We are having an issue with our app after upgrading to WatchOS 26. After some time our complication disappears from the watch face. If you go to add it back, our app shows up with an empty icon placeholder and you are unable to tap it to add it back. Sometimes restarting the watch will bring it back, sometimes it does not. Has anyone experienced this? What should we be looking at to figure out why this is happening? Or could this be a bug in WatchOS 26?

After upgrading to watchOS 26, users report that when playing music on Apple Watch, if a fitness reminder is received, the music automatically pauses and users need to manually tap the play button to resume music playback. This phenomenon occurs with multiple music and podcast apps. This issue did not exist before the upgrade. We would like to know if this is an Apple bug or if there are any special development configurations needed?"

Hi, so here's my situation: I am currently building an app of which I want to have an Apple Watch standalone version / companion (idk yet, also doesn't matter). For it to be compatible with basically every Watch except for the original (Series 0) I want support for down to watchOS 6, as many models ended there. I also don't need the newest features for basic functionality and I can still add more for newer versions while keeping the basic functionality for watchOS 6, so that is not a concern, I'd rather have the compatibility. However, watchOS 6 is the last version to require the Storyboard architecture with an app bundle and extension target. I did some research and found out that you can create that and set the development target to 6.0 while also having a SwiftUI target with a development target of 7.0. That would have the benefit of being able to use SwiftUI for modern features to give a nice experience while building a basic but functional version for 6.0 in Storyboard architecture. And it would figure out what to install on its own based on the watchOS version. Now the problem is, in Xcode 26 I can't create a watchOS target with the Storyboard architecture anymore, the option is just not there. So to solve that, I installed Xcode 12 on Big Sur and created one from the template in a new project. That project can be opened and edited with no problems in Xcode 26 as long as it is already configured, you just can't create a watchOS target with that architecture anymore, it has to be there already to work with it. Now I just need to copy the app and extension target with the corresponding files and configuration to my other project, and that is the problem. I can't seem to find proper way to copy that over, and that is where I need your help. Or maybe someone has a way to create that in Xcode 26, but from my understanding the template is gone. Thanks so much in advance

I'm trying to make a watchOS app that uses sleep data to wake users up when they enter lighter sleep stages. Apple has HealthKit, which exposes HKCategoryValueSleepAnalysis to view each stage throughout sleep, but unfortunately, this data is only written after the user wakes up. I did some research and found that the Apple Watch’s sleep classifier is part of Apple’s private system process, and apps can’t access that model directly or as it’s running. So, there’s no way to “record” my own data stream and match it with Apple’s classification during the night. Has anyone found a way to approximate or access live sleep-stage data in another way? I’m thinking of combining CoreMotion (for movement) and heart rate data from a HKWorkoutSession to infer stages myself, but I’m wondering if there’s any Apple-approved or more accurate approach for this. In other words, is there any way to use an Apple Watch to detect sleep stages accurately while the user is still asleep for the purpose of timing an optimal wake-up? Thanks

Hello, I’m building a health-related app for both watchOS and iOS, which needs to monitor certain health data (e.g., heart rate, active energy). Before updating to watchOS 26, the queries worked reliably without any issues. However, after adapting to watchOS 26, some users have reported that health data updates stop being delivered. What I’ve observed: HKObserverQuery with enableBackgroundDelivery is set up normally. On WatchOS 26, the query sometimes stops delivering updates entirely after a certain point, and once an update is missed, it may stop delivering further updates completely. Restarting the Apple Watch temporarily restores delivery, but the problem reoccurs after some time. This makes background health data monitoring unreliable for my app. Here’s a simplified version of the code we are using: guard let heartType = HKObjectType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRate) else { return } let query = HKObserverQuery(sampleType: heartType, predicate: nil) { query, completionHandler, error in if let error = error { logEvent("Observer error: \(error.localizedDescription)") return } logEvent("Heart rate changed") MyNotificationManager.shared.sendNotification() // Send a local notification completionHandler() } healthStore.execute(query) healthStore.enableBackgroundDelivery(for: heartType, frequency: .hourly) { success, error in if success { logEvent("Background heart rate delivery enabled") } else { logEvent("Failed to enable background heart rate delivery: \(error?.localizedDescription ?? "Unknown error")") } } Could you please clarify: Is this a known issue with HKObserverQuery and enableBackgroundDelivery on watchOS 26? Are there any recommended workarounds or best practices to ensure continuous background delivery of health data? Thank you in advance for your help.

