watchOS 27 Improves Apple Watch Performance in Seven Ways

[driekraaien]

Ultra 2 will be fine next year. Most likely up next will be the AirPods Pro due to a lack of neural cores for auditory intelligence (coming in future updates, except for EU).

Now I’m done ranting. 😗

 

[Howard2k]

For core watch updates yes, but making fairly recent models obsolete because of some future AI workloads a watch cannot support is something else. Who needs AI on their watch anyway? If there’s anything to process just hand it off to the phone.

Recent models aren’t obsolete yet. That’s still years away.

Siri on Ultra 2 onwards is noticeably better than Ultra 1.

And the on-device processing for that relies on the those neural processors.

I agree though, seems to be they could compromise and have a model where processing local if supported and external if not; but maybe they view that as not being worth the investment.

 

[Night_Sailor]

My ultra one is not that old. For Apple to throw that under the bus it’s just another Apple poke in the eye.

 

[Dirty Mac]

All good stuff - if you have a watch that will support it. Improved battery efficiency will be particularly welcome but I wonder how much improvement they can squeeze out of the software. An extra 5% feels close to noise to me but if they can get to an extra 10% or more then that becomes interesting.

I do hope we'll be able to re-map (i.e. replace) that Siri icon in the centre of the new app grid with another app icon. I always invoke Siri via a long-press on the crown so for me having a Siri icon centre stage on that grid invoked (I assume) via a single press on the crown is a complete waste of space when had, I wanted to activate Siri, I would have just kept my finger on the crown for a fraction of a second longer.

Weird, I never got siri in the centre on mine... mine has workout in the centre. Still, can't change that either.

 

[Astuces iOS]

I think I will stay one more year with my SE 1

 

[JulianL]

Weird, I never got siri in the centre on mine... mine has workout in the centre. Still, can't change that either.

I was only going off the renders and we are talking beta software so maybe what's shipping in this first developer beta isn't in sync with the graphics that Apple's marketing department is putting out.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

Apple: wE cAre ABouT thE enViRoMenT!

Also Apple: Your Apple Watch Ultra 1 you bought 3.5 years ago ended software support; in other words, becoming e-waste

First time?

You’re supposed to only buy the newest series and sell or trade in your old one.

I only spend ~$200 every year or every other year and I get to enjoy the latest everything.

If you really needed the Ultra’s outdoorsy features you’d be fine with your Ultra 1 still. If it bothers you that much, sell it online and get an Ultra 3 or else downgrade to the cheaper Apple Watches.

Not sure why you expected more than 3.5 years when that watch came out before AI was ever a thing, and was the first of its kind as well.

 

[MrMacintoshIII]

I have an Ultra 2, but I still don’t like that I’m one generation away from being unsupported. It feels way too soon for Apple to be deprecating some of these Apple Watches. The ancient iPhone 11 is still supported by the next version of iOS, it seems weird that the support time frame on Apple Watch is so different.

You’re jumping to conclusions to upset yourself further.

Ultra 1 was the first gen model. Apple has a history of not supporting those well. It’s different for second and further gen of a model.

 

[I7guy]

Not supporting the Ultra 1 is insane and really unfortunate to people who bought the flagship model expecting years of support that Apple is typically known for.

If they're still supporting the iPhone 11 from 2019, I'm sure they could've figured out how to support the Apple Watch Ultra for at-least another 1-2 WatchOS releases.

I think I'm done with the Apple Watch after this one dies. I just can't see spending $800+ on something that will lose software support in less than 3 years.

Pretty sure AWU1 will be supported. Just not with new operating systems.

 

[Rockondevil]

Everyone sad about the Ultra 1 not being supported but here I am with a Series 9 which is a year newer but not being supported anymore.

 

[dmr727]

Everyone sad about the Ultra 1 not being supported but here I am with a Series 9 which is a year newer but not being supported anymore.

Looks like the Series 9 is supported:

 

[mlayer]

Everyone sad about the Ultra 1 not being supported but here I am with a Series 9 which is a year newer but not being supported anymore.

Here I am on Series 9 with watchOS 27. Try it out.

 

[dwsolberg]

It doesn’t have the neural cores. Are you saying that Apple shouldn’t develop the watches or software?

I’d like at least to get the UI differences if not the AI features.

 

[Rockondevil]

Looks like the Series 9 is supported:

View attachment 2637873

Here I am on Series 9 with watchOS 27. Try it out.

