You might have to upgrade to a new Apple Watch to unlock blockbuster watchOS 27 update

Your Apple Watch is about to get a whole lot smarter, but only if it's compatible with the latest free software update.

Apple has confirmed a swathe of new features coming as part of its watchOS 27 operating system, which it announced alongside a rebuilt Siri AI assistant, strict new parental controls, customisation for AirPods, and a promise that its next updates will significantly speed up ageing gadgets.

The free operating system update, which will be released this autumn, brings the all-new Siri AI to the Apple Watch for the first time. That means you'll be able to have proper back-and-forth conversations with Siri, get answers to complex open-ended questions, brainstorm ideas for workout routines, and have the chatty assistant take actions across your apps — all from your wrist.

You can also rely on Siri AI to dig into the personal information stored on your device to find an important detail, like a passport number from a picture in the Photos app, a door code stored in Notes, or flight details from a conversation in Messages. That should reduce the amount of time scrolling and typing on the smaller screen.

It's a dramatic upgrade that promises to bring a similar experience to ChatGPT or the newly-launched Alexa+, which should reduce the number of times that you need to pull your iPhone out of your pocket to complete a task.

Everything will be saved to the new Siri app, which is available across iPhone, iPad, and Mac — so you can revisit an earlier conversation and double-check the details. One notable limitation: Siri AI won't be available in the European Union at launch due to the Digital Markets Act.

Apple Intelligence should make your Apple Watch more proactive, too. Smart Stack, the scrollable list of widgets that appear from the bottom of the watch face, will surface widgets to spotlight a close contact's birthday, show you where you've parked your car, suggest an alarm before holidays, and display your boarding pass when you need it.

Leveraging those Apple Intelligence models, your Apple Watch will proactively surface relevant information from across your apps when calling a business, like a confirmation code from the Mail app when you call an airline.

There's also a clever new gesture. While you've long been able to double-tap your index finger and thumb together to scroll through the Smart Stack one-handed, you'll now be able to single-tap those same fingertips to expand the current card and dive into more information — even if your other hand is occupied.

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Find Devices, Find People, and Find Items have now been combined into a single, streamlined Find My app. So everything you care about is easier to locate on a map-centric view — just like you'll find on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Apple has upgraded its Cycle Tracking within the Health app, so that it can provide notifications when your logged cycle patterns are suggestive of perimenopause. You can track related symptoms and read educational resources.

Elsewhere, Workout Buddy — first introduced last year — becomes considerably more useful with personalised motivation drawn from your fitness history. Instead of generic encouragement, you'll get feedback tied to your pace, distance, and performance metrics. It now works without carrying your iPhone during exercise, though you'll still need Bluetooth headphones and a paired Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone.

Apple has also tweaked and refined its Liquid Glass redesign, which rolled out across all devices last autumn.

There's a catch — if you own an older Apple Watch, you won't be getting this update. Because of the requirements of Apple Intelligence, Apple is cutting off any devices equipped with the S9 chip or newer. That means you'll need an Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, Series 11, Apple Watch SE 3, or an Apple Watch Ultra 2 or Apple Watch Ultra 3.

Apple Watch Series 8 was only released in September 2022, but it still loses access to the latest features. In comparison, iPhone 11 — first launched in September 2019 — will be treated to the latest version of iOS this autumn. Not only that, but Apple says it's worked hard to ensure that its performance will be dramatically improved with the update, with apps launching up to 30% faster after the update is installed.

The cutoff is stricter than we'd typically see from a new iteration of watchOS. Even if your Apple Watch received the latest software last year, it might not make the cut this time.

The Series 6, Series 7, and Series 8 are all out, as is the original Apple Watch Ultra, which cost £849 at launch, and the second-generation Apple Watch SE.

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