Apple Explains Why watchOS 27 Drops Support for So Many Models

[alexsowa]

Had the Apple Watch 3,4, and Ultra. I absolutely love my Ultra but the fact that it isn’t getting 27 support even though it isn’t that old, means I won’t be getting any more Apple Watches. What a shame. Ultra is my last one.

 

[LogicalApex]

What does that have to do with what I said?
I never said Apple dropping support this early wasn’t weird and greedy, it is.
But I don’t think comparing iPhone and watch support is particularly useful, they are different products. If your iPhone isn’t receiving software updates, get a new one, or switch to a different brand, you really should be on something absolutely up-to-date and secure.
With a watch, significantly less important that you were on the latest update. As long as Apple continues to push security updates, the watch will continue to do exactly what was promised of it when it released.
You don’t *lose* any functionality by not being on the latest version of watchOS, that cannot be said about iOS or macOS.
In that way, they are a lot more like an iPod or a set of AirPods. You know the AirPods Pro first generation haven’t received an update in forever? Do you care? No, because if you still use them, they still play music.

Except. Apple has cut off older WatchOS support in iOS before and they can do so again next year or whenever to say you can't even pair the watch with the iPhone.

So, no, it isn't like AirPods.

Apple Watch and iPhone compatibility - Apple Support

Find out which versions of iPhone, iOS, and watchOS work with your Apple Watch.

support.apple.com

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Doesn't new Siri run entirely on the paired iPhone? What a weak defense.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Except. Apple has cut off older WatchOS support in iOS before and they can do so again next year or whenever to say you can't even pair the watch with the iPhone.

So, no, it isn't like AirPods.

Apple Watch and iPhone compatibility - Apple Support

Find out which versions of iPhone, iOS, and watchOS work with your Apple Watch.

support.apple.com

There are forum users here still using Series 2 and Series 3 watches with the latest iOS.

Apple has given several previous generations of Apple Watch only 3 OS updates before moving on. The amount of changes in Watch OS are very minor - compare an Apple Watch Series 3 to an Apple Watch Series 11 - and you won’t see a lot of difference.

The Ultra 1 will continue being a great watch for 6-10+ years. I am not looking forward to anything in Watch OS 27 as a “must have” and would rather AI stay on my phone and MacBook, not my wrist… But that’s me.

Apple Watch sales have stagnated and even downturned in the recent years. If enough people actually don’t upgrade like they say they will in this forum - Apple will notice and hopefully change. But more likely than not, (myself, my wife, and Apple Watch family/friends/others I know) - will continue to upgrade because it does what they want and it is engrained in their life (fitness, apps, integration with iPhone, calls, etc).

If Garmin works better - go for it, competition is a good thing. If a Casio works - one can save a lot of money. Apple Watch is very engrained in my life at this moment and I don’t see leaving it anytime soon.

Apple really missed an opportunity to provide Watch OS 27 minus AI to all the Watches that had OS 26 imo.

 

[mc-io]

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.

How much did you pay for the S11 Titanium? Do you have a link if it is still on sale?

 

[BigMcGuire]

How much did you pay for the S11 Titanium? Do you have a link if it is still on sale?

Our local BestBuys were running a $100 off sale on AW11. Not sure where anthony13 got theirs but that’s where I usually buy discounted Apple tech.

 

[newdeal]

the ai functions are all offloaded to the phone, there is no reason the watch can't do that

 

[HVDynamo]

Didn't this recent batch of Watches get 4-6 years, not 3? I need to double check that.
Also the precedent is as little as 3 years, not up to 3 years. Precedent is up to 6 years. But that minimum 3 year precedent was actually set with the first Apple Watch (but I believe that was the only one).

Right, so I double checked and the Ultra 1 and Series 8 (both released in Sept 2022) will have gotten 4 years of major updates by the time watchOS 27 (non-beta) releases. FYI S1 and S2 also got 4 years.

Usually first gen products have a shorter support cycle as the improvements are bigger leaps in the next few iterations, so it’s kind of understandable in that case. But now that it’s more stable, it’s ridiculous to cut things off that quickly. I think the 3 year is considering people who bought shortly before the next model was introduced. You get 4 IF you buy right when it launched. Buying later on screws you even more. That’s the same reason I want them to drop the M5 based Mini/Studio now and let me get my order in the queue. I don’t want to buy M4 based hardware this late into the release cycle so I can maximize my support window.

