Apple is removing these five watch faces with watchOS 26

Apple Watch Series 11

Cupertino-based tech giant Apple recently unveiled its new OS updates for its ecosystem of devices, including the watchOS 26 for its Apple Series smartwatches. In addition to a massive visual user interface overhaul, this latest update comes with new features such as Workout Buddy, wrist flick gesture support, phone call screening, and other enhancements. Further, like other operating systems from the company, we also get a new Liquid Glass UI with the watchOS 26 update, which provides a glass-like translucent system design.

However, like last year’s watchOS 11 software update, where the company removed four watch faces, a report by 9to5Mac has confirmed that Apple has axed five existing watch faces with the latest watchOS 26 update. While the company has not provided a specific reason for the removal of these particular watch faces, it's believed they have been discontinued because of their lower usage rates or because of their incompatibility with newer hardware and design aesthetics.

watchOS 26 removes these Apple watch faces: Key details

The Fire and Water, Liquid Metal, Vapor, The Gradient, and The Toy Story watch faces have been effectively removed with the latest watchOS 26 update. The first three faces were notably introduced with the Apple Watch Series 4 and were optimized to showcase the visual effects of the curved edges of the smartwatch.

Moreover, the Toy Story collection has also been a regular watch face since watchOS 4, and offers various animated characters from the franchise, like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie. Notably, Apple didn’t show off any new watch faces as part of the watchOS 26 update at the WWDC keynote. However, we can expect new watch faces to be introduced in September, when the company is expected to introduce new Apple Series watches.