Apple has officially announced watchOS 27 at WWDC, bringing the most intelligent and personalised Apple Watch experience to date. The update introduces Siri AI, a rebuilt version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, along with a host of health, fitness, and usability upgrades. watchOS 27 is set to arrive this fall as a free software update.
watchOS 27 Brings Siri AI To Apple Watch
New on watchOS 27 is the all-new Siri AI, which Apple says is built from the ground-up combining personal context understanding with broad world knowledge. On Apple Watch, it arrives as a dedicated app that keeps all conversations in one place, allowing users to pick up where they left off directly from the wrist. You can learn more about what it can do by checking out our main coverage of WWDC26.
The upcoming operating system will also bring a new dynamic app grid accessible by pressing the Digital Crown button, which surfaces five Siri-suggested apps based on usage history, with the Siri app placed prominently at the center; Smart Stack can also automatically surface a suggestion to continue a recent Siri conversation at the right moment.
Also, a new one-handed tap gesture makes navigating the Smart Stack more convenient – users can double tap their index finger and thumb to scroll through the Smart Stack, single tap to select a widget, then use a wrist flick to return to the watch face without using the other hand. New Smart Stack suggestions will appear contextually throughout the day, including a Parked Car suggestion from Maps, birthday message reminders for close contacts, and a prompt to enable Theater Mode when near a concert venue or movie theater.
New Women’s Health Features
One of the more significant additions in watchOS 27 (alongside iOS 27) is expanded support for perimenopause and menopause within the Health app’s Cycle Tracking feature. Female users can now log whether they are in perimenopause or menopause to customize their tracking experience and monitor symptoms over time. For users aged 40 and over, iOS 27 can send a notification if a deviation in their logged cycle is suggestive of perimenopause, allowing them to act early. If bleeding after menopause is logged, the app will prompt the user to consult a doctor, as this may indicate a condition requiring medical attention.
Apple Fitness+ has simultaneously launched Strong Through Menopause, a progressive three-week program featuring weekly Yoga and Strength workouts aimed at helping users build strength, improve balance and mobility, and reduce stress during perimenopause and menopause. A new episode of Time to Walk also features actor Busy Philipps discussing her personal journey with perimenopause.
Workout Buddy, Find My, And More
The Workout Buddy feature now supports Spanish and can operate on Apple Watch even when the paired iPhone is not nearby – it also incorporates additional fitness data when generating motivational insights during workouts. The Find My app on Apple Watch has been consolidated as well, merging Find Devices, Find Items, and Find People into a single unified app for easier access.
Additional updates for watchOS 27 include improved distance accuracy during treadmill workouts via new machine learning algorithms, faster media playback, faster workout start times, synced step counts between Health and Fitness apps, and more accurate route maps after workouts. In the Wallet app, users gain the ability to pin transit cards and view balances directly on the wrist. A new feature also allows the creation of customized passes from any card or membership with a barcode or QR code, such as a library card, which can then be pinned to the Smart Stack.
Pokdepinion: The one-handed gesture for Smart Stack sounds genuinely useful, though the Siri AI does have to prove its worth.
