Apple is bringing major updates to the Apple Watch this fall with watchOS 26. Among several changes, such as the new Apple Notes app, Apple Intelligence features, and Control Center upgrades, the most distinctive addition is a new system called hints, built as a companion to the Smart Stack widget system.
These hints aim to fix a long-standing issue: users often forget to open the Smart Stack. Despite its usefulness, if you don’t interact with it, it serves little purpose. Apple’s solution is simple. It brings the Smart Stack to you.
Hints Offer Timely Prompts, Right on the Watch Face
Hints appear directly on the watch face as subtle visual cues, encouraging you to engage with specific Smart Stack widgets when they matter most. They’re not part of the Smart Stack interface itself, but they exist to prompt its use. For instance, if you’re in a remote area with no signal, a hint might suggest opening Backtrack. If you’re near a gym around your usual workout time, a Pilates widget hint may appear.
You’ll find these hints at the bottom of your watch face. Tapping one opens the Smart Stack with the suggested widget already highlighted. This integration lets Apple Watch feel less like a static screen and more like a proactive assistant.
Smart Stack Evolves with Contextual Intelligence
In watchOS 26, the Smart Stack uses deeper contextual awareness to improve widget recommendations. Apple says it now incorporates more sensor data, routine patterns, and other usage signals to surface the most useful widget at the right moment.
These improvements build on changes made in earlier versions. Last year, Apple added Live Activities support, allowing real-time updates like sports scores or food delivery tracking to appear inside the Smart Stack. This year, the addition of hints brings that functionality even closer to the surface of your daily use.
According to Apple, hints are designed using “Liquid Glass” visuals, offering a soft prompt without being intrusive. Whether they remain unobtrusive on more complex watch faces, especially those with widgets placed at the bottom, remains to be seen.
Apple’s announcement of watchOS 26 confirms the Smart Stack improvements and new hint system.
Apple Watch documentation also outlines how to access, customize, and use the Smart Stack and its widgets.
By building hints into the main watch face, Apple’s watchOS 26 ensures the Smart Stack no longer depends on memory or habit. It brings the right widget to your attention when you need it, without making you search for it.