In the watchOS Fitness app, when you change your goals using the Digital Crown, a focus ring appears around the stepper. Something I can't understand is how the green focus ring is not centered around the stepper buttons (which is the default behavior). Furthermore, I don't understand how the goal text and captions inside the stepper label are also not centered within the stepper. A final behavior I don't understand is when the goal number transitions from 999 to 1000, the stepper changes height, but doesn't affect the height of any parent views. import SwiftUI struct ContentView: View { @State private var value = 999.0 var body: some View { VStack { Text("MOVE GOAL") .font(.subheadline) .foregroundStyle(.red) .padding(.top) Stepper { VStack { Text("\(Int(value))") .allowsTightening(true) .minimumScaleFactor(value > 999 ? 0.70 : 1.0) .lineLimit(1) Text("CALORIES") .font(.subheadline) .foregroundStyle(.red) } } onIncrement: { value += 1 } onDecrement: { value -= 1 } .tint(.red) .digitalCrownRotation( $value, from: 1, through: 9999, by: 1, sensitivity: .high, isContinuous: false, isHapticFeedbackEnabled: true ) Button { print("added") } label: { Text("Set") .foregroundStyle(.black) } .tint(.red) .buttonStyle(.borderedProminent) .padding(.top) } } } This is the code I've been able to get as close as possible without delving into GeometryReader, where I've had zero luck modifying the positioning of the label within the stepper.

I'm encountering an issue with navigation title behavior in watchOS SwiftUI. When using a String for the navigation title, long titles automatically scroll as expected. However, when switching to Text with custom foreground color, the scrolling behavior is lost. Important Observation: The system Settings app on watchOS successfully displays navigation titles with blue color while maintaining scroll behavior. This suggests it should be technically possible - am I missing some implementation approach? struct ContentView: View { var body: some View { NavigationStack { NavigationLink("Go Next") { LinkView() } } } } struct LinkView: View { enum NavigationTitleMode: String { case string case text } @State private var titleMode: NavigationTitleMode = .string let title: String = "Watch UI Test Navigation Title" var body: some View { switch titleMode { case .string: content .navigationTitle(title) case .text: content .navigationTitle { Text(title) .foregroundStyle(.blue) } } } var content: some View { VStack { Text("Mode: \(titleMode.rawValue)") Button("Change Mode", systemImage: "pencil") { if titleMode == .string { titleMode = .text } else { titleMode = .string } } } .padding() .navigationBarTitleDisplayMode(.inline) } } String Mode: Text Mode: Environment watchOS 26.0 Xcode 26.0 (17A324) Swift 5.9

I am trying to run the simple demo app from xcode on my Apple Watch SE 1st gen, which has WatchOS 10.6 This turned out to be an impossible mission. I have xcode 16.1 installed, can't downgrade to 15.4 (which is the latest that supports this os) since it won't run on my OS (Sequoia), using parallels I installed Sonoma and xcode 15.4 but it won't recognize my iphone or my watch. Asking ChatGPT it seems that it is possible to use the DeviceSupport watchOS 10.6 image if I get it from someone, but loading it up "the right way" on my machine turned out to be impossible. Any recommendations / help / link to this file where I can download it?

I have both apple devices, AirPods Pro 3 is up to date and Ultra 3 is on watch os 26.1 latest public beta. Each morning when I would go on my mindfulness app and start a meditation or listen to Apple Music on my watch and AirPods Pro 3, it will play for a few seconds then disconnects. My bluetooth settings on my watch says my AirPods is connected to my watch. I also have removed the tick about connecting automatically to iPhone on the AirPods setting in my iPhone. To fix this I invariably turn off my Apple Watch Ultra 3 and turn it on again. Then the connection becomes stable. I am not sure why I have to do this each morning. It is frustrating. I am not sure why this fix does not last long? Is there something wrong with my AirPods? Has anyone encountered this before?

