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watchOS 26.5 available now for Apple Watch, here’s what’s new

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Why This Matters

The release of watchOS 26.5 introduces a highly customizable Pride Luminance watch face, enhancing personalization options for Apple Watch users. Alongside this, the update addresses key bugs and performance issues, ensuring a smoother user experience. This update underscores Apple's ongoing commitment to user customization and device reliability, which is vital for maintaining consumer trust and engagement in the competitive wearable market.

Key Takeaways

Apple has just released watchOS 26.5, the latest software update for Apple Watch. Here’s what’s new in today’s update.

New Apple Watch face and bug fixes added in watchOS 26.5

Apple Watch users, there’s a new update available to install today. watchOS 26.5 is available now, you can find it inside the Watch app on your iPhone.

The update’s main addition is a brand new watch face: Pride Luminance.

Similar to the new iPhone wallpaper in iOS 26.5, Pride Luminance comes with an impressive amount of customization options to make it your own.

Per my colleague Zac’s in-depth explainer:

Customization options include color, dial shape, style, and corner complications for the circular dial shape. Apple provides 11 pre-configured color combinations. You can also pick from over 70 colors, choosing any combination of one to 12 colors as a time.

The new watch face is available to install from the face gallery.

In addition to the new face, watchOS 26.5 also includes bug fixes and performance improvements. Apple specifically highlights these two fixes:

Fixes an issue where Messages on Apple Watch may use SMS instead of iMessage when paired with a dual SIM iPhone

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