Which Apple Watches will run watchOS 26

The current Apple Watch Series 10 running watchOS 11

Ahead of Apple unveiling the next version of watchOS, a new leak claims to have the list of which Apple Watch models will be able to run it.

If it’s true that Apple will rebrand all of its operating systems to end in the number 26 — to match their main year of use — then it will be especially useful for the Apple Watch. For right now, you can have an Apple Watch Series 10 and be running watchOS 11.

Although that said, come September 2025 you could be sporting an Apple Watch Series 11 which is running watchOS 26.

Whatever happens with the numbering, you can be certain that the forthcoming Apple Watch Series 11 will run the latest version of watchOS. What you’ve not been able to be so sure about is which older models will.

According to a leaker seen by MacRumors, though, the answer is that the new watchOS will be supported by these older models:

• Apple Watch Series 6
• Apple Watch Series 7
• Apple Watch Series 8
• Apple Watch Series 9
• Apple Watch Series 10
• Apple Watch Ultra
• Apple Watch Ultra 2
• Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)

This is actually exactly the same list of models that support the current watchOS 11. That’s perhaps not surprising, as the oldest model, the Apple Watch Series 6, was released in 2020.

When Apple announced its iOS 18 adoption rate, the company noted that it supports devices for a long time. In the case of the iPhone, models as old as seven years ago can run iOS 18.

However, 2024’s release of watchOS 11 saw a comparatively sweeping drop of support for older models. In one go, it dropped the Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5, and the original Apple Watch SE.

Full details of the new watchOS will be revealed during the WWDC opening keynote on June 9.