tvOS 27 and watchOS 27: What's new on Apple TV and Apple Watch
In addition to iOS 27 and Co., Apple's smaller devices are also getting fresh operating systems. These innovations have become known.
Apple TV 4K with tvOS: Partially a bit polished.
(Image: Apple)
Yesterday's WWDC 2026 keynote was unusual in that it addressed the new operating systems not individually, but bundled – to then allow sufficient time for the new Siri AI features. Less prominent systems like watchOS 27 and tvOS 27, on the other hand, received hardly any time in the video. Yet, quite a bit has happened on Apple Watch and Apple TV. An overview.
Many small improvements – first Ultra no longer supported
Under watchOS 27, various design improvements that are intended to make the liquid glass interface more consistent will likely be noticed first. But it doesn't stop there. The new Siri, aka Siri AI, is more deeply integrated and also comes as a standalone app, with processing likely to occur via the connected iPhone. Otherwise, Apple promises more accurate step tracking on the Apple Watch, faster Wi-Fi connections, guest keys for Home Key, a new tap gesture, faster app launches, and a consolidated “Find My” app.
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The interface now comes with a dynamic app display (Dynamic App Grid), new settings menus, improved Smart Stacks (including for automatic display of IDs and tickets), and accelerated media playback. Apple also promises optimizations in the Wallet app, water detection (should now work “more efficiently” during swimming), and GymKit, which for the first time is available not only on the Watch but also on the connected iPhone. watchOS 27 runs starting with the Apple Watch Series 9 and the SE 3. Very unfortunate: The first-generation Ultra is no longer supported.
tvOS 27 and Home Innovations
tvOS 27 is also expected to benefit from Liquid Glass optimizations. Among individual new features, Apple mentions a revised Podcasts app, faster AirPlay connections to HomePods among others, a control center that appears faster, and smart downloads in the TV app. There will also be improvements in text display in the form of additional display sizes.
A new version of HomePod OS is also likely pending, although Apple did not provide any details. However, it is already clear that Siri AI will be able to intelligently summarize notifications from home devices, among other things. In addition, sequences can be searched for and summaries created in videos from HomeKit cameras. HomeKit Secure Video also supports cameras with 4K resolution for the first time. It remains unclear which ones will be compatible. For example, those from Eufy, which actually support 4K, but currently switch down to 1080p for HomeKit Secure Video, could be considered.
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