Apple has announced that it will release a software update for iPhone and Apple Watch later today with a “redesigned Blood Oxygen feature” for Apple Watch users in the United States. This comes over 18 months after Apple began selling the Apple Watch without the Blood Oxygen feature in America due to a patent dispute.

The new feature will be made available as part of iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1 updates.

No, I get it: round watches are a very inefficient use of space, and there is likely a reason that the Apple Watch continues to dominate the market.

But what a new piece argues for is not to replace the existing Apple Watch design, but instead to offer us a greater range of options …

Apple at one time considered adding a camera to the Apple Watch, but it looks like Meta may get there first. A new report suggests the company may unveil the upcoming wearable at its September event.

A Meta smartwatch with a camera was spotted in development back in 2021, but was said to have been put on pause the following year. However, a new supply-chain report says the project was revived and is now close to launch …

Apple is now offering the first public beta of watchOS 26, the next major update for Apple Watch, ahead of its official fall release. While the biggest visual update may appear to be the limited Liquid Glass elements, the substance of watchOS 26 exists in how it integrates with Apple Intelligence for smarter workouts and more context-aware communication. After some hands-on time with the update, here’s what stands out so far.

Earlier today we saw iOS 26 code suggesting that an Apple Watch sleep score feature is in development, with a percentage score indicating your readiness to tackle the day ahead. The feature also provides a more condensed graphical representation of your sleep stages than is currently available.

What is shown and described looks like a very close match for two features provided by the Oura smart ring, so here’s a look at how those work …

August 18 update: 921 backers have pledged over $190,000 to Avelo Running! The campaign ends in just four days on Friday at noon ET in case any readers wanted to back the project and hit the ground running as early as possible.

Avelo Running is a fitness-focused startup that recently came out of stealth to unveil their first product. What the company is building has the potential to be the perfect running companion for Apple Watch. Any runner with a smartphone can benefit, though, without bringing a phone or watch along for the run.

Apple Watch has nearly 60 faces, and watchOS 26 optimizes way more than before for Apple Watch Series 10. It’s not all good news with watchOS 26, however, as Apple continues to discontinue watch faces through software updates.

Apple has officially announced watchOS 26, the successor to watchOS 11. The new name aligns with iOS 26 (and using the upcoming year to reference each software version). The flagship new software feature for Apple Watch in watchOS 26 is called Workout Buddy, an Apple Intelligence-powered fitness feature.

Alongside the expected design overhauls coming to iOS 26 and the rest of Apple’s platforms at WWDC, 9to5Mac has learned that watchOS 26 is set to introduce one of the most requested Apple Watch usability features to date: third-party widgets in Control Center.