watchOS 26 leak reveals which Apple Watches are making the cut

In mere hours, Apple is set to unveil its new OSes, including watchOS 26, during the keynote for the WWDC 2025 conference. Now, a new leak claims to know which smartwatches from the company may get watchOS 26. 

One thing that's worth mentioning is the rebranding. Rumors claim Apple will unite all its OS numbers under 26, taken from their main year of use. This includes watchOS, and this means watchOS 26 will be the next one after watchOS 11, which is currently the OS Apple's smartwatches are running. 

According to this new leak, here are the Apple Watch models which will reportedly be able to run watchOS 26:

• 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)

Of course, the list will for sure include the newest Apple Watch that the Cupertino tech giant is expected to introduce in September: the Apple Watch Series 11. 

In fact, this is the same list of models that support the current watchOS 11. The oldest model here, the Apple Watch Series 6, was announced back in 2020, so it's not that old yet, apparently, to be abandoned by Apple in terms of new software. Of course, keep in mind that this is still a leak and not the official document of the supported timepieces. 

Meanwhile, iPhones do get software updates for a long time, and Apple products are generally known for their longevity. When it comes to the iPhone, seven-year-old models can also run the current iOS, iOS 18. 

Meanwhile, last year, watchOS 11 brought the end of support for quite a lot of Apple Watches. At once, the Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, and the original Apple Watch SE were dropped from the list of supported devices. 

We'll likely know more later today during WWDC. In the meantime, watchOS 26 is expected to bring the same redesign as is said for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26: with transparent elements of the OS. Of course, this is still speculation, so we'll have to wait for the event and see to know for certain.