watchOS 26 is expected to bring several new features to the Apple Watch.
WWDC 2025 kicks off on June 9 at Apple Park in California
Photo Credit: Apple
At WWDC 2025 next week, Apple is expected to preview its upcoming OS iterations. While the rumour mill has suggested big changes coming to iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and most recently, visionOS 26, watchOS 26 may not be too far behind. As per a report, the Cupertino-based tech giant could finally introduce support for a highly requested feature on the Apple Watch — third party Control Centre widgets. This could potentially allow users to choose from relevant actions besides the staple Wi-Fi, Battery, and Focus Mode options.
9to5Mac reports that watchOS 26 will enable developers to incorporate their own third-party widgets into the Apple Watch's Control Centre. It is said to come with a fully customisable layout through the iPhone. Users may be able to add, remove, or re-order the widgets in the Control Centre in a simpler manner compared to the existing method.
With third-party widgets, Apple is expected to reportedly offer more Control Centre options to choose from, apart from the standard Airplane Mode, Battery, Do Not Disturb, Flashlight, and Wi-Fi options.
However, this is not the only change speculated to take place this year. Previous reports indicate that the company is all set to revamp the nomenclature of its OS updates. It is said to be moving away from an iteration-based strategy towards a year-based one. Thus, if this move comes to fruition, iOS 19 could be changed to iOS 26, iPadOS 19 to iPadOS 26, watchOS 12 to watchOS 26, and so on.
At WWDC 2025, Apple Watch is expected to get several upgrades, courtesy of watchOS 26. This includes AI capabilities powered by Apple Intelligence, even though the smartwatch would not run the AI models directly.
The company has also confirmed it is bringing an accessibility feature from the iPhone to the smartwatch. Live Listen turns the iPhone into a remote microphone to stream content directly to AirPods, Made for iPhone (MFi) hearing aids, or Beats headphones. With watchOS 26, users will be able to view Live Captions for Live Listen on their paired Apple Watch, while listening along to the audio.
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