Technologies

10 Features That Would Make Me Buy the Apple Watch Series 11

The next Apple Watch is coming soon! These are ways for Apple to make it shine and keep up with the competition.

With WatchOS 26 now in public beta, we’re getting a telling preview of what’s coming to Apple Watches this fall. But for those of us eyeing the next model (likely the Apple Watch Series 11, and possibly an Ultra or SE), the real question is: How will Apple one-up itself from last year’s Series 10? Better yet, how will it compete with newer flagships vying for your wrist this year?

Some of these requests are grounded in rumors, while others are mere wishful thinking. Here’s everything I hope Apple brings to its next smartwatch.

This wishlist is focused on the Series 11, because it’s the flagship model and the one that usually sets the tone for where the platform is headed next.

1. Smarter Siri

After using Gemini AI on the Galaxy Watch 8, it’s painfully clear just how far Siri is lagging. Gemini isn’t just more conversational; it’s actually useful on the wrist. It handles complex prompts in one go, summarizes aloud and spares you from dead-end results or clunky app handoffs. On a smartwatch, where time and screen space are limited, that makes a huge difference.

If Apple wants to compete, it needs to bring more «intelligence» to the Apple Watch. Right now, the few AI features that are available on the watch in the beta of WatchOS 26 (live translations in text messages and Workout Buddy) require an Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone to do the heavy lifting. Siri needs a serious upgrade across the board, along with more standalone processing power on the watch.

2. More powerful processor

This brings us to the chip that runs everything. The Ultra 2 and Series 10 already made strides by enabling on-device Siri for tasks like starting or stopping workouts without needing a phone nearby.

For the smarter Siri Apple envisions, the Series 11 will need more on-watch processing. The rumored S11 chip will have to bring real gains in speed and efficiency to support features like Workout Buddy directly on the watch, without leaning on the iPhone.

3. Two-day battery life

For me, battery life is one of the biggest deterrents to using the Apple Watch to its full potential. I get about 26 hours on the smaller Series 10 — barely enough to make it through a full day and night — which means constantly choosing between sleep tracking and starting my day with a full charge.

Most days, because I’m rushing out the door, I pick a full day over sleep tracking. That creates gaps in my Vitals app, throwing off the outlier alerts that could help flag onset illness, or the retroactive ovulation predictions that require overnight temperature tracking. And when I do manage a quick top-up, I often run out of juice midday (usually before my workout) so I don’t get the satisfaction of closing my rings.

The Ultra line has already shown what’s possible, pushing up to two days of battery life at full throttle (or 72 hours in low power mode). And while this may be far-fetched, I wish the regular Series would catch up. Apple hasn’t mentioned any efficiency gains in WatchOS 26, and so far, battery life rumors for the Series 11 are scarce. But if Apple can get us to a reliable 48 hours (even in low power mode), it would eliminate a major pain point for anyone serious about sleep tracking.

4. A surprise health/fitness metric

Blood pressure monitoring might be the most requested health feature I see (based on my very unscientific comment section data). Apple is reportedly testing it, but it may still be a year or more away. Noninvasive glucose tracking is another wishlist item but that’s even further out.

Still, there’s room for a novel feature that hasn’t leaked yet. Samsung’s Antioxidant Index was a pleasant surprise: a first-of-its-kind skin analysis that detects carotenoids. The feature hasn’t received FDA approval so it’s mostly categorized as a «wellness» tool and it’s questionable whether it will prove helpful long-term. But it sets the watch apart — and honestly, it was just fun to be surprised for once. It’s also been a neat little add-on that’s helped me stay more mindful of what I eat and how I manage stress by giving me something measurable to work on.

5. Clearer signals when you’re getting sick

The Apple Watch Vitals app already alerts you when multiple metrics are off but it doesn’t connect the dots for you. I’d love to see a feature like the Oura Ring’s Symptom Radar, which interprets those shifts and gently nudges you to take it easy, letting you pause your activity goals until your numbers are back to normal.

Apple does let you pause activity rings manually but when you’re dazed and sniffling, you’re probably not thinking about toggling settings. It should do that heavy lifting for you.

6. Circular design or rotating

This is veering deep into the realm of deranged wishful thinking but if Apple ever released a circular version of the Apple Watch — or better yet, added a rotating bezel like Samsung’s Classic series — I would be first in line. The rectangular design is iconic, but circular watches will always hold a special aesthetic place in my heart. And the beze l… that tactile cherry on top of a very elegant, albeit far-fetched, sundae.

7. UV exposure alerts

As someone who loves being outdoors, I never even considered I’d have issues getting enough Vitamin D in my day until I wore the Ultrahuman smart ring and realized my marathon office sessions were taking their toll. And I imagine this rings true for a lot of us. The ring would alert me when I hadn’t met my daily UV minimum — a surprisingly helpful nudge that made me rethink how much time I spend indoors.

