals unaware of their arrhythmia, thereby expediting the diagnostic process," said Winter. "Our findings suggest a potential reduction in the risk of stroke, benefiting both patients and the healthcare system by reducing costs."

How to turn on irregular heart rate rhythm notifications

Apple has published guidance on heart rate notifications, but here's how to turn them on.

• Open the Health app on your iPhone.
• Search for Heart, then tap Irregular Rhythm Notifications.
• Follow the on-screen set-up instructions.
• Switch on notifications by switching to the Apple Watch app, then My Watch > Heart > Irregular Rhythm

• Tech firm UnaliWear is suing Apple, Google, Garmin and Samsung
• At issue is the use of fall detection tech on some of the best smartwatches
• If UnaliWear wins, there could be huge ramifications for the industry

Fall detection is a key feature of many of the best smartwatches, including the Apple Watch and models from Garmin, Samsung and Google’s Fitbit. Yet its future on your device might be in jeopardy, as one company claims that all these devices have illegally copied its technology relating to trips and falls. If it prevails, the smartwatch industry could look very different.

At issue is the aforementioned fall detection tech, which wearables company UnaliWear says infringes on its patents. UnaliWear makes wearables for older adults, with these products featuring a fall detection system called RealFall that it says can distinguish between actual falls and everyday movement.

It’s that ability to differentiate real falls from false alerts that is at the core of the dispute. UnaliWear says that the wearables it has taken issue with – those from Apple, Google, Garmin and Samsung – have infringed upon its patents in order to solve a specific problem.

Right now, the case is being investigated by the US International Trade Commission, with responses expected from the affected companies by roughly the end of January. The case is expected to take over a year to complete, but it could have massive ramifications once it concludes.

For one thing, if UnaliWear is successful, it might request a limited exclusion order. This would block the import of affected smartwatches into the US, leaving the likes of Apple and Garmin unable to ship some of the most popular smartwatches to US customers. As well as that, UnaliWear has filed cases in several US district courts – if it prevails there, it could lead to massive financial penalties being handed out.

How likely is a ban?

Ultimately, it's unlikely that we'll see the likes of the Apple Watch or the Samsung Galaxy Watch banned from import into the US.

One more likely option is that the big-name players might have to license their fall detection technology from UnaliWear. Or they could create a workaround or alternative solution that does not infringe on UnaliWear’s patents, as Apple did when its blood oxygen sensor was ruled to have overstepped on patents held by medical tech firm Masimo.

Speaking of which, the Masimo case demonstrates that this is not the first time that Apple has been sued by a smaller company over the tech it uses in its Apple Watch. In the Masimo case, certain models of the Apple Watch were restricted from import into the US, which meant Apple had to disable the feature for US customers – a significant headache for the Cupertino company.

No doubt Apple – and Samsung, Google and Garmin – will want to avoid anything as drastic this time around. If you’re interested in any of these smartwatches and want to know whether you’ll still be able to buy one in the future, keep an eye on this case.

Apple continues to refine the Apple Watch with every watchOS release, and even long-time users often overlook common features that can make daily life noticeably easier.

Whether you’re wearing the Apple Watch Series 10, the newer Apple Watch Series 11, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 or the SE 3, Apple’s software hides plenty of tools that quietly boost convenience, health tracking, and navigation.

In this guide, we highlight three features that rarely get the attention they deserve, yet can genuinely improve how you use your watch from morning to night, making the most of the gadget.

Despite being available across recent versions of watchOS, these tools tend to sit a few taps beneath the surface, so most people never discover them unless they go looking.

1. Nightstand Mode

Nightstand Mode (sometimes also known as Bedside Mode) is one of the Apple Watch’s simplest yet most easily missed features.

When your watch is placed on its side and connected to power, it switches into a low-light clock display that’s ideal for a bedside table.

The time appears in large, softly lit digits, and the screen stays dark until you nudge the watch or tap the surface it’s resting on.

Apple refined this mode in watchOS 10 and watchOS 11, improving the way it dims in darker rooms and adding tighter integration with your iPhone’s alarms, so your morning alerts remain consistent across both devices.

It’s particularly helpful if you prefer a minimal sleep setup but still want the reassurance of a visible clock. If you use an iPhone with StandBy Mode, the two displays complement each other neatly.

To turn it on, open Settings on your Apple Watch, tap General, then enable Nightstand Mode. From there, it works automatically whenever the watch is connected to power and positioned on its side.

2. Chain Together Your Workout

Apple’s workout tracking has steadily grown more flexible, and one of the most underrated additions is the ability to chain activities into a continuous session.

