Apple releases watchOS 27 with Siri AI, new watch face, Smart Stack improvements and more

Apple today released watchOS 27, the latest version of the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. ‌watchOS 27‌ is compatible with Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and later, and Apple Watch SE 3.

‌watchOS 27‌ can be downloaded for free to a compatible device via the Settings app on the watch.

The update introduces support for Siri AI, a more capable version of ‌Siri‌ that uses personal context and screen awareness to help you get things done. There’s a new modular ‌Siri‌ watch face, Smart Stack updates, Liquid Glass improvements, and a consolidated Find My app. Apple’s release notes for the update are below.

Siri AI
– A more efficient and conversational version of Siri is being rolled out to users. It helps you find what you need and do more, leveraging features like understanding personal context, app actions, screen awareness, and access to broad global knowledge.
– The new voice experience delivers more expressive and natural voices, and lets you customize expressiveness and rhythm to make Siri more personal using powerful on-device templates on paired iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models and later.
– Dedicated Siri app provides an easy way to review an existing conversation or start a new one, and privately syncs conversations across your Apple products with iCloud

Apple Intelligence in all apps
– Workout Buddy provides motivation with new information and is now available without your iPhone nearby when you have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
– Call context in the Phone app understands when you’re speaking to certain businesses and proactively surfaces relevant information from your apps, like a confirmation code or reservation number.

Cycle tracking
– Notifications of cycle deviations suggestive of perimenopause can be received by people aged 40 and over.

Watch faces
– The Siri Modular face features a rectangular complication that mirrors the Smart Stack’s top widget, which dynamically updates to display the most relevant widget, as well as a Siri complication to quickly summon Siri.

Smart battery
– The one-handed tap gesture lets you tap your index finger and thumb together once to select a widget in the Smart Stack, even if your other hand is busy.
– New suggestion widgets will appear when you’re most interested, including the location of a parked car, birthday reminders for a close contact, balance changes on a transit card, Noise app after a loud noise notification, and more.

System Improvements
– Dynamic app grid highlights your most popular and recently used apps
– Find My app is now consolidated into one app to display people, devices and items with a map-centric interface.
– Media playback now starts faster
– The workout app makes distance calculations even more accurate during treadmill workouts from the first step of every walk or run.
– Fitness app offers more accurate route maps after workouts
– Battery extension notifications can be proactively offered to disable certain features to increase battery life, including gestures, workout start reminders, and Raise to Speak method of calling Siri.
– Shazam in the Smart Stack app and Music Recognition identifies offline songs without an internet connection and automatically provides results when you are back online
– Liquid glass enhancements improve readability with more uniform refraction and improved contrast

‌Siri‌ AI in ‌watchOS 27‌ requires an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone, which includes iPhone 15 Pro models, iPhone Air, and all iPhone 16, iPhone 17, and iPhone 18 models.