The Apple Watch does have a UV Index complication option on some of its watchfaces but it’s passive and easy to ignore. I’d love proactive alerts that track your cumulative exposure and warn you when you’ve had too much — or not enough.

8. Dual frequency GPS, standard

The Ultra already includes precision dual-frequency GPS, but the regular Series 10 still doesn’t. Apple should make this standard across the board, just like Samsung did with its Galaxy Watch 8 lineup. It’s a feature you don’t realize you’re missing until you experience it, as it significantly improves location accuracy, especially in dense urban areas.

9. More app functionality

Now we’re crossing into software wishlist territory but I’d love to see full-fledged apps like WhatsApp on the watch with full call and message capabilities. The Notes app is finally arriving in WatchOS 26 (better late than never) and it’s a good reminder that there’s still a lot of untapped potential in bringing more everyday phone tools to the wrist.

10. More gesture customization

Apple introduced the double-tap gesture in 2023 and WatchOS 26 adds a flick gesture for quick controls. But gestures still feel underused (at least by this reviewer), mainly because you can’t customize them much beyond the limited list that Apple provides.

The default actions like silencing alarms or calls are fine but I’d love to assign gestures to things like pinging my phone or launching specific apps. Also, a small on-screen reminder flagging gesture shortcuts could go a long way in retraining that muscle memory.

Bottom line

Apple doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel with the Series 11 (although a rotating bezel would be nice) but with Gemini AI pushing Android forward, it does need to make some moves. Smarter Siri, more contextual health insights and a battery that can actually keep up … that’s the Apple Watch I’m waiting for.

Technologies

iOS 26: AI Summaries Come Back to iPhone News Apps, but With a Warning

Apple initially disabled these summaries in January.

Apple released iOS 26 on Monday, a few months after the company announced it at the June Worldwide Developers Conference. The update brings a new Liquid Glass redesign, call screening and hidden features to your iPhone. The update also brings AI notification summaries for news and entertainment apps back to Apple Intelligence-enabled iPhone.

Apple disabled AI notification summaries for news and entertainment apps in January. That came a few weeks after the BBC pointed out in December that the feature twisted the media organization’s notifications and displayed inaccurate information.

Here’s what to know about those AI summaries and the new warning.

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iOS 26 warns about summary inaccuracies

When I updated to iOS 26, I was greeted by some splash screens asking for various permissions. One splash screen was for the AI notification summaries. When you see this screen, you have two options: Choose Notifications to Summarize or Not Now. If you tap Not Now, the splash screen goes away.

If you tap Choose Notifications to Summarize, you’re taken to a new page where you’ll see three categories: News & Entertainment, Communication & Social and All Other Apps. Tapping one of these categories allows notification summaries for apps in that category. Beneath the News & Entertainment category, there’s a warning that gets outlined in red if you tap it.

«Summarization may change the meaning of the original headline,» the warning reads, adding, «Verify information.»

There’s also a warning across the bottom of the screen that reads, «This is a beta feature. Summaries may contain errors.»

After tapping the categories you want, tap Summarize Selected Notifications across the bottom of your screen. If you selected all the categories, this button will read Summarize All Notifications.

And if you don’t want these summaries, you can tap Do Not Summarize Notifications. If you allow these summaries and don’t like them, you can easily turn them off. Here’s how.

How to turn off AI notification summaries

1. Tap Settings.
2. Tap Notifications.
3. Tap Summarize Notifications.

4. Tap the Summarize Notifications toggle in the new menu.

You can also follow the above steps to turn AI notification summaries back on. You’ll have to select which categories you want these summaries for again, too.

For more on iOS 26, here’s my review of the OS, how to reduce the Liquid Glass effects in the update and how to enable call screening on your iPhone. You can also check out our iOS 26 cheat sheet.

Technologies

Amazon Prime Is Ending Shared Free Shipping. What to Know and When It Happens

How Prime Invitee program’s end could affect your free deliveries.

If you’ve been using someone else’s Amazon Prime membership for free shipping, but you don’t live in the same house, you may need to pay another subscription fee soon. According to Amazon’s updated customer service page, the online retail giant is ending its Prime Invitee benefit-sharing program Oct. 1.

Amazon’s Prime Invitee program is being replaced by Amazon Family, as reported earlier by The Verge. It includes many of the same benefits, but Amazon Family only works for up to two adults and four children living in the same «primary residential address» — a shared home.