First introduced in watchOS 9 for triathletes and multi-sport users, the feature has expanded to support far more combinations of different workouts, such as strength and running – in case you want to follow your weightlifting session with treadmill work.

Instead of stopping and starting individual workouts, you can link multiple activities – such as a warm-up, a run, a strength session, and a cooldown – into one coherent timeline.

Setting it up is straightforward: open the Workout app, scroll to the activity you want, then choose Create Workout or Custom.

Here, you can add multiple segments in the order you prefer, selecting durations, targets, or automatic transitions.

Once saved, the workout appears in your list for quick access. It takes a little experimenting to get the flow right, but once you’ve built a custom routine, it makes mixed training feel more joined-up.

3. Offline Maps Navigation

Offline Maps arrived on the Apple Watch with watchOS 10, building on the offline mapping tools introduced for the iPhone in iOS 17.

Once enabled, it lets you navigate without mobile data or a nearby iPhone, which is ideal when travelling, exercising without your phone, or moving through patchy-signal areas.

You still get turn-by-turn directions, route previews, and the same gentle haptics that make Apple’s navigation easy to follow.

To set it up, download the relevant map area on your iPhone by opening Apple Maps, tapping your profile icon, and choosing Offline Maps. Saved regions sync automatically to the Apple Watch, provided you have enough storage. With a bit of planning ahead of time, you can save a map of a new city onto your iPhone and navigate via your smartwatch, all without using your data.

Routes planned on either device work normally when offline, with the watch guiding you through haptics and simple on-screen prompts.

With watchOS 26 improving battery management for GPS and compass features, offline maps reduce data reliance and give you a more dependable way to explore unfamiliar places safely.

New year, new you – and the same challenge of sticking with your workout goals once the January (or February) buzz wears off. The good news is that in 2026 you don't have to rely on willpower alone.

A growing body of research suggests that the best fitness apps, in conjunction with the best smartwatches like the Apple Watch, can nudge people into moving more by combining tracking, gentle prompts, and smart reward loops.

Some apps focus on turning your runs or rides into a social game, while others quietly build streaks and routines in the background as you get on with your day. Across all of them, the aim is the same: to make looking after your health feel easier, more rewarding, and just a little bit more fun, keeping you in training once the New Year sparkle has faded away.

What does the science say?

Most fitness apps are built around the same core idea: if you can see what you are doing, get gentle nudges to keep going, and feel rewarded for your effort, you are more likely to stick with it.

Research backs that up; a large 2021 meta-analysis found that people who were given activity trackers or smartphone fitness apps increased their physical activity compared with those who weren't using the technology.

Under the hood, these tools use a handful of well-tested behavior-change tricks, including self-monitoring, goal-setting, timely prompts, streaks, and social support, but they package them in very different ways.

In this guide, we'll look at how five popular apps use those ingredients to help you move more in 2026.

1. Strava – social kudos to help you run more

Strava is equal parts social networking app and training log.starts to feel like a social network rather than a lonely spreadsheet or note in your phone.

Every run, ride, or hike is logged with GPS maps, pace charts, and – crucially – a stream of kudos and comments from your friends and other app users.

The app leans hard into that community angle: you can join local clubs, chase segments on your regular routes, and jump into monthly challenges that compare your effort with people training on the same roads and trails.

That social network-style layer matters.

When social scientists followed 329 runners from five Dutch clubs on Strava over 11 months, they saw a clear pattern: runners who attracted mor The kudos gradually started running more often, and the behaviour of their most interactive “kudos-friends” rubbed off on them over time.

If you thrive on friendly competition, shared routes, and the sense that someone will notice if you skip a session, Strava’s mix of detailed tracking and low-key peer pressure can be a powerful way to stay consistent in 2026.

2. Runna – personalised coaching

Runna is what you get if you crossed a human running coach with a very organised calendar app.

You plug in your goal – from a first 5K to a marathon personal best – plus your current fitness and how many days a week you can realistically train, and it builds a personalised plan that slots into your schedule.

The app adjusts sessions when life gets in the way, adds strength and cross-training where it makes sense, and now, under Strava ownership, even links to a new Races by Runna platform that helps you discover events.

If you like ticking off clear workouts, seeing your progress unfold towards race day, and letting the app worry about the numbers, Runna’s coach-in-your-pocket approach can make it much easier to stay on track in 2026.

3. PUSH – turning strength training into numbers

PUSH is aimed at people who love the numbers behind their training as much as the feeling of a good lift. In the app, you build or choose workouts, track sets and reps, and see how your performance changes over time, rather than just scribbling numbers in a note.

