Robert.Walter
macrumors 68040
That’s true.
If Apple had delivered AI 2 years ago as promised, these obsoleted watches would have had Apples 0G AI for that long.
It’s a ripoff.
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Apple Explains Why watchOS 27 Drops Support for So Many Models
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If Apple had delivered AI 2 years ago as promised, these obsoleted watches would have had Apples 0G AI for that long.
It’s a ripoff.
Robert.Walter
macrumors 68040
Siri AI (Beta) probably wrote it for her.
This explains the transition from arm32 to arm64, which started with the S9 (via Gemini):
At some point Apple is going to drop support for the Series 9 as well since arm64_32 is already being deprecated. Not sure what the trigger will be for that. Regardless, waiting to upgrade until the 9 was released paid off for me.
RMMediccc
macrumors member
Xade
macrumors 6502
You are seriously comparing a Rolex to an Apple Watch series 0? Good luck with charging that Series 0 five times a day...!
ipwTiYon2190Y
macrumors newbie
Apple’s marketing machine will have us believe our watches will all need replaced. Not upgrading.
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:
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:
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
I think they can (and should) do what they done in watchOS 6. The .0 update can just be on the newer watches, but they can add the support for older watches in a later point update. Though the differences are that Series 1 and 2 were initially supported for watchOS 6 before being pulled.
quietstormSD
macrumors 65816
This! An Apple watch isn’t worth shelling a lot for. It’s not a primary computing device like a phone or computer. It’s an accessory.
Nope. Re-read the initial post. Someone mentioned that when they travel, they wear their Rolex instead of their Apple Watch & I said that if all you are using it for is telling time in 2 different time zones at once, Apple Watch would be fine for that use case. It's not like you need OS 27 to check 2 times zones at once.
And you'd obviously (as I mentioned) need to upgrade the battery at some point, but as his Rolex is regularly serviced, this is no different.
johnsawyercjs
macrumors 68000
It seems that Apple decided that since the chips inside those older watch models can't support much, if any, of watchOS 27's on-device Siri AI workload, which would then have required a nearby Siri AI-capable iPhone to handle these tasks, that there was little point in allowing watchOS 27 to run on them, but I'm also guessing that there are nice-to-have, non-Siri AI features in 27 that would work fine on these older watches, so Apple did indeed decide on some forced obsolescence. I'm now stuck with my Series 7.
It seems a large part of Apple's explanation is that they didn't want to "bifurcate the new Siri AI experience" between people with both an older Apple Watch that could have relied on a nearby iPhone that can run Siri AI, resulting in slower responses, and those with older iPhones or no iPhone at all, or who don't carry their iPhones with them when doing a workout, hike, etc., but who do wear their Apple Watches. But many Apple owners will still have that bifurcated experience since they own a mix of older and newer hardware.
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johnsawyercjs
macrumors 68000
It’s not going to be supported in the eu because of your regulators’ insistence that Apple give any virtual assistant direct access to users’ private data. That’s not really compatible with apple’s privacy and security standards. Those virtual assistants would have full control over your device.
urnotl33t
macrumors 6502a
That was everyone’s experience with the 3rd gen iPad that was replaced 6 months later with a 4th gen iPad. iPad sales tanked for years until the iPad Pro. Even then, sales by volume took years to recover.
They almost did the same mismanagement crap with the iPad mini. Apple seems allergic to their 3rd product version.
alexsowa
macrumors newbie
aliensporebomb
macrumors 68000
Not everyone wants AI - it's a very overhyped thing for some but Apple (and every other tech company) wants to ram it down your throat whether you like it or not because it's where the money is right now.
It's like Microsoft discontinuing perfectly good computers from running Windows 11 because they didn't have just the right hardware configuration ending up with billions of e-waste candidates.
I upgraded from an AW8 to an Ultra 3 just 3 weeks ago because the battery in the 8 was getting to the point where I'd get to the afternoon during the day and the battery would konk out.
I did this just before the announcement was made about many of the older watches were stuck on IOS26.
It colored my purchase of the new watch since in 3 years they could come up with some other new feature that they will use as an excuse not to update it.
At the same time, if they pushed IOS27 to a bunch of watches ill equipped to run it imagine the outcry there. Apple can't win.
It's like Microsoft discontinuing perfectly good computers from running Windows 11 because they didn't have just the right hardware configuration ending up with billions of e-waste candidates.
I upgraded from an AW8 to an Ultra 3 just 3 weeks ago because the battery in the 8 was getting to the point where I'd get to the afternoon during the day and the battery would konk out.
