Which Apple Watches will support them?
Only Apple Watch models that have been released in 2023 or later will support the most advanced watchOS 26 features. If you want to take advantage of them, you’ll need a Series 9, Series 10 or Ultra 2, or any of the next-gen Apple Watches announced this fall.
The reason only these newer Apple Watch models are supported is due to their increased processing power. They need to have either an S9 SiP or S10 SiP processor, which was released with the Series 9/Ultra 2 and Series 10, respectively.
Additionally, to take advantage of Live Translation in Messages, you’ll also need an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, meaning any iPhone 16 model or iPhone 15 Pro/Max, as well as an upcoming iPhone 17 model.
To learn more about watchOS 26’s upcoming features, check out Apple’s blog post.
