Poll - Does First Gen Apple Watch get watchOS 4?

I think this will be the last year for the first generation Apple Watch being supported. It's Hard to believe watchOS 4 is already debuting. I think it still has its capabilities, but as the Watch expands with health related advancements, it will need the extended battery life and processing speed.

I Think the real test will be when users can finally start downloading watchOS 4 to the first generation Apple Watch and reporting the results and seeing what happens after the fact with performance.

 

Even though these new watch capabilities seem promising. I think it will benefit more of the series 1/Series 2 with the upgraded processor. The first generation Apple Watch will likely suffice, but to what extent? That's the tell all. There is no doubt, this will likely be the last year for the first generation Apple Watch. Anecdotally, Which in some ways, at least shows the user we could expect at least four versions of watchOS to be supported.

 

Agreed. Being the rumors are far and few between, Series 3 Apple Watch this fall at most would be an upgraded processor/LTE and increased water resistance. I don't think we are going to see anything major other than that. I think 2018 will be the year when we start seeing more health advancements, powered watchbands/revamped design/additional casings/ larger variant, etc.

 

Personally, I'm not sure if LTE will be an option for Apple or not this fall. The only other rumor was Apple was perhaps experiementing with a different touch display that might be a cheaper option. Which likely would be for the Sport model. Otherwise, I'm still doubtful if anything will launch this Fall.

The health advancements with glucose monitoring and other capabilities will be here. But that seems highly unlikely until a new version launches alongside a new version of watchOS. I would think they both will have to be in tandem with each other. I predict fall 2018.

 

How would LTE work? You would need a SIM card and pay for its service. Not much use for me. I want custom watch face kit and more hardware for health information.

 

I never doubted that Watch OS4 would be able to install on an original AW. The question is how will it run? If my years of iPhone and iOS upgrades are any indication (started with an iPhone 3G) the new OS will run fine but the updated apps will be more demanding. It will all come down to what apps you run and how you use your watch.... and your tolerance for brief delays or lack of responsiveness.

My original AWS will be two years old next month, and I think this might be the first computing device I have ever owned that runs better and faster two years in than it did when I bought it. Of course that's probably a statement on how much Watch OS has improved in that time. I suspect that the current Watch OS and the apps that run on it have caught up with the original watch hardware. Right now it feels like I could easily get another year or more out of my original watch, but I might change my mind when I see how OS4 and the latest apps run on the newer watch hardware vs the old.

Sean

 

I was mentioning in earlier posts how will the first Generation Watch will function when Watch OS4 launches. But to have four versions of Watch OS support is good. I think third party applications will be a large part of how the Watch performs as a whole in WathOS4 . But undoubtedly, the Watch has improved with fluidity and battery life.

 

There was only so much you could do to an mp3 player, yet the iPod annual refreshes were something every Apple fan clung to their seats waiting for.

Small changes like adding a faster processor or a more efficient processor for longer battery life, adding a larger edge to edge screen in the same casing (technology that Apple will be using int he next iPhone), redesigning the case to refresh the look, adding sensors like blood oxygen content or the holy grail of blood glucose monitoring, add a Smart Connector for smart watch bands, including a cellular chip, adding a camera for on the go snaps...

There are plenty of things they can do to the Watch today. If anything, the smartwatch market is so new that it can come up with improvements much faster than a mature market like smartphones that still manage to find enough improvements for annual refreshes.

 

This is true. There are many things that the watch can still mature with. I would love an always-on display, thinner casing, faster operation, more watch faces, more useful apps, better battery life, etc.

I wonder how much the engineers benefited with the trend of the iPhones getting progressively larger, which I'm sure gave them more room to work with.

 

Speed and battery life are still really the only upgrades I care about. I've had this Watch nearly 2 years, and Dark Sky is still the only 3rd party app I have installed. lol

 

With the exception of Pokemon, there are only a few apps you can routinely use on the AW. Workout/Activity / Messages are the apps that I frequently use.

 

I believe it will get it, though it might be a kind of stripped down experience given the processor.

 

I hope so, if not then I would be forced to upgrade to Series 1 not Series 3 this year.

 

Do you guys live in a cave?

 

The only thing in WatchOS4 that interests me is the new navigation. I would think Series 0 has the horse power for that since it has the HP to animate Mickey Mouse. But if not I'll just stick with OS3. IF Apple releases a Series 3 AW this fall AND it has some true new features like better running analytics like Garmin watches have I'm all in. Otherwise I'm not motivated to upgrade either AW or WatchOS. It's fine as-is for the way I use mine.

 

Looking forward to WatchOS4 on my series 0, I've heard some beta testers saying it runs pretty fast. Don't know if they were talking about Series 2 though.

 

I'm sure that they will put an embedded Apple SIM like they do on the iPads with would take care of all of the carriers except for Verizon as I don't believe they currently support it. at least I don't think they do as my iPad Pro has an embedded apple SIM but still uses a regular Verizon SIM card.

 

WatchOS 4 has been working pretty well on my series 0 watches. Check out some YouTube videos and you can see for yourself. I have basically no issues on beta 5 (the current beta) and it runs as fast as or slightly better than watchOS 3. I don’t see any noticeable slow down.