The onboard AI can guide you towards sensible progressions, nudge you to add weight when lifts are consistently moving well, and rein things in when you are clearly flagging. Underneath that friendly UI is a training philosophy built around velocity-based training, where the speed of a lift is used as a stand-in for intensity and fatigue.

Studies on this approach – including research using PUSH-compatible sensors – suggest that tracking bar speed is a reliable way to judge how heavy a set really was, and when you should stop before your form falls apart.

If you are motivated by seeing trends, graphs, and numbers creep in the right direction, PUSH can make it much easier to stay engaged with your gym plan right through 2026.

4. Apple Fitness & Activity rings

Apple’s Activity rings on Apple Watch boil your day down into three simple circles – Move, Exercise, and Stand – that you are nudged to close, one by one, as you go about your life.

Add in Apple Fitness+ classes, sharing your rings with friends, and regular weekly summaries on iPhone, and you get a steady drip of reminders, streaks, and tiny wins that keep your goals in sight rather than buried in a settings menu.

Behind the scenes, Apple has been studying how people actually respond to all this, offering us a perspective from an extremely widely used app.

The Apple Heart and Movement Study – an ongoing collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital – has reported that people who regularly close their rings tend to show better patterns in cardio fitness, sleep, and other health markers than those who rarely do.

5. Peloton – group-class motivation

Peloton has shaken off its “just for spin bikes” image – the Peloton App now stands on its own as a full training platform you can use at home, in the gym, or outdoors, with or without any Peloton hardware.

You get live and on-demand classes across strength, running, walking, yoga, meditation, rowing, and more, all fronted by instructors who are as much coaches as they are entertainers.

Over the last couple of years Peloton has also leaned into smarter guidance, with structured multi-week programmes, revamped badges, and, more recently, its Peloton IQ system. For you, that means less faffing and more doing.

If you know you respond well to upbeat instructors, a visible timetable, and the gentle pressure of seeing other people in class with you, the Peloton App can turn repeated sessions into a routine.

We’re only two days into 2026, but in what’s become something of an annual tradition for Apple Fitness+, Apple is ushering in a slate of new workout programs designed to help you get in shape in the new year, while also teasing upcoming episodes of Time to Walk, Artist Spotlights, and special guests who’ll appear in select workouts.

These additions will help keep the content fresh for regular users and may encourage newcomers to try Fitness+ in the first few days or weeks of 2026.

And none of this comes with a price increase. Apple Fitness+ is sticking with its existing pricing: $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$14.99 per month, or $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$119.99 annually. It’s also included with the Apple One Premier plan, and you can get a free trial when you purchase select Apple devices, such as an iPhone or Apple Watch.

Jump into HIIT, yoga, or strength

Let’s start with the new workout programs: you can choose a workout type to adopt or return to, and stick with it for the long haul. It’s all about finding a rhythm with either HIIT, yoga, or strength – or maybe all three if you’re up for the challenge – and building a strong foundation.

Apple’s Fitness+ team will offer new-year workout programs in Strength, HIIT, and Yoga, each lasting four weeks with three workouts per week. Classes are shorter by intention, designed to make the commitment easier and make it easy to fit sessions into your schedule. Over four weeks, each program builds progressively from class to class.

The length of each class will vary by program – ‘Build a Yoga Habit’, ‘Back-to-Back Strength and HIIT’, or ‘The Strength Basics’ – but will be as short as 10 minutes. All of them launch on Fitness+ on Monday, January 5, 2026.

Looking ahead to February 8, 2026 – the date of Super Bowl LX and the Apple Music halftime show – Fitness+ will add three new workouts to Bad Bunny’s existing Artist Spotlight series.

Before that, on February 2, 2026, the next spotlight series will feature Karol G, with five workouts set to her music. She’ll join a roster of artists Fitness+ has already spotlighted, including Bad Bunny, The Killers, Taylor Swift, and Bruce Springsteen.

Time to Walk returns

Time to Walk remains one of Fitness+’s most distinctive offerings. Designed for the Apple Watch, it’s a walking workout led by a celebrity or influential figure sharing stories, music, and photos you can view right on your wrist. It’s developed a bit of a cult following, and Apple is continuing to expand it with new episodes.

Fitness+ has confirmed three upcoming Time to Walk additions for 2026, with more on the way. First up is Penn Badgley of Gossip Girl, The Young and the Restless, and You fame, followed by Mel B and Michelle Monaghan in the weeks ahead.