 

[actcyclist]

But we don’t know if Siri AI on the watch will be useful yet. I doubt it will work on device or be as good as Gemini is on the Pixel Watch.

 

[JosephAW]

Well then Apple, make sure our experience with watch 26 is just as good as watch 27 and we'll be content. Don’t just cut us off leaving us hanging with a poor version of 26. 🙄

 

[sjsharksfan12]

I bought the Apple Watch 11 because I didn't need the ultra and it was the newest brand. Seeing this much support dropped does make me a little worried that my watch will be obsolete in a few years. While I probably have gone way to new phone shopping heavy, things like the watch or the laptop I will use for years and years. Also, doesn't this go against their environmental goals by forcing people to buy new products every year when they don't need to. Where is Octavia Spencer when you need her. 😉

 

[CarAnalogy]

I got AppleCare+ on a Day 1 AW4. The only time AC+ actually paid off for me for any Apple device ever.

The unit I got had a defective display with some broken pixels right out of the box. I'd have exchanged it at a store right away, but none of the stores were getting inventory and it looked like it might be weeks before they'd have any -- at which point the return/exchange window would have passed and it'd have to be replaced as a warranty defect, anyway.

I called and spoke with Apple, and they were able to do an advance replacement where they ship the replacement watch first, FedEx two-day, because I had AC+. It came from China just like launch day devices do. (The product was so new and inventory so constrained that there were no refurbs in circulation yet.)

Since then, I've had AC+ on a variety of devices, but more and more I stopped getting it. The "last nail in the coffin" for me was when they changed the accidental damage screen replacement program from 3 times max to "unlimited," but you no longer get to use discretion -- they decide if your damage is enough to let you pay to have it repaired. I had an iPhone that my spouse had scratched while traveling. I brought it in, expecting that I could pay the deductible and get the screen replaced, as it was accidental damage. The employee refused to do it. It was at that time that I learned about the policy change with AC+. Since then, I've refused to buy AC+. What good is it if you pay extra up front, are willing to pay the deductible for accidental damage, and then Apple keeps your money while refusing to perform the accidental damage repair in the first place? It's as scammy as all these other protection programs the carriers offer.

I'm still livid about wasting that money on AC+ to have them refuse accidental damage service when I was willing and able to pay the deductible, and I will probably never buy AC+ again after that experience.

I used to keep AC+ on my iPhones for exactly this reason. No matter how much I babied them, the screens always wound up with inexplicable scratches.

At least twice I kept the phone until the battery started to age, and used express device replacement. Usually went fine.

Then I had the exact same thing as you, someone else dropped my phone and didn't break the screen but scratched up the edge pretty bad. They wanted a picture, called it cosmetic damage, said it's not covered.

I eventually did manage to get that one traded in, and the new one wound up with a scratch too. But it's otherwise fine and now belongs to the person who scratched the other one anyway. It has a lot more scratches now, but it's not my problem anymore.

But with the new phones, so far, almost afraid to say it, fingers crossed, but Ceramic Shield 2 seems to be doing its job of keeping every particle sharper than goose down from destroying the screen.

Also keep it on my Mac since their repair prices are basically "buy a new laptop" otherwise.

But for the watches, generally it's a waste of money these days with all their new policies. And the fact they come out with a new one every year, the support window is clearly short, and a new watch on sale is not that much more than two years of AppleCare+ anyway.

 

[Nomadicx]

I find it interesting that they can support the Apple Watch Ultra first version but yet they’re going to support the 2019 iPhone 11 with iOS 27. How’s that possible? Wen that hardware is way older than the current hardware of the Apple Watch Ultra series one

 

[BigMcGuire]

I bought the Apple Watch 11 because I didn't need the ultra and it was the newest brand. Seeing this much support dropped does make me a little worried that my watch will be obsolete in a few years. While I probably have gone way to new phone shopping heavy, things like the watch or the laptop I will use for years and years. Also, doesn't this go against their environmental goals by forcing people to buy new products every year when they don't need to. Where is Octavia Spencer when you need her. 😉

Your watch will last 6-10 years easy. Forum members here still using Series 2 and Series 3 watches with iOS 26.

No one is forcing anyone to upgrade. The changes in Watch OS are so minor - you compare a Series 3 to a Series 11 and there isn’t that much difference. They last forever and will get years of security updates.

 

[klowy79]

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

Why would that be? The updater will look at the model number and that's it.