I did this just before the announcement was made about many of the older watches were stuck on IOS26.
It colored my purchase of the new watch since in 3 years they could come up with some other new feature that they will use as an excuse not to update it.
At the same time, if they pushed IOS27 to a bunch of watches ill equipped to run it imagine the outcry there. Apple can't win.
Squidiey
macrumors regular
They're moving to offer OS upgrades for only five years for all products. SAD!
So, quad-core neural engine it is. The dual-core in the earlier watches isn't sufficient for what they've decided to do on this update.
uiterlix
macrumors member
I couldn't care less. I use my Ultra for occasionally accepting calls, checking notifications and playing the radio whilst on my bike. Health features are mediocre at best (Vo2Max is a joke), and Apple's AI really s#cks big time. And last I'm in the EU so won't be getting some features anyway, so I'd be a fool to fund that buying a new watch.
IIGS User
macrumors 65832
I can’t help but feel a little ripped off and a little foolish.
I bought an Ultra 1 about a year after they came out thinking since I was shelling out for Apple’s top of the line product it would receive regular updates for at least 5 or 6 years.
I get it. Technology marches on and all that, but Apple COULD just release a version of the watch OS that doesn’t include all the new AI stuff. They’ve done it with the phones and in my experience people replace their phones more often than they replace a watch.
So as an Ultra 1 owner this seems inversely proportional to how updates are handled on the phone side.
In the end, I feel like I got taken. People will forget a crappy product every now and again, and obviously they will put up with crappy software.
But you gotta know I’m thinking long and hard before I shell out $800 for an Apple Watch again when the one I have was hung out to dry so quickly. And when I think of the product, it doesn’t make me feel good about it. It makes me feel used. Like a chump.
I’m not quick to blow $800 so I can feel like a chump again in 4 years. I’m not saying I won’t buy an Apple Watch again, but I sure won’t be encouraging others to buy one anytime soon and it’ll be a tough sell on the next one.
Poorly played, Apple. Poorly played.
I bought an Ultra 1 about a year after they came out thinking since I was shelling out for Apple’s top of the line product it would receive regular updates for at least 5 or 6 years.
I get it. Technology marches on and all that, but Apple COULD just release a version of the watch OS that doesn’t include all the new AI stuff. They’ve done it with the phones and in my experience people replace their phones more often than they replace a watch.
So as an Ultra 1 owner this seems inversely proportional to how updates are handled on the phone side.
In the end, I feel like I got taken. People will forget a crappy product every now and again, and obviously they will put up with crappy software.
But you gotta know I’m thinking long and hard before I shell out $800 for an Apple Watch again when the one I have was hung out to dry so quickly. And when I think of the product, it doesn’t make me feel good about it. It makes me feel used. Like a chump.
I’m not quick to blow $800 so I can feel like a chump again in 4 years. I’m not saying I won’t buy an Apple Watch again, but I sure won’t be encouraging others to buy one anytime soon and it’ll be a tough sell on the next one.
Poorly played, Apple. Poorly played.
FattiesGoneWild
macrumors 6502a
As a former day 1 Ultra owner and current day 1 Ultra 2 owner. I feel you my man and would be really pissed about it myself. This news made my decision to not buy the next Ultra 3 or whatever they call it. If this is how they want to play their games, plenty still will in fact. Just not this cat and I won’t be the only one. I fully expect them to stiff Ultra 2 owners with iOS 28.
Matsamoto
macrumors 65816
You do what you want.
But doing this sends the signal to Apple that this behavior is totally fine, but it’s not.
I have a series 8 and I’m gonna wear it till it dies, and then I will NEVER buy a new watch from Crapple.
iHorseHead
macrumors 68020
I don't understand why people are complaining. At least you're getting security updates. I didn't get security updates on Apple Watch SE (Still using it and will keep using it for foreseeable future).
- 5 years new OS updates seems to be fair enough on watches that can cost $800 i.e. as much as a regular iPhone.
- Getting stuck on the battery draining watchOS 26 - probably one of the worst generations of platforms that Apple has ever released - is no joke.
I can't see myself buying an Apple Watch ever again, after this.
I will wear my S9 into the ground, similar to you.
By then, I'll probably get an Oura and go back to regular watches and have fun with these - automatic and 'traditional digital' plus a cheapo smartwatch just to track runs (I only do 5k runs - I don't need anything special).
I think that I've released that whilst, I like a lot of what the AW watches, I really don't need an iPhone on my wrist.
Time, workouts, wellness and an 'iPod' on my wrist are great. I don't need all the other stuff like email etc. and I wish I could turn it off and save some battery.