The Apple Watch Series 6 was announced on September 15, 2020, during an Apple Special Event and began shipping on September 18. Its principal improvement over its predecessor is the inclusion of a sensor to monitor blood oxygen saturation.
Additional features include a new Apple S6 utilizing the energy-efficient Thunder cores from the A13 Bionic that is up to 20% faster than the Apple S4 and Apple S5, a 2.5× brighter always-on display, and an always-on altimeter. The S6 incorporates an updated, third generation optical heart rate sensor and also enhanced telecommunication technology, including support for ultra-wideband (UWB) via Apple's U1 chip (which is used to locate and communicate with other devices), and the ability to connect to 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks. The Series 6 watch was updated with faster charging hardware such that it completes charging in ~1.5 hours. Force Touch hardware was removed, consistent with the removal of all Force Touch functionality from watchOS 7.
The Apple Watch Series 6 is the final Apple Watch model available with Space Gray and Gold (introduced with the iPhone 8 in 2017) aluminum case color options. It is the first time adding the Product Red and Blue aluminum case color options. It is available in Space Gray, Silver, Gold, Blue and Product Red aluminum case color options, available in Graphite, Silver and Gold stainless steel case color options. The Gold stainless steel case color option is now in classic yellow gold and the Graphite stainless steel case color option is the new color replacing Space Black color before the introduction with the iPhone 12 Pro in 2020.
The Apple Watch Edition Series 6 is now available in Natural and Space Black titanium case color options. The ceramic case option was removed.