Apple’s Siri AI has made it to the Apple Watch. watchOS 27 rolled out to the public on September 14, 2026 as a free download. The update brings Apple’s more conversational assistant to the wrist, reworks how you get to your apps, and quietly drops a feature some owners still used.
Who gets it. The list of supported watches is shorter than usual: Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, Series 11 and Series 12, Apple Watch Ultra 2, Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, plus Apple Watch SE 3. The original Apple Watch Ultra from 2022 is out, and so are Series 8, Series 7, Series 6 and the second-generation SE. Your paired iPhone needs iOS 27 before the watch will update. Siri AI itself also needs an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, meaning the iPhone 15 Pro models, the iPhone Air, or any iPhone 16, iPhone 17 or iPhone 18.
Installing it. Once the phone is on iOS 27, open Settings on the watch (or the Watch app on the iPhone) and go to General > Software Update. Early testers found they sometimes had to swipe down to refresh the screen a few times before the download showed up.
These are the changes worth trying first:
- Siri AI and a dedicated Siri app. The assistant draws on personal context, onscreen awareness and actions inside apps. It gets more expressive voices, and past conversations now live in their own app. In early hands-on testing by Tom’s Guide, it held up well even with complex, context-dependent questions.
- Dynamic App Grid. One press of the Digital Crown opens a new default home screen with your five most-used or most relevant apps. That selection changes through the day. Swipe down to see every app.
- Siri Modular watch face. A rectangular complication mirrors the top widget of the Smart Stack and updates as that widget changes. Another complication opens Siri with a tap.
- Single Tap gesture. Tap your index finger and thumb together once to open the Smart Stack and pick a widget. It works like Double Tap, just with one tap.
- Call Context and Smart Stack suggestions. Siri can bring up relevant details during a phone call. The Smart Stack now adds reminders on its own for things like birthdays, low transit card balances, flight changes and where you parked.
- A consolidated Find My. People, devices and items now share a single map view. You can check on an AirTag in your luggage without taking out your phone.
- Better indoor workouts. Apple has improved how treadmill distance is calculated, so indoor walks and runs should log more accurately.
MacRumors also lists faster media playback, more accurate route maps, offline Shazam and a more readable Liquid Glass design among the smaller changes.
The catch. The Walkie-Talkie app is gone. It launched with watchOS 5 in 2018 and let you send push-to-talk voice messages between watches. Apple never announced the removal. The app simply vanished in the first watchOS 27 developer beta in June 2026, and the public release didn’t bring it back.
The overall picture: this isn’t a radical redesign. watchOS 27 is a careful upgrade over watchOS 26, and Siri AI does most of the heavy lifting. That makes Apple’s decision to cut older hardware harder to accept, especially for first-generation Ultra owners.
Earlier on GismoLand: Apple Watch Rethink. Cupertino eyes round screens and screenless fitness gear.