 

[poindexter sansamilla]

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

My wife was given the minor pleasure of a smirk when I had to search for a jeweler to change the battery in my Timex. I told her that the experience wrapped up my updates for another decade.

 

[verniesgarden]

Had the Apple Watch 3,4, and Ultra. I absolutely love my Ultra but the fact that it isn’t getting 27 support even though it isn’t that old, means I won’t be getting any more Apple Watches. What a shame. Ultra is my last one.

Im feeling in the same boat, and all I really was asking for was q more year. I bought with the expectation as it was the norm to have 5 years of OS updates.

 

[JPack]

I bought the Apple Watch 11 because I didn't need the ultra and it was the newest brand. Seeing this much support dropped does make me a little worried that my watch will be obsolete in a few years. While I probably have gone way to new phone shopping heavy, things like the watch or the laptop I will use for years and years. Also, doesn't this go against their environmental goals by forcing people to buy new products every year when they don't need to. Where is Octavia Spencer when you need her. 😉

Watch Series 11 uses the same chip as Watch Series 9.

Ultra uses the same chip as Series 6, which is why Ultra was dropped.

Apple doesn't refresh the chip every year, rather they do it every three years. This means people who buy Watches at the tail end of that refresh, e.g. Series 8, Ultra 1, Series 11, Ultra 3, get the short end of the stick.

 

[Entilzha]

Except. Apple has cut off older WatchOS support in iOS before and they can do so again next year or whenever to say you can't even pair the watch with the iPhone.

So, no, it isn't like AirPods.

Apple Watch and iPhone compatibility - Apple Support

Find out which versions of iPhone, iOS, and watchOS work with your Apple Watch.

support.apple.com

Except they haven’t, as your own link shows.

That link shows the OLDEST DEVICE that will support a particular model of Apple Watch. Hypothetically I could still pair an original gen Apple Watch with my iPhone 17 Pro if I had one here.

You should probably look at the “proof” you provide before making statements unsupported by said proof. 🙂

 

[sjsharksfan12]

Your watch will last 6-10 years easy. Forum members here still using Series 2 and Series 3 watches with iOS 26.

No one is forcing anyone to upgrade. The changes in Watch OS are so minor - you compare a Series 3 to a Series 11 and there isn’t that much difference. They last forever and will get years of security updates.

So it's just the AI stuff, bugs and other things will still be updated? That's good to know.

 

[mlayer]

I traded a Series 3 for a Series 4 when it came out because 4 got a new SIP. Then I watched as the next versions came out to see how they progressed with their hardware. Series 4-5 and 6-8 went through a tick-tock-(tock) cycle, 9-11 basically did the same with 11 not changing much from the 10. I don't think it's presumptuous to think the Series 12 and a new Ultra will use a 3 nm SIP based on the A18-A19 core, with the neural engine enhancements the new architecture provides. I got the Series 9 because of the new SIP and was rewarded for my patience when the S9 was found to support 27. The lesson from the first gen Ultra is if you buy because you're attracted to a new form factor, you might get left behind in other ways.

 

[jz0309]

So according to this it is Siri AI and the tap gesture. If memory serves, tap gestures only worked from 9/U2 onwards so that's a lame "explanation", so the real reason is Siri AI.
I have the feeling that Siri AI is being shoved down our throat, it should be optional instead.
Not liking this ...

 

[david_n_n]

It's funny, I had an 8 since it was gifted to me in Spring of 23, and less than a week before WWDC it goes completely black during a swim (I've been swimming with it every vacation the entire time I owned it). Not even force restart did anything and Genius Bar called it damaged. Figured I'd upgrade to the 11 instead of stalling, and then I get rewarded with the knowledge that if I just replaced it and saved a drop, I would have been cut off software-wise. Definitely blessed with luck!

 

[nemesis999]

Apple is the king of hypocrisy. They claim to care about the environment while abandoning older devices and cutting off updates, pushing people to buy new products. If they were serious about reducing e-waste, they’d support their devices for much longer.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Apple is the king of hypocrisy. They claim to care about the environment while abandoning older devices and cutting off updates, pushing people to buy new products. If they were serious about reducing e-waste, they’d support their devices for much longer.

Welcome to Macrumors!

There are still people using Series 2 and 3 watches with the latest iOS. No one is forced to upgrade. They do a good job of making sure that most of if not all the functionality continues to work.