Apple’s new update may fix an annoying problem with iOS 26

Liquid glass is nice to look at, but after a few months, your enthusiasm for the iOS 26 theme might have dulled a bit and been replaced by a focus on the actual features of iOS 26.

The debut of one such iOS 26 feature had biometrics fans thrilled, but it was soon exposed as not quite ready for for prime time. Thankfully, that could change in the next few weeks.

We’re talking, of course, about the introduction of Apple’s sleep score, which debuted with iOS 26 in September. I’ve been tracking my sleep for more than a decade across dozens of devices and numerous apps. And as an Apple ecosystem inhabitant, I had long wondered when I would be able to, umm, make use of a sleep score with Apple-native software. Surely it would be just as reliable as scores offered by Google’s Fitbit, I thought.

Enter the Apple sleep score problem

When “excellent” doesn’t feel that way

Apple has had sleep tracking since 2014, measuring periods of rest like deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep. But the game changed when it started scoring sleep as the numerical score has been used by Apple competitors for years. However, it only took a few nights for me to realize that Apple’s sleep score classifications, specifically my frequent “Excellent” ratings, didn’t feel quite accurate. For example, I’d wake up some mornings feeling exhausted only to see that Apple had awarded me a sleep score in the 90s (out of 100) and rated my sleep as “Excellent.” Readings are conducted on the Apple Watch as a person sleeps.

“Funny, I don’t feel excellent,” I’d think, before taking off my Apple Watch, putting it on the charger for a quick top-up, and beginning my day. This happened so often I lost trust in the sleep score altogether and switched back to my Fitbit.

It appears that my experience was common, as Apple is changing the wording associated with its sleep score in iOS 26.2.

The table below shows how current sleep scores are characterized now, and how they will be characterized with iOS 26.2. As you can see, Apple has removed the “Excellent’ characterization altogether.

How Apple’s sleep score is calculated

Apple says more than 5 million nights of data are in play

The component parts of your sleep that comprise the score remain the same, though: You get 50 points for duration, 20 points for no interruptions/waking up, and 30 points if you go to bed on time.

Apple could be forgiven for only making these changes to the sleep score after reading criticisms of it on Reddit as “too easy,” but these changes are a result of more data collected by Apple from research participants. Here’s how Apple explains how it tabulates the sleep score:

The scoring approach and prioritization algorithm of sleep score is informed by the latest guidance published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Sleep Foundation, and World Sleep Society. Over 5 million nights of sleep data from the Apple Heart and Movement Study were used to develop and test the scoring algorithms.

Of course, simply changing the words associated with a numerical score applied to one’s sleep data won’t be enough for people who value accurate sleep scores that delve deeper than the words Apple associates with the data, be they “Excellent” or merely “Very high.” However, as Apple continues to incorporate more data into its assessment of a person’s sleep quality, perhaps the change in nocturnal nomenclature will be an acceptable first step.

If you’ve used a Fitbit, you know that its sleep trackers prominently display heart rate overnight in the sleep score data. After viewing the numbers for a few nights (or years, in my case), it became apparent that for me, a lower sleeping heart rate for a longer period of time was the best indicator of how well-rested I felt the next day. Apple Watch users like me may want to see Apple include sleeping heart rate more prominently in the report. (Currently, users must leave the Sleep menu of the Health App and toggle to the Heart menu to view their heart rate overnight.) The science may be right, but the UX on the app feels wrong.

iOS 26.2 What else to know

The updated iPhone operating system is expected to drop in December

The most visible sign of iOS 26.2 will be the “liquid glass” slider that unlocks the phone. Also being improved is the Apple Reminders app, which is another utility that has been criticized over the years, especially when compared to numerous other reminder apps. If you use the Apple Podcasts app, updates and upgrades are coming sonocon.

Also of note, if you’re in the European Union, the AirPods Live Translation feature is finally arriving.