I retract everything I said. You're both amazing. I resigned myself to the original article (which has now been updated it seems) that said it wasn't coming.

While I am happy, I am sorry for the Ultra owners. It's still ridiculous for them.

 

[Compote]

Not supporting the Ultra 1 is insane and really unfortunate to people who bought the flagship model expecting years of support that Apple is typically known for.

If they're still supporting the iPhone 11 from 2019, I'm sure they could've figured out how to support the Apple Watch Ultra for at-least another 1-2 WatchOS releases.

I think I'm done with the Apple Watch after this one dies. I just can't see spending $800+ on something that will lose software support in less than 3 years.

Like I said when the news broke, that was a platform-killing move. I'm right there with you and all I was ready to pay for was the cheapest SE2 model I could find. The AW is a consumable, a gadget, not a relevant platform. Just like the iPad. I got burned once before with the Series 3 LTE.

It's been kind a of a feature of the Tim Cook era, that you should only buy the worst product because therein lies the most value and you still encounter bottlenecks if you try to push the hardware a little for functionality. It's disastrous for the company's credibility as a whole.

We're not getting our money's worth even in terms of experience and service. The other day I was struggling to snapshot a PDF or a paper file, then upload it to the Files app on iPhone. The whole experience is terrible and updates cripple devices.

 

[Johnny907]

*Laughs in Stainless Steel Series 8*
Eff off, Apple. There is zero reason these couldn’t come to the Six and higher. Instead we’re getting left in the cold because our watches can’t support AI functionality we don’t even want.

 

[MrkJensen]

Seven way to more efficiently see what time it is.

 

[Abazigal]

Once in a while, I put on my older Series 5 watch, and aside from a smaller display and a noticeably degraded battery, it works pretty well for me. I still get notifications, can use Apple Pay and some basic health tracking and that's all I really need out of a smartwatch these days.

I get the desire to have all your devices running the latest OS, but for anyone willing to look past this, it's actually still good for a couple of years. 😬

 

[baconcat_8964]

My AW Series 7 is so cooked.

I'll probably get a normal watch like Casio or something

I kept using my Series 0 from 2015, until I bought a Series 7 in 2021. The S0 stuck at watchOS 4 for years, and it worked fine just for time, notifications, and activities tracking.

 

[technole]

Once in a while, I put on my older Series 5 watch, and aside from a smaller display and a noticeably degraded battery, it works pretty well for me. I still get notifications, can use Apple Pay and some basic health tracking and that's all I really need out of a smartwatch these days.

I get the desire to have all your devices running the latest OS, but for anyone willing to look past this, it's actually still good for a couple of years. 😬

Yes, people acting like their watch dies immediately when watchOS 27 drops is hilarious.

"My watch doesn't need AI"

okay.

 

[bluecoast]

Release notes for Ultra 1:

• Worse battery efficiency
• Standard Wi-Fi connectivity
• Not so efficient water detection
• Not so accurate step tracking
• Slower media playback
• Slower app extension launches

Pioneers get arrows shot in their back, as the saying goes.

It’s incredibly poor of Apple not to provide a version update for a barely three year old product that cost as much as a regular iPhone.

Thdt should either back port the battery efficiencies and hit fixes to ultra (and s8 owners) or give them 27 with old Siri in place.

Talking of battery efficiencies - if all I got from 27 was that alone for my s9 I would be ‘happy’.

‘Happy’ because before 26 my watch was great. Nothing that 26 provided was an upgrade in retrospect.

 

[Rafagon]

I don't have Siri as my centerpiece and I just updated to watchOS 27. Is it because I'm still on the waitlist? My centerpiece app is alarm clock — which is good for now. But I'd rather have Siri as intended.

Also, can I manually add any app of my choosing to that 5-app screen? I got compass on it and I don't use compass.

And I also have Messages. Who uses Messages on the Apple Watch? Maybe for a quick glance. But anything more involved than that requires an iPhone!

 

[ronno]

Still took 20 minutes (!) of jumping rope before the thing realized I was exercising… And asked if I was doing an indoor run. This is not improved.

 

[Compote]

Still took 20 minutes (!) of jumping rope before the thing realized I was exercising… And asked if I was doing an indoor run. This is not improved.

I can walk for 2 hours before my Apple watch picks it up, and then if it's locked, it won't, and then it STUPIDLY asks me WHETHER I'm walking.

 

[twb01_98]

I guess my SE is not invited to the upgrade party…