The Ultra face, for everyone
One of the most concrete announcements for Apple Watch users at WWDC 2026 concerns the Modular Ultra watch face: previously exclusive to Apple Watch Ultra, in watchOS 27 it will also arrive on Series models in an adapted version. As reported by 9to5Mac and MacRumors, the version for standard models retains the large digital clock occupying the top two-thirds of the display, but drops the large center complication and the row of three smaller complications above the time, replacing everything with a row of three complications below the time display.
The result is a cleaner, readability-focused watch face that brings Ultra aesthetics to wrists that haven't paid the premium price of the top-tier model. It's a practical concession Apple could have made years ago, but it's welcome nonetheless.
Alongside this, watchOS 27 introduces improvements to heart rate tracking, flagged by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Technical details were not made public during the keynote — Apple covered watchOS very quickly — but WWDC sessions throughout the week will clarify the scope of the update. The improvement is expected on existing hardware, without requiring the new Apple Watch expected this fall.