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Apple Worldwide Developers Conference It launches on June 8, bringing a new set of software updates across the company’s ecosystem, including WatchOS 27 to Apple watch. But this year, all eyes are on the country Siri. After years of falling behind competitors, Apple’s voice assistant is said to be set for its biggest overhaul yet, with new AI capabilities and deeper integrations expected to take center stage at WWDC.
With Siri’s glow dominating the headlines, the WatchOS 27 update, which we expect to be recurring, will likely get buried. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing if what Apple is building isn’t just a smarter assistant, but a smarter coach.
Last year was a big year for WatchOS. What WatchOS 12 was supposed to be in series It’s WatchOS 26 As part of a broader rebranding that unified Apple’s software nomenclature across the board. The Apple Watch gets the same liquid glass optical overhaul as the rest of the range, battery improvements and a new Apple Intelligence display. Workout buddy Feature provides personalized encouragement in your ear during workouts.
For runners like me, this means hearing things like, “This is the fastest mile I’ve run yet,” at the moment when your legs threaten to give out.
The Modular watch face on the Apple Watch Ultra may be coming to the rest of the lineup.
By contrast, this year, WatchOS 27 is shaping up to be more of an enhanced version than a comprehensive overhaul. according to Bloomberg Mark GurmanApple is working on improvements to heart rate tracking and battery. He also mentioned that the Modular Ultra watch face could finally make its way to standard Apple Watch models, bringing one of the sought-after Ultra features to the wider lineup. It’s basically a watch face for people who want every available pixel occupied by useful information. And if it is Fix Siri Arriving as expected, it’s safe to assume that some of its newfound intelligence will transfer to the wrist.
After spending time with Google Gemini AI on wearablesI welcome the ability to get a direct answer from Siri instead of being handed a web link that I’ll never open on a small screen. But what I actually want from WatchOS 27, aside from better battery life, has more to do with what I don’t want.
It seems like every major wearable brand has launched their own AI-based health coach. Is Apple next?
From friend to coach
To be honest, I don’t want another subscription-based chatbot to be buried inside the Health app.
AI-based health coaches have spread across devices and software platforms. Oura has a Consultant, Whoop has a Coach, and Google is pushing Gemini-powered coaching through it Fitbit revamped to Google Health. They all analyze your health data, identify trends, and compile the results into something actionable. They also come at a higher price and rely on your phone as an intermediary between you and those thoughts.
It was supposed to be Apple’s answer Mulberry projectthe health app first unveiled by Gurman has been revamped with its AI-powered health coach said to be designed to analyze your data and make personalized recommendations. But its latest reports suggest the initiative has been delayed and scaled back, with parts of it expected to arrive in the health app later this year rather than as a standalone service. This might be a good move.
Because if Mulberry ends up becoming another chatbot living behind the paywall in the Health app, Apple will be fighting the same battle everyone else is already fighting.
The problem isn’t that Apple doesn’t have an AI health coach, it’s that everyone already has them, and they’re not as life-changing as they promise.
Google based on Gemini Health coach He can build me a solid training plan when my readiness score indicates I can handle the push. But once practice starts, I’ll be on my own. Apple has an opportunity to do something different.
Imagine receiving real-time feedback in your ear: how hard you pushed during HIIT, whether your heart rate was too high for today’s recovery load, whether your pace is falling behind your best.
Apple is uniquely positioned to achieve this goal. The company spent years creating Fitness Plus, a video-based workout subscription service centered around real trainers, on the idea that great training can change the way people train. She takes this philosophy a step further with Workout Buddy by having her voice coached by the same Fitness Plus trainers instead of a general assistant. Apple already has the watch that collects biometric data, the AirPods that sit in your ears, and the training expertise built into its fitness platform.
This is a completely different category of health coach than a chatbot that lives within the app. This would also require the level of accuracy of peak heart rate in the moment that the Apple Watch is known for. The rumored heart rate tracking improvements in WatchOS 27 would fit perfectly into this vision.
Apple launched Workout Buddy in WatchOS 26 to provide data-based stimulation in your ear during workouts.
A smarter assistant powered by Siri can give Workout Buddy the contextual awareness it needs to evolve from a encouragement engine into a true training system that uses your biometric data in real time, knows when you’re talking through your AirPods (or other Bluetooth headphones) and helps you make better decisions while you’re actually working out. An in-app chatbot can reveal long-term trends, but Buddy will be the real selling point.
The only caveat is privacy. Apple has earned trust through strict control of health data, and any integration with Gemini would naturally raise questions about which data stays local and which data doesn’t. Apple says requests will be run through Private Cloud Compute, but understanding what you’re agreeing to will be important, especially if AI becomes deeper into health features.
Your Apple Watch is having a battery issue
The quality of a good trainer is only the quality of the data behind it, and much of the data that determines how hard you should push on any given day is collected while you sleep. Recovery metrics, sleep quality, resting heart rate, nighttime heart rate variability, temperature fluctuations… they’re the basis for many of the readiness scores and training recommendations these health platforms rely on.
And this is where the Apple Watch still struggles. If I forget to wear my watch while sleeping because it’s charging, which happens more often than I’d like to admit, there’s a lot of data for an AI coach to deal with the next morning. Even the smartest and most precise training system in the world cannot fill the gaps.
The flagship Apple Watch Series 11 lasts about 28 hours on a charge.
With the rise of screen-less health trackers like the Fitbit Air, Oura Ring, and Whoop Band, consumers are getting used to wearables that stay on their wrists for a week without any charges. It’s also the main reason serious athletes have access to a dedicated Garmin device via their Apple Watch to track their daily recovery. One lost night can skew your baselines, and the Apple Watch’s 24-hour cap is a real limitation to the overnight data that guides your recovery and training.
Software improvements can help margins, but they won’t completely close that gap.
The solution, which won’t be coming anytime soon, is likely to be a screen-less Apple Watch companion: a band or loop that handles overnight tracking and passive health monitoring while the Apple Watch handles day-to-day work. And while we’re not expecting an Apple ring at WWDC this year, there may be some clues.
The question for WatchOS 27 isn’t just whether Apple can create an AI health coach. It’s about whether it can build one that people actually listen to, because it’s in the right place, it’s collecting the right data and ultimately helping you change your habits.