Beta two keeps hanging during the download process and says connect to wifi (which I am) or after hours it may download the beta 1.4gb file only to have to freeze in next processing step. I have tried all the resets, reinstalling both the watch and the phone running OS26.1 Beta 2 etc. The impact is the watch and the current software implementation is only getting a couple hours of battery usages before going dead

I'm reporting a critical Health data synchronization failure that began immediately after updating from watchOS 18 to watchOS 26.0.2 (stable release) and persists in watchOS 26.1 beta 2. Bug Description: Complete failure of Health data sync from Apple Watch to iPhone Health app. All health metrics are being captured and stored locally on the watch but fail to sync to the paired iPhone. Affected Data Types: Activity rings (Move, Exercise, Stand) Heart rate measurements Sleep tracking data Workout data All other HealthKit data points Environment: Device: Apple Watch Series 7 Initial failure: watchOS 26.0.2 (23R362) - stable release Current: watchOS 26.1 beta 2 (23S5052c) Paired iPhone: iPhone 17 Pro Max, iOS 26.1 beta 2 (23B5052c) Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity: Normal Watch pairing status: Connected and functional for all other features Reproduction: Updated Apple Watch Series 7 from watchOS 18 to watchOS 26.0.2 on September 30, 2025 Health data sync ceased completely starting October 1, 2025 Issue persists after updating to watchOS 26.1 beta 2 and iOS 26.1 beta 2 Data remains stored locally on watch and is viewable in watch apps Apple Watch appears as connected data source in Health app but no data transfers Troubleshooting Performed: Multiple device restarts (both iPhone and Apple Watch) Bluetooth/Wi-Fi toggling and reconnection Verified Privacy > Motion & Fitness > Fitness Tracking and Health enabled on both devices Confirmed data source priority settings in Health app Extended charging periods to allow background sync operations Verified no Low Power Mode restrictions Impact: Critical functionality loss for primary Apple Watch use case. Unable to track longitudinal health data, breaking continuity of health records dating back to watchOS 18. Feedback Submitted: FB20533870 filed via Feedback Assistant with sysdiagnose from both devices Questions for Engineering: Is this a known regression in watchOS 26.0.2 or later builds? Are there any watchOS 26.1 beta release notes addressing HealthKit sync issues that I should review? Should I capture additional diagnostic data (e.g., specific console logs, HealthKit database states)? Is unpairing/re-pairing expected to resolve this, or would that indicate a deeper architectural issue? Additional Context: Apple Watch appears in Settings > Bluetooth as connected Can successfully change watch faces from iPhone Notifications, Messages, and calls work normally No previous sync issues prior to watchOS 26.0.2 Senior Apple Support advisor escalation completed; awaiting engineering review This appears to be a regression introduced in watchOS 26.0.2. Any guidance on additional diagnostics or confirmation of a fix in upcoming builds would be appreciated.

Looking at the UIDesignRequiresCompatibility documentation, watchOS is not listed among the supported platforms. When added to the project, it is also being ignored, resulting in Liquid Glass design. It is possible to opt-out from Liquid Glass design temporarily. Is that just an oversight for Apple Watch please?

Hello, My watchOS app has been performing fine by requesting background app refresh and then requesting any new data from health kit in the background so that the widget can be updated. However, on watchos26 I have been unable to read data in the background, with any query returning zero results. That same data is clearly read just fine while in the foreground. Can anyone assist?

Hi, I'm developing a watchOS app, no parent iOS app, when I archive the app, and submit it to APP Store Connect, it returns an info.plist error that I didn't set micphone permission description, but I actually set it. Could anyone how to fix it? and how to submit only a watchOS APP? Any help will be appreciated! thanks！

I'm having problems with my released app with iOS & WatchOS 26 support. I've added AppIntentConfiguration support in the WatchOS app such that users can configure the complication. My complications also support multiple families and so I have slightly different configuration options available if its in the .accessoryRectangular slot or the .accessoryCircular one. This works fine on Apple Watch when editing the Watch face. Here you can then select the configuration options fine and they are correct for the different variants. However on iOS when configuring in the Apple Watch app on iPhone, the different complication size is ignored and the same configuration options are offered meaning they are wrong for one of them. I created a sample project, here is the app intent code: struct TestWidgetConfigurationIntent: AppIntent, WidgetConfigurationIntent { static var title: LocalizedStringResource = "New Widgets with Configuration" static var description = IntentDescription("Lots of stuff.") static var isDiscoverable: Bool { return false} init() {} func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult { return .result() } @Parameter(title: "Enable More Detail", default: true) var moreDetail: Bool @Parameter(title: "Enable Other Parameter", default: true) var otherParameter: Bool static var parameterSummary: some ParameterSummary { When(widgetFamily: .equalTo, .accessoryRectangular) { Summary("Test Info") { \.$moreDetail \.$otherParameter } } otherwise : { Summary("Test Info") { \.$moreDetail } } } } In WatchOS you get the correct configuration options: In iOS you do not, you get the same configuration option regardless of which family size you select: This could be a bug so I've filed feedback FB20328319. Otherwise if anyone has insights, it would be very appreciated. This is all tested on the current iOS 26.0 and WatchOS 26.0 versions. Thanks!

