watchOS 10 brings widgets to your Apple Watch on September 18
It'll only work on the Apple Watch Series 4 or later.
Apple's watchOS 10 will officially be available on September 18, the company confirmed during its iPhone 15 launch event on Tuesday. The update is simultaneously one of the biggest facelifts ever for watchOS, while also being a throwback to the original "Glances" feature from the original Apple Watch. Instead of focusing on individual apps, WatchOS 10 relies on widgets in every watch face — just turn the Digital Crown and you'll have quick access to things like timers, music, or a podcast episode that you're listening to.
Given how confusing multitasking has been in watchOS for some time, it makes sense for Apple to reorient the platform around simple tasks, rather than have you flip through multiple app screens. (Maybe Apple just noticed that people really like using the Siri watch face, which offered a similar array of widgets.)
As we saw during WWDC, watchOS 10 will come equipped with two new watch faces — a colorful view called Palette, and one featuring Woodstock and Snoopy — and includes a slew of other upgrades. You'll be able to add corner shortcuts to the Activity app, for one, while the Compass app will automatically log where you last had cellular connectivity (in case you need to backtrack for an emergency call).
watchOS 10 will be available on the Apple Watch Series 4 or later, and it also requires an iPhone XS running iOS 17. We'll be reviewing both the new Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 soon enough, and will be sure to include ample feedback on watchOS 10 in both cases, but in the meantime check out some early impressions of both watches from Engadget's Deputy Reviews Editor, Cherlynn Low, who was on the ground in Cupertino covering the event.
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