You’ll still be able to use free shipping to send gifts elsewhere, but your Prime Invitees will no longer be able to use the perk.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Amazon isn’t the first company to prevent membership sharing between family and friends. The e-commerce giant is just the latest to follow Netflix’s account-sharing crackdown. While it’s unclear whether this change will work for Amazon, Netflix gained over 200,000 subscribers following its policy change. We also saw a similar account-sharing crackdown with Disney Plus and YouTube Premium.

Read more: More Than Just Free Shipping: Here Are 19 Underrated Amazon Prime Perks

What the Amazon Prime shipping crackdown means for you

If you’re the beneficiary of someone else’s Prime Invitee benefits, you have one more month to take advantage of the current program before the changes take effect.

Starting in October, you’ll have to get your own Amazon Prime subscription to benefit from the company’s free shipping program. First-time subscribers get a year of Prime membership for $15, but you’ll be stuck shelling out $15 a month to maintain your subscription thereafter.

Read more: Your Free Pass to Prime Day Deals (No Membership Required)

Why is Amazon ending the Prime Invitee program?

This move follows shortly after Reuters reported that Amazon’s Prime account signups slowed down recently despite an extended July Prime Day event. While the company reported blowout sales numbers, new Prime subscriptions didn’t meet internal expectations. In the US, they fell short of last year’s signup metrics.

According to Reuters, Amazon registered 5.4 million US signups over the 21-day run-up to the Prime Day event, around 116,000 fewer than during the same period in 2024, and 106,000 below the company’s own goal, a roughly 2% decline in both metrics.

By forcing separate households to have their own subscriptions, Amazon could be looking to attract more Prime accounts after previously failing to do so.

The new Amazon Family program (previously known as Amazon Household) offers Prime benefits to up to two adults and four children in a single home, including free shipping, Prime Video, Prime Reading and Amazon Music. The subscription also includes benefits for certain third-party companies, such as GrubHub.

Impulse Buys Under $25 on Amazon That Make Surprisingly Great Gifts

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Technologies

Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Pack Points System Needs an Overhaul Yesterday

The pack-opening pity points system is pitiful. There’s a very easy way to improve it.

Pokemon TCG Pocket is more than a mobile game: It’s a money-making machine. The virtual trading card app raked in more than $900 million in its first six months, eclipsing even Pokemon Go’s revenue in the same post-release time span. As it turns out, fake Pokemon cards are just as much of a hot commodity as the real thing.

People love ripping open card packs, hunting down ones with their favorite illustrations of fan-favorite Pokemon. It feels great to beat the odds by pulling an elaborately-inked full art or a shiny secret rare. But it really starts to irk me when I’m missing only one or two cards from a set and I can’t get lucky enough to pull them out of a pack.

Pokemon TCG Pocket has a «pity points» system that’s supposed to make this feel less terrible: Every time you open a pack, you earn five pack points, which you can directly trade in for a card of your choosing.

You can trade in 35 points for a common card, but if you want to get the rarest cards from a set, they could eat up 500 points, 1,250 points or even a whopping 2,500 points each. That means you’d have to rip open 500 card packs in order to earn a single copy of one of Pokemon TCG Pocket’s rarest cards.

It sounds absurd (and it is), but that’s to be expected for a free-to-play game, especially one where the developer makes money by encouraging players to pay for extra card pulls. My real big issue with pack points is that they’re restricted to the expansion set you earned them in.

For example, I have 210 pack points for the latest card set, Secluded Springs, and I’ve been exclusively pulling those packs since it was released. I also have 700 pack points for the game’s first-ever expansion Genetic Apex — but those points are locked to Genetic Apex, and can’t be used for any other set. I’ve accrued hundreds of pack points, but they’re essentially useless to me because they won’t help me complete the sets I’m still missing cards in.

Pokemon TCG Pocket expansion sets are released on a monthly basis, which means no one really has time to earn enough pack points for a rare card before the next shiny slate of cards is dangled in front of your eyes. It propagates a desperate sense of FOMO that I’ve criticized in the past, but there’s a simple solution that would make the problem disappear overnight.

Instead of locking pack points to any one set, they should be an account-wide currency instead. Every time you earn pack points, they should be added to one large pool that you can use on any of the in-game card sets. That way, players wouldn’t have to feel a manufactured sense of guilt for ripping open packs from older sets.

While it’s customary for gacha games to have a pity system that guarantees a certain reward after a certain amount of pulls, it’s by no means a requirement for these games to have these systems. In a sense, I’m grateful that the pack points exist in Pokemon TCG Pocket in the first place.

I think we should always argue for a more consumer-friendly experience in modern gaming. Overhauling the pity system so that pack points can be used universally across all of the in-game card sets will make the game fairer and give more players a real chance to get the rarest cards.

It creates a greater sense of parity between free-to-play and paying players, and it might even cause some people to spend more money on pack openings to boot. Universal pack points are a win-win for players and DeNA alike.