I'm developing a watchOS companion app for my iOS app in Xcode 26.0.1 on macOS Sequoia. The watch app uses a simple ObservableObject class with @Published properties for state management, which compiles fine for iOS but fails for the watchOS target. Error: Initializer 'init(wrappedValue:)' is not available due to missing import of defining module 'Combine' Code: swiftimport SwiftUI import WatchConnectivity import Combine // Added explicitly class WatchConnectivityProvider: NSObject, ObservableObject { @Published var distance: Double = 0 @Published var isActive: Bool = false // Additional @Published properties... } Environment: Xcode 26.0.1 (17A400) macOS Sequoia watchOS deployment target: 11.0 Apple Watch Series 11 running watchOS 11.6.1 What I've tried: Adding import Combine explicitly Cleaning build folder Verifying target membership This same code pattern works in the iOS target Is @Published / Combine supported differently in watchOS under Xcode 26? This code worked in previous Xcode versions. What's the recommended approach for observable state in watchOS apps with Xcode 26?

Are there any HealthKit related changes to be aware of in the new update that enables SPO2 / Blood Oxygen Saturation measurements on certain Apple Watch models within the US? I’m aware of processing happening on the phone…. But beyond that: Does this mean values are then saved to Apple Health? Do these models still take background SPO2 measurements in the same way as other models do? Are these values then visible in third party iOS apps as normal through HealthKit? Do these values sync back to the paired Apple Watch HealthKit store for third party apps to access on the Watch? For reference I have an iOS and WatchOS app that, amongst other features, provides the ability to see your SPO2 values in the Watch app, complications and in the iOS app.

Notification coordination between iOS and watchOS is not working properly watchOS and iOS try to coordinate between phone and watch notifications. The concept here is that if there is a main app and a companion app, they could both be sending a notification, then the notification would alert on both, which is a deviation from how notification mirroring is handled if there is an iOS app but no watch app. The watch waits for the iOS notification to fire so they can determine if this is the same notification that needs to be deduped, displayed on one device but not the other, or separate notifications to be displayed both. If there is no notification on the phone, the watch will timeout after 13 seconds and alert anyway. If you have an iOS companion app, the best solution to this is to send the same notification on both devices simultaneously, and ensuring the UNNotificationRequest.identifier matches on both notifications. This will let the systems determine how to handle the notification correctly and quickly, and the notification will alert right away. https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/765669 According to the above article, "when a notification arrives on watchOS alone first, it coordinates with iOS," but in reality, it doesn't work properly. Detailed process of this phenomenon watchOS receives a notification. On watchOS, the notification is not immediately shown to the user. iOS receives a notification with the same UNNotificationRequest.identifier as in (1). The notification in (3) does not appear on either iOS or watchOS. However, the notification from (3) does appear in iOS Notification Center. Thirteen seconds after watchOS received the notification, the notification from (1) is shown to the user on watchOS. In the end, the iOS and watchOS notifications are not consolidated and each remains in its respective notification center. Up to (3) there are no issues. Starting with (4), both iOS and watchOS exhibit a lot of odd behavior. This phenomenon occurs with both local notifications and push notifications. When iOS receives the notification first, there is no problem. The notification for watch received later is processed appropriately, and the watchOS notification is not additionally displayed to the user. Expected proper process Same as above. Same as above. Same as above. The notification in (1) is integrated into the notification in (3). The notification in (3) is alerted to the user immediately. 2 sample projects to reproduce Only the main code is attached. Sample project1: local notifications Swift code for local notification app (iOS, watchOS) - App.swift.txt Sample project2: push notifications This sample project is implemented using Firebase Functions and Firebase Cloud Messaging. Swift code push notification app (iOS, watchOS) - App.swift.txt Server side JavaScript code for FirebaseFunction - index.js.txt Tested devices and OS This phenomenon occurred in both of the following patterns. Pattern 1 Xcode 26.0 iPhone 16 (iOS 26.0) Apple Watch series 10 (watchOS 26.0) Pattern 2 Xcode 16.4 iPhone 11 (iOS 18.6) Apple Watch SE 2nd gen (watchOS 11.6) Question Is this phenomenon a bug? Or is my understanding or implementation incorrect? Feedback Assistant number FB20339772

