Apple Explains Why watchOS 27 Drops Support for So Many Models

[MacRumors]

Apple today detailed why five Apple Watch models will miss out on watchOS 27 and the new Siri AI features that come with it.

The Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, SE 2, and the original Apple Watch Ultra will not receive watchOS 27, and will only get basic security updates going forward. With the update, Apple is effectively dropping three years' worth of device support in a single software update, which is unprecedented for the product line.

Speaking to TechRadar, Cait Dooley, Apple Watch and Health product marketing manager, said performance requirements were behind the cutoff:

With every software release across every single one of our platforms, we always want to ensure that you have the best experience, so we make power and performance a priority. The great new features in watchOS, including the capabilities of Siri AI and the new tap gesture, work best with the processing power that is in Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Ultra 2 and later, and SE 3.

Dooley added that older watches paired with an iPhone running the latest software will keep working and will continue to receive security updates.

David Clark, senior director of watchOS software engineering, said one of the goals of watchOS 27 was to "expand the intelligence story on Apple Watch and make it a true co-partner to Apple Intelligence." He described the watch as often "the most convenient way to interact with Siri," since it's on the wrist all day and useful for quick questions when hands are full:

We really wanted to make sure the Siri experience is a singular and consistent experience, whether I decide to ask Siri on my wrist a question, or whether I have my phone in my hand and I decide to interact with Siri there. We really wanted to feel like it's one Siri, that has access to your data and is able to personalize it in a consistent way.

Clark used the example of asking Siri on Apple Watch for a recipe's ingredients while grocery shopping with both hands full, then later pulling up the same list on the iPhone in an easier-to-read format. He called that handoff a "superpower."

watchOS 27 is currently available in beta to developers, with a public beta expected next month ahead of official release in the fall.

Article Link: Apple Explains Why watchOS 27 Drops Support for So Many Models

 

[techyOS]

i have found a grand total of one new noteworthy feature in beta 1 on my series 9, wdym the original apple watch ultra can’t handle the dynamic app grid?

 

[Ben11]

Just let me update

 

[anthony13]

I traded in my Series 1 Ultra at Apple for 200 bucks, then bought a cheap series 11 titanium on sale. And I'll probably never spend 'a lot' on an Apple Watch again, as this has been a reminder that any apple product is a sometimes very temporary mainstay.

 

[UMHurricanes34]

i have found a grand total of one new noteworthy feature in beta 1 on my series 9, wdym the original apple watch ultra can’t handle the dynamic app grid?

Yea it’s interesting they didn’t roll out the base OS to the rest of the lineup but limit Siri AI to these specific models

 

[lepetitnicolas]

Does it means those "older" models of AppleWatch will receive WatchOS 27 in countries where the new SiriAI won't be offered ??

 

[Shalev Lazarof]

arm64_32 architecture phase ended.

 

[CarAnalogy]

That would all be fine except they're ignoring a very important factor:

26 was a steaming pile of garbage. And 27 is their attempt at fixing the so many terrible ideas Dye cursed us all with.

Anything that got 26 should at least get 27 without any of the new features except the interface fixes.

 

[TVreporter]

That's a long-winded, polite way of saying "please buy a new watch."

 

[CarAnalogy]

arm64_32 architecture phase ended.

I hadn't looked into it but I suspected something like this as well.

It probably will help performance on the watches that do get it, but Apple also did this to themselves by reusing the same chip for so many years.

 

[Robin Bonathan]

Does it means those "older" models of AppleWatch will receive iOS 27 in countries where the new SiriAI won't be offered ??

exact comment i was going to make

 

[bababooie]

correction: seamless experience as in money leaving your bank account to ours

 

[Leobreaker]

Sorry, I just don't believe it. My wife's SE 2 hardware is operating perfectly fine, while the software could use some bug fixes/tweaks and just have Siri AI disabled. It's quite certainly to push sales of a stagnant product line.

 

[iZac]

Translation:

"We somehow got away with selling nearly identical devices for 3 years."

 

[zmx]

Can we get watchOS 27 just in EU for unsupported models, since Siri AI is not going to be supported? 😀

 

[Le Big Mac]

That's a long-winded, polite way of saying "please buy a new watch."

Or a good way of saying "you might consider alternative smart watch brands"

 

[dmccombs]

... as this has been a reminder that any apple product is a sometimes very temporary mainstay.

I was just thinking the same thing. The watch really falls into this category since some "major" features only work on watches up to ~3 years old now. This siri thing isn't a big issue for me, but I'll definitely be buying the cheaper watches from now on so I can upgrade more often if I do want to use some newer features.

 

[sfrsteel]

It does cause pause on running out and spending $800 on a new watch with the assumption that Apple will only support it for 3 years. Fool me once..... cant get fooled again.

 

[sydneysider88]

This lady just said lots of word salad that meant nothing lol.

 

[sfrsteel]

I was just thinking the same thing. The watch really falls into this category since some "major" features only work on watches up to ~3 years old now. This siri thing isn't a big issue for me, but I'll definitely be buying the cheaper watches from now on so I can upgrade more often if I do want to use some newer features.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Does it means those "older" models of AppleWatch will receive iOS 27 in countries where the new SiriAI won't be offered ??

exact comment i was going to make

Nah this is just an excuse like they've done many times. Often they don't even bother offering an excuse but this one was particularly egregious.

They wanted to drop support for the chips in these devices. That's the beginning and end of it. They didn't want to expend the effort to fix what they broke with 26 on everything they broke it on, they just wanted to move on.

Same exact thing they did to Intel Macs.

 

[Logamaniac]

Or a good way of saying "you might consider alternative smart watch brands"

Or, “buy a normal watch that never needs updates and you never need to dispose of”

 

[decimortis]

Was hoping watchOS 27 optimizations would help my AW7 return to all-day battery life that seems to have evaporated with watchOS 26. Seeing as how it's dropped from the list, I refuse to buy a new watch and will just run it on all-day spite instead.

 

[chuckles235]

Sorry but Apple is just trying squeeze its fan base. Need to buy for AI and oh by the way AI is jacking up the prices. But hey we’re trillionaires

 

[CarAnalogy]

I traded in my Series 1 Ultra at Apple for 200 bucks, then bought a cheap series 11 titanium on sale. And I'll probably never spend 'a lot' on an Apple Watch again, as this has been a reminder that any apple product is a sometimes very temporary mainstay.

Not most of them, but the watches for sure. I've learned the hard way a few times, they're not really even worth getting AppleCare on.

Unless you regularly drop them on concrete, by the time they need service they're obsolete and your annual AppleCare has had to renew at least once already anyway.