All things considered, 2025 was a good year for Apple Watch: we got three new models, two of which I've given very positive reviews of. (I haven't tried the Ultra 3 yet, but it's probably decent too, if a little bulky for my commuter tastes.) It just wasn't breathtaking year.
Episode 11As excellent as it is, there are very few changes from last year's Series 10. Apple Watch SE 3 offers many valuable updates, these are new to the SE and not to the entire line. In other words, it was a year of smart consolidation rather than headline fireworks.
But everything could change in 2026. After more than a decade of the same designs and slowly iteratively adding features, is Apple finally ready to announce some big news about its smartwatches? We hope so. In this article, part forecast and part wishlist, we outline seven announcements and changes we can expect from the Apple Watch next year.
Finally a proper redesign
The topic of my Apple Watch reviews in 2025 – not to mention my small contribution to our year-end awards The article was that the Series 11 is an amazing smartwatch, but the SE 3 is a better buy. It's just not worth spending an extra $150 on a full-featured model because the budget version is more than good enough for most people's needs.
Apple loves to maximize its profits and loves upsells, so the 2026 mission will be to provide reasons to buy the Series 12. And the most obvious way to do that is with a splashy redesign for the first time in the product's history.
Round screen? Unlikely. Another button? I don't see that happening yet. But other physical changes predicted years ago for the once rumored man Apple Watch Xwhich includes a thinner body, a larger battery, and a new magnetic stripe locking mechanism, could finally arrive next year. It could even be glass. With SE's awkward growth threatening Apple's coffers, the timing couldn't be better.
Better and much brighter screen
The 2023 Apple Watch X rumors also included a microLED display, which still makes sense and would be a useful upgrade from the current OLED.
microLED means improved color accuracy, better energy efficiency and, according to concept presented by Samsung At CES back in February, brightness levels reached 4,000 nits. For comparison, the Series 11 has a maximum brightness of 2000 nits, and even the Ultra 3 has 3000 nits.
Galina Kubiv
Apple Intelligence
Over the past year or so, Apple has seemed determined to bring its artificial intelligence platform to every device possible. situation with iPhone 16e. But there are a few exceptions. One is the basic iPad; the other is the entire Apple Watch line.
As we have reportedIt's highly likely that Apple will make the 12th generation iPad AI-ready, and while this watch isn't an obvious failure, it makes a lot of sense as portable AI assistant. And this will be a useful difference for more expensive models.
On-board biometrics
I very rarely have to enter my Apple Watch passcode because my iPhone 17 does a great job as a companion: a glance at its Face ID scanner unlocks the watch, and it stays unlocked once it's on my wrist. (And for now I still have a pulse, but let's not think too much about it.) Apple is very good at this kind of simple multi-device integration.
But there are still reasons why a fingerprint scanner will be a welcome upgrade for the Apple Watch in 2026 (most likely built into the side button, but potentially under the screen). Obviously, there are times when you want to unlock it but your iPhone is not nearby; not to mention the long term, when wearables will need to function as standalone devices rather than as accessories.
The ability to provide biometric authentication from the watch on a case-by-case basis could also be useful for Apple Pay and other financial purposes, as well as health/fitness apps and personal messaging such as notifications from blocked WhatsApp chats.
All of this may seem like an unlikely bucket list item, but internal code suggests that Apple is indeed considering using Touch ID on the Apple Watch.
Blood glucose tracking
The new generation of Apple Watch means a new round of speculation about new health sensors. What will we get in 2026? Rumors about blood glucose monitoring without injections have been around for a long time (we now understand that research dates back to the days of Steve Jobs), and with the project reaching the “proof of concept” phase in 2023, it may finally be ready in time for the big time next year.
This will be a game changer for watch users with diabetes and will also provide useful information for anyone looking to improve their health and fitness.
David Price / Foundry
SE gap year
This year we have new models in all three lines of Apple Watch: Series, SE and Ultra. But this is not always the case. There was no SE in 2021 or 2023, no SE or Ultra in 2024. The only constant is Series.
With that in mind, I think there's good reason to expect SE to take a year off in 2026. For now, the SE 3 is the Apple Watch worth considering. But everything will change in the fall of 2026 if the Series 12 arrives with a bunch of new features (or a new design) while the SE remains the same. Apple used to do something similar with the base version of the iPad and the Air version, which came out at different times and made each other less attractive.
Custom watch faces
I'll finish with operating system update created by Macworld contributor Mahmoud Itani: a customization tool that lets you create your own watch face.
It always frustrates me when I find a face I like (Flux is a big favorite of mine) and then find that it doesn't allow me to use the set of complications I rely on… or, in Flux's case, no complications at all. The ability to mix and match visual elements, fonts and design elements of different watch faces will allow users to create the watch experience they want.