Hello, I’ve run into an issue with a configuration profile on my supervised iPhone. I’m wondering if anyone here might be able to help? The profile contains the allowListedAppBundleIDs key within the restrictions payload. My Apple Watch is paired with the iPhone. The iPhone was supervised manually with Apple Configurator, hence the Apple Watch has not been directly supervised itself. The profile works completely as expected when installed on the phone. As soon as the profile is installed on the iPhone, I can witness the apps on the Apple Watch rearrange themselves as some apps are hidden. So clearly the profile is applying its restrictions to the Apple Watch to some degree. My issue however is that apps listed in the whitelist are hidden from the Watch. The apps that are missing from my Watch are Walkie Talkie, Find My Items, Find My Friends, Messages, Alarm, Remote, Now Playing, Sleep, Meditation and Heart Rate. This is despite the following bundle IDs being listed in the whitelist array: com.apple.findmy.findpeople, com.apple.findmy.finddevices, com.apple.HeartRate, com.apple.SessionTrackerApp, com.apple.NanoWorldClock, com.apple.findmy.finditems, com.apple.Mind, com.apple.NanoOxygenSaturation, com.apple.watchmemojieditor com.apple.NanoSleep com.apple.NanoNowPlaying com.apple.noise com.apple.tincan com.apple.NanoRemote com.apple.NanoAlarm com.apple.private.NanoTimer com.apple.NanoStopwatch I’ve done some testing, but not sure what I’ve found really. I’ve so far identified 3 scenarios. Scenario 1: I have the whitelist profile installed on the iPhone. I download an app that appears in the whitelist from my watch (or at least its iPhone version does). The apps show up on the iPhone automatically and can be launched there. These apps cannot be launched on the watch. Scenario 2: I downloaded a few apps to my watch, that didn’t automatically install on my iPhone at the same time. They were on the whitelist. These ones couldn’t be launched from my Watch. I then downloaded them to the iPhone and they could be launched there (since they were on the whitelist). Scenario 3: A couple of 3rd party apps on the whitelist could be downloaded and launched from the watch with the whitelist installed. It seems as though there are different kinds of Apple Watch app and this is what I’ve read elsewhere. First of all there are Watch-only apps, which do not automatically install a companion iPhone app. Secondly there are companion apps, which when installed from the Watch App Store download their companion app to the iPhone in the background. Someone please correct me - I’m bound to be overlooking something here. So maybe the apps that when installed from Watch automatically install on iPhone and can only be launched from the iPhone have a separate bundle ID for their Watch app which I haven’t included? Apps that are on the whitelist AND do not automatically install an iPhone app AND can be launched from the Watch, include: solstice What3words So maybe these do not need a companion app, but have the same Bundle ID as their iPhone app? However, I’m still not sure why many stock Apple Watch apps are missing from the Watch…. The most obvious answer is that I’ve got their Bundle IDs wrong, but I don’t think I have given I extracted the bundle IDs from the App Store pages of the Apple WatchOS apps. I noticed at this Apple Support page (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/deployment/dep34c5cd30f/1/web/1.0) that there is no mention of whitelisting or blacklisting apps on WatchOS using MDM, yet something definitely happens on the watch when the configuration profile is installed on the iPhone. Furthermore, if I tap on a configuration profile, which comprises a blacklist, on my iPhone it will ask me if I want to install it on the iPhone or Watch. The same pop-up question doesn’t happen when the profile contains a whitelist. All this to say, I’m massively confused as to why I can’t get this working. I’d really appreciate anyone’s advice which is bound to be expert. Thank you

I added a watchkit extension to an existing app. I get this error when uploading to App Store Connect. Building the archive itself is fine: Prepared archive for uploading Upload failed error: Validation failed Missing Info.plist value. A value for the key “WKApplication”, or “WKWatchKitApp” if your project has a WatchKit App Extension target, is required in “Runner.app/Watch/watch_Watch_App.app” bundle. For details, see: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/watchkit/creating_independent_watchos_apps/setting_up_a_watchos_project have the exact same issue when bundling. I added the flag manually in a additional plist fields entry with WKApplication=1 because my Info.Plist is generated and it didn't help. I wrote a custom Run Script Phase that added the flag and that didn't help as well. I need a reply from someone from Apple here. This needs to be fixed.