Longevity of Series 0?

[Mad Mac Maniac]

How long do you expect the Series 0 to continue getting updates?

As a point of comparison, iOS 10 goes all the way back to iPhone 5 which came out 4 years ago (2012). So it will likely be supported for 5 full years. Despite that, I'm afraid Series 0 won't be supported in WatchOS 4 which would "obsolete" it after only 2.5 years. I'm just hoping it'll be able to make it 3.5 years.

 

[Brien]

Depends on how much they want to push the envelope with future watchOS releases. If the Series 3 is 2x more powerful than the series 2 then that puts the first generation Watches way behind in processing power... they may well be unable to run them. When that happens I have no clue, but I would assume we'll get watchOS 4 (possibly with features removed that newer series will get) and possibly OS 5 before you'll have to upgrade.

 

[44267547]

It's hard to say. The first Gen Watch really cannot be compared to an iPhone in terms of updates, being its entirely a different device. Second, we are already on Watch OS3 already and the Apple Watch has only been on the market for just over 18 months.

Watch OS4 would likely be supported for the first Gen, beyond that, time will tell.

 

[Vihzel]

By the time Series 3 comes out, I bet there will be very people using Series 0 considering that I'm sure Series 3 will blow Series 0 out of the water in terms of performance. I'm sure there will be a new design and features as well.

 

[JDnLex]

How long do you expect the Series 0 to continue getting updates?

As a point of comparison, iOS 10 goes all the way back to iPhone 5 which came out 4 years ago (2012). So it will likely be supported for 5 full years. Despite that, I'm afraid Series 0 won't be supported in WatchOS 4 which would "obsolete" it after only 2.5 years. I'm just hoping it'll be able to make it 3.5 years.

My concern isn't missing out on future versions of watchOS. I'm content with the 1st gen hardware having the functionality it has now for as long as the watch lasts. I hope that when Apple does drop the 1st gen from new versions of WatchOS that they will not also lock it out from connecting to phones running future versions of iOS.

At some point there will be a feature that makes me want to upgrade, but for my light-use case of time, notifications, and fitness tracking I have very little need for a faster processor or graphics.

All that being said, after having both a first gen iPhone and iPad I think we should expect fewer OS updates than what we will see on later watches.

 

[matrix07]

To be honest, I'd be reluctant to go over OS 3 frankly. I'm very satisfied with performance of 3 and I might even turn off auto update for the watch when OS 4 hit server.

 

[Julien]

How long do you expect the Series 0 to continue getting updates?... I'm afraid....

Premature to start worrying about wOS 4 and an S0. That will make for a LONG and stressful year. Just enjoy your Watch today and save the fear about wOS 4 until next year. Even then it is just a temporary gadget that will be in the 'dump' with a completely dead battery in a few short years anyway. Life is FAR too short to spend every day worrying about such a trivial matter.[/QUOTE]

 

[oftheheavens]

How long do you expect the Series 0 to continue getting updates?

As a point of comparison, iOS 10 goes all the way back to iPhone 5 which came out 4 years ago (2012). So it will likely be supported for 5 full years. Despite that, I'm afraid Series 0 won't be supported in WatchOS 4 which would "obsolete" it after only 2.5 years. I'm just hoping it'll be able to make it 3.5 years.

Just my opinion of course but I think that they will extend the life of it a little further that say the first iPhone. Reason being is the cycle is longer, they released new S0 colors about a year ago (maybe less I can't remember)and finally they even talked about it as the "apple watch" at the last key note. I think the OG will make it until AW 4, whenever that may be, and then we will see wOS 7 or whatever comes on the AW 4 cause the OG to run incredibly slow or whatever.

Second guess and this goes in line with the first due to hardware limitations is whenever the apple watch gets a camera or something to that affect. Anyway, it still has some miles on the ol'girl before we have to worry about any of that.

 

[Seamaster]

Precedent suggests a much shorter lifespan for Series 0 than Series 1/2. Look at how much longer the iPhone 3G was supported versus the original iPhone. Or the iPad 2 versus the original iPad.

 

[BarracksSi]

I've been thinking it'll be on an iPod-like support cycle. It's less complex than a phone -- no cameras, no evolving cellular standards to support, etc.

Revisit this thread after a couple more watchOS updates.

 

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Precedent suggests a much shorter lifespan for Series 0 than Series 1/2. Look at how much longer the iPhone 3G was supported versus the original iPhone. Or the iPad 2 versus the original iPad.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Honestly I can't believe I didn't even mention the iPad, because that was the exact comparison in my head. I figure the Series 1 will be like the iPad 2, where it will stay on the low end of the product line for 2-3 years so that Apple can have a lower starting price. But I think the series 0 will be just like the OG iPad. Very interesting at its time, but turns out to be kind of a clunker from the processor side and longevity is short.

I don't know why, but this just popped into my head. haha. But honestly I'm not too worried about it anymore. Watch OS 3 is actually pretty great as it is, and I'd be more than happy to stay on that for another year.

 

[44267547]

This is exactly what I was thinking. Honestly I can't believe I didn't even mention the iPad, because that was the exact comparison in my head. I figure the Series 1 will be like the iPad 2, where it will stay on the low end of the product line for 2-3 years so that Apple can have a lower starting price. But I think the series 0 will be just like the OG iPad. Very interesting at its time, but turns out to be kind of a clunker from the processor side and longevity is short.

I don't know why, but this just popped into my head. haha. But honestly I'm not too worried about it anymore. Watch OS 3 is actually pretty great as it is, and I'd be more than happy to stay on that for another year.

I think the first Gen Watch can easily withstand Watch OS4 or perhaps Os 5. Being the Watch is still relatively new, it will be interesting to see how it ages.

 

[Neodym]

I've been thinking it'll be on an iPod-like support cycle. It's less complex than a phone -- no cameras, no evolving cellular standards to support, etc.

I feel it's quite the opposite. Wearables are an evolving market and therefore I'd expect technical progress to be much steeper than with the established phone market:

• More advanced medical sensors/apps could be incorporated with the next revision.
• Cellular standards may well come into play with the one-but-next revision.
• Siri could become available offline / onboard the watch (at least for easy tasks), once CPU power is sufficient.
• An always-on display would require significantly more battery power and/or improvements in component efficiency.

I'm sure there is more I just forgot to mention. But I would expect Series 0 to age pretty quickly. Despite the advancements in watchOS 3.1, the difference in UI fluidity between Series 0 and 2 is already pretty obvious imho. And that gap will probably widen quickly with wOS 4 onwards.