If you’re looking for more familiar faces, Apple’s 2026 Fitness+ lineup delivers. Allie Bennett, fitness creator and lifestyle personality, Luke and Paul Harwerth (aka TwinSauce), and Remy Park will also appear in upcoming workouts.

This isn’t the first time guest stars have joined Fitness+ Trainers, but it’s a notable expansion – and one that could signal even more creator-led workouts if the workouts resonate with subscribers.

Overall, while there are no major overhauls, it’s clear that Apple is continuing to invest in Fitness+. The added focus on structured programs and curated collections could make the service feel more cohesive and easier to stick with long-term, while also helping to attract new subscribers or re-engage those who haven’t fully leaned into Fitness+ yet.

It’ll be interesting to see how Fitness+ evolves throughout 2026 – and whether Apple’s rumored AI Health service ultimately comes to fruition.

As a somewhat larger than ideal man, I’m working to lose a bit of weight and trim down the areas of my body with excess… insulation. And as a technology journalist, I’m naturally tapping into tech to help me fight the fat.

This means popping an Apple Watch Series 11 on my wrist, courtesy of TechRadar's tame Senior Editor of Fitness Matt Evans. Given I’m an iPhone user, it made sense to go for an Apple Watch, and it remains one of the best smartwatches, packed with features and a lot of solid fitness tracking tech.

But here’s the rub: I’m a traditional watch wearer, and a collector of mechanical watches. At the same time – perhaps because of this – I’m not a huge fan of smartwatches.

I like the fitness tracking and having a device that can do a lot attached to my wrist; it still feels quite futuristic. However, I’ve spent more money than is sensible on mechanical analogue watches, so don’t want to eschew them for an Apple Watch.

And I’m weirdly particular about my watch wearing routines: my first watch on every day is my Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra, and when I go for a walk I very much opt for a field watch (so called as they were/are watches worn by the military when out in the field).

So thanks to my watch obsession but also wanting to track my fitness, I’ve ended up in a ridiculous situation where I’ll wear two watches on one wrist; I’m not a fan of wearing watches on my right-hand wrist as it just feels off and uncomfortable.

The incessant buzzing of notifications quickly drives me mad and I find on walks it becomes a distraction, acting almost like a smartphone, which is something I want to avoid when I’m out in the fresh air and looking to curtail peeping at screens. I also find the design of smartwatches to be rather bland and soulless.

As such, Apple really should accept it’ll be coming in second to its rival Samsung, and just make a smart ring to rival the Samsung Galaxy Ring.

One ring to rule my fitness tracking

An Apple smart ring would solve a lot of my issues with smartwatches. I’d be able to get a lot, if not all, the fitness tracking and wellness data one might expect from an Apple Watch, but also have something that I can wear alongside my traditional watches. The annoyance at the dinging of notifications would be solved too.

I could easily have my feet in both the worlds of mechanical horology and biometric engineering, and I see no reason why Apple couldn’t and wouldn’t make a smart ring.

Knowing how Apple approaches tech when it’s not the first to a new form factor or platform, I’d be confident that the Cupertino crew could produce a really refined smart ring, with, say, class-leading battery life or very impressive sensors.

I’m hopeful that Apple is indeed working on a smart ring, though I've not heard any solid rumors to back that up. Yet seeing how the company put off the somewhat odd and rather unnecessary iPhone Pocket, part of me is a little worried that the innovative Apple tech fans used to love has started to lose its way a bit.

Still, I’m going to cross my fingers for an Apple smart ring, as frankly I’m on the verge of sacking off the Apple Watch 11 and just relying on my own instincts and the thumping of my heart when it comes to gauging the toughness of a workout.

• Apple’s 2025 App Store Award winners are official
• There are 17 winners across Apps, Games, and Cultural Impact
• Its includes picks for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV

Two weeks after announcing the finalists for App of the Year – and just a day after Spotify Wrapped dropped – Apple has officially revealed the winners of the 2025 App Store Awards. The Cupertino-based tech giant has named 17 winners across platforms in three categories: Apps, Games, and Cultural Impact.

Many of these we’ve already previewed in our roundup of the finalists, but the winners reflect the surge and abundance of AI. In many cases, they showcase applications that appear effortless, combining seamless, unique design with genuine functionality that solves a problem – or even provides an escape at times.

Take Tiimo, the iPhone App of the Year. It’s billed as an AI planner and to-do app that helps you visualize your day and stay on track with your tasks. Details, the iPad App of the Year, aims to move beyond the classic bar-and-edit approach to video editing by letting you describe your desired outcome and having AI do the work for you.

