Apple is in the final stages of testing its next Apple Watch models — the Series 12 and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 — according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter on July 26, 2026, with Engadget reporting the same.

The 2026 models will not bring a new look. Instead, Apple is focusing the update on better health and fitness tracking, faster internal components, and possibly a new processor. The last major chip upgrade was the S9, introduced with the Series 9 in 2023. The Series 10 and Series 11 used versions of that same chip rather than a new one. A new chip in the Series 12 would break that three-year streak, though Apple has not confirmed it.

The more affordable Apple Watch SE will not get an update in 2026. The SE 3 came out in 2025, and Apple seems to be updating that lower-priced model less often than its main lineup.

A bigger redesign of the Apple Watch's physical design is expected in a year or two, pointing to 2027 or 2028. This matches a report from 9to5Mac on June 30, 2026, which cited an unnamed source claiming a "major overhaul" was coming to a future model. That report also said the Ultra 4 would get a "major redesign" and new sensors. Gurman's July 26 newsletter, published about a month later, does not repeat the claim of an Ultra 4 redesign for 2026, instead placing the broader design rethink further out. The most recent reporting should be treated as the authoritative version: the 2026 Ultra 4 appears to be a smaller, step-by-step update, with the bigger redesign pushed later.

Apple's newsroom has no press release or official comment about the Series 12 or Ultra 4 as of the search date, which fits Apple's usual pattern of announcing new watch models at its September event.

The product timeline gives useful context. Apple introduced the Watch Series 10 in September 2024 in 42mm and 46mm sizes in jet black, rose gold, and silver aluminum. The Series 11 followed in September 2025, launching what Apple called "groundbreaking health insights," including alerts for signs of chronic high blood pressure. The Ultra 3 also arrived in September 2025. If Apple follows its usual September pattern, the Series 12 and Ultra 4 would debut in September 2026.

One feature people have been hoping for is still in development: blood sugar tracking without a finger prick. Apple is still working on it, using light-based sensors to read glucose levels through the skin. Apple was reportedly developing this technology as early as 2024, and it appears to still be in the research stage rather than close to shipping. Reading blood sugar through the skin has been a difficult engineering problem across the whole wearables industry. Apple's continued work on it means the company has not given up, but its absence from the 2026 health improvements suggests it is not ready yet.

The broader context here is that Apple's watch strategy in 2026 is about refinement rather than big changes. After the Series 11's blood pressure alerts, a genuinely new health feature, the Series 12 and Ultra 4 look like steady improvement releases: better sensors, a likely new chip, and deeper fitness tracking, all in the same physical design. If you followed the iPhone over the years, you will recognize this pattern. The major redesign, along with potentially big sensor additions like glucose monitoring, is being saved for 2027 or later.

For people who build apps for the Apple Watch, the near-term message is stability. No new design means no new screen sizes or new ways to interact with the watch to account for. Health and fitness app changes are the more likely area of update, and even there the scope appears limited. The bigger changes for developers, if they come, will arrive with the redesign, but that is a year or more away.