Apple releases watchOS 26 RC to Developers and Testers

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After nine beta updates, Apple has released the watchOS 26 release candidate to developers and public beta testers. As shared by Apple, watchOS 26 is will be available to everyone on September 15 along with iOS 26 and other major releases. The watchOS 26 is supported on Watch Series 6 or later, Watch SE 2nd gen and later, and all Watch Ultra models.

Today was a big day for Apple fans with multiple product launches at the ‘Awe Dropping’ event, including the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, and AirPods Pro 3. Shortly after the event concluded, Apple also released watchOS 26 Release Candidate (RC).

Along with the watchOS 26 RC, Apple also released iOS 26 RC, iPadOS 26 RC, iOS 18.7 RC, tvOS 26 RC, macOS Tahoe 26 RC, macOS Sequoia 15.7 RC6, macOS Sonoma 14.8 RC6, and visionOS 26 RC.

The watchOS 26 release candidate comes with build number 23R351 and weighs around 700MB. For users who have already used watchOS 26 in beta, there may not be any major changes in the Release Candidate. Whereas, new users will experience the whole new UI and major changes.

The new OS for Apple Watch brings a new design language called ‘Liquid Glass’, the same as iOS 26. On top of the new UI, the watchOS 26 also adds new features such as Apple Intelligence-powered Workout Buddy, improved smart stack, messages, and more.