Apple is still naming an app and game of the year for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro, as well as an Apple Arcade Game of the Year and six Cultural Impact winners.

Below we've run through the winners across all the categories and given you a quick way to download them, plus a few more standouts, from the App Store...

2025 App Store Award Winners – The Full List

• iPhone App of the Year: Tiimo
• iPhone Game of the Year: Pokémon TCG Pocket
• iPad App of the Year: Detail
• iPad Game of the Year: DREDGE
• Mac App of the Year: Essayist
• Mac Game of the Year: Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition
• Apple Vision Pro App of the Year: Explore POV
• Apple Vision Pro Game of the Year: Porta Nubi
• Apple Watch App of the Year: Strava
• Apple TV App of the Year: HBO Max
• Apple Arcade Game of the Year: WHAT THE CLASH?
• Cultural Impact Winners: Art of Fauna, Chants of Sennaar, despelote, Be My Eyes, Focus Friend, and StoryGraph

Just like with the 2024 App Store Awards, there’s a lot of AI either front and center or subtly powering the experience behind many of the apps.

One notable difference this year is that, rather than F1 TV taking home Apple TV App of the Year, the honor goes to HBO Max, which debuted a new navigation bar in 2025 – and, of course, there’s the added context that F1 will begin streaming in the U.S. on Apple TV next year.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is a standout for Mac Game of the Year, especially considering the lengthy development process required to bring it to the platform. CD Projekt Red took full advantage of the gaming dev tools built into macOS to ensure the game runs smoothly on any Apple-silicon Mac – though, naturally, more power still enhances the experience.

I personally wish I had Essayist, or at least a version of it, back when I was in school. It automates the sometimes painful process of generating proper citations across a wide range of formats for academic papers – powered, as you might guess, by some AI on the backend.

From the Cultural Impact Winners, Be My Eyes blends the power of everyday volunteers with AI to help people with low vision or blindness complete daily tasks, such as identifying objects or providing quick visual descriptions.

The Apple Vision Pro is still the newest device in Apple’s lineup, and Apple named Explore POV the App of the Year and Porta Nubi the Game of the Year for the platform. Explore POV lets you immerse yourself in far-off destinations, while Porta Nubi overlays your real-world environment with fantastical puzzles.

Let us know in the comments below which of the 2025 App Store Award winners you’ve already downloaded – or which ones you’re most excited to try.

• Some Apple Watch Series 10 owners are reporting a coating defect
• The issue seemingly only affects the Apple Watch Series 10 in Jet Black
• Apple Stores are apparently providing free replacements to some users

The Apple Watch Series 10 is one of the best Apple Watches, but one particular model appears to have a small cosmetic problem. If you’ve got one in the Jet Black colorway, you might want to take it off and check its underside – that’s because some people are reporting that the coating is corroding and coming off. And the good news is that Apple appears to be taking the issue seriously.

Reddit user ashadow_song wasn’t happy with the condition of their Apple Watch. After just one year of use, the black coating on the device’s underside was pock-marked with small silvery dots – areas where the colored coating had become dislodged and fallen off the watch.

Not content to sit by, ashadow_song went to an Apple Store and got a piece of good news. Upon speaking to a store employee, they were apparently told “we have seen this a lot with [the] jet black version, you will get a free replacement almost guaranteed.” The Apple worker then took the Watch in for inspection, and ashadow_song said they received a replacement confirmation email from Apple the next day.

As evidence, the poster provided a screenshot of an Apple Support ticket (below) that said, “We’ll replace your product,” adding that “Your replacement product will be dispatched to you soon.” That suggests that Apple wants to resolve this matter as quickly as possible, without risking unhappy customers.

We've contacted Apple for official comment on this issue and will update this story if we hear back.

Get it checked out

Interestingly, ashadow_song said they did not claim the replacement under Apple’s AppleCare+ extended cover but instead did so under the Watch’s standard warranty. Since that lasts for one year, it implies that the issue manifests itself in under 12 months of use. That was backed up by Reddit user PrincessCaramel, who said they were experiencing the same problem after roughly one year of ownership.

That’s concerning when you consider that the Apple Watch is designed to be worn 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including during workouts and in all weather conditions. Given that, you would think that its coating would hold up better to the likes of sweat and moisture that could be causing this corrosion.

Right now, these are still only anecdotal cases and there's still no evidence that it's widespread issue. However, there are examples of threads on Apple's Community support forums of some Jet Black Series 10 owners experiencing the same thing.