watchOS 5 Not Available for Original Apple Watch

[MacRumors]

The new watchOS 5 update, which was introduced at the keynote event of the Worldwide Developers Conference this morning, will not be available on the first-generation Apple Watch models that were released three years ago in 2015.

There were some hints that support might be dropped for the original Apple Watch, including warnings in later watchOS 4 updates after Apple stopped supporting the watchOS 1 SDK.

watchOS 5 will be able to be installed on Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, while original Apple Watch models will not be able to be upgraded beyond watchOS 4.

The original Apple Watch likely does not have the power and battery life necessary for some of the newer watchOS 5 features, including Walkie-Talkie for touch-to-talk communications with friends, richer interactive notifications, automatic workout detection, and updates to the Siri watch face.

Article Link: watchOS 5 Not Available for Original Apple Watch

 

[Slix]

Just a few short months after I got my Series 0 Apple Watch...

I'll still use it for a long time, rest assured.

 

[code-e]

This trusty S0 has held out so long. Looks like I won't be running the beta, but assuming a new Apple Watch is announced in the fall, it's finally time to upgrade!

 

[RedGala]

Aw man. Makes sense when you have to support a bunch of features that likely need more processing power. Was planning on getting the next get in a few months anyway.

 

[Polaroid]

Mine still works fine and battery is awesome. Gutted they don't support it now. GRR. Not updating till the increase the screen estate, the rectangle is horrible lol

 

[ErikGrim]

To be expected. I loved my s0, but it breaking and forcing me to upgrade to s3 was the best thing to happen this year. The series 3 is the first model where it truly came into its own.

 

[itsmilo]

it better still work in combination with iOS 12 on the iPhone tho. ...?

 

[macduke]

My S0 is ready to be retired alongside my first generation iPhone and first generation iPad. I should put them all together in a display case or something in the new office I'm building in my basement. If only I had an original Mac! I joined the party too late.

The S0 battery life and performance is already not great. It's best for them to optimize watchOS for newer, faster devices. Looking at iOS, it seems like Apple is now supporting devices even longer once they got to a certain performance level. Hopefully the same happens for the Watch and we eventually get updates for longer once devices get fast enough.

 

[poppy10]

Imagine if you spent $15,000 on one of the gold plated edition versions of this. So much for being a rival to luxury watch brands. Those last generations. This is dropped after a few years

 

[NT1440]

Series 0 here. I’ve been looking for a reason to upgrade when the next watch comes out (I’ve got a cracked screen but still great battery life even when biking 2+ hours). This and the next hardware revision will be a bit for me.

 

[gabriel193755]

All I wanted was new watch faces.
What do we get? Walkie-Talkie...

 

[witherwings]

So the $10.000 Gold Apple Watch series are now obsolete? Good investment!

 

[NT1440]

Imagine if you spent $15,000 on one of the gold plated edition versions of this. So much for being a rival to luxury watch brands. Those last generations. This is dropped after a few years

People that spend $15K on a watch will never miss that money, or they’re incredibly stupid with their finances.

 

[Dave245]

Looks like I’ll be upgrading my Apple Watch as well as my Mac.

 

[er1c]

So suddenly my $17,000 Apple Watch Edition is shunned by Apple? Feels so wrong...

 

[Krayzkat]

Imagine if you spent $15,000 on one of the gold plated edition versions of this. So much for being a rival to luxury watch brands. Those last generations. This is dropped after a few years

Was gonna say exact same thing..... $17,000 on a gold AW and it don't even have walkie talkie mode lol

 

[ErikGrim]

Imagine if you spent $15,000 on one of the gold plated edition versions of this. So much for being a rival to luxury watch brands. Those last generations. This is dropped after a few years

It has been said before, but people who have the money to drop $15k on a watch have probably already replaced it with a more expensive watch by now.

 

[Scooterman1]

The new watchOS 5 update, which was introduced at the keynote event of the Worldwide Developers Conference this morning, will not be available on the first-generation Apple Watch models that were released three years ago in 2015.

There were some hints that support might be dropped for the original Apple Watch, including warnings in later watchOS 4 updates after Apple stopped supporting the watchOS 1 SDK.

watchOS 5 will be able to be installed on Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3 Apple Watch models, while original Apple Watch models will not be able to be upgraded beyond watchOS 4.

The original Apple Watch likely does not have the power and battery life necessary for some of the newer watchOS 5 features, including Walkie-Talkie for touch-to-talk communications with friends, richer interactive notifications, automatic workout detection, and updates to the Siri watch face.

Article Link: watchOS 5 Not Available for Original Apple Watch

I will NEVER buy another Apple watch because of this policy. When I pay an outrageous $700 for a stinking watch, I expect it to be supported for a long time to come. Apple has just become too greedy!

 

[ghost187]

It’ll finally be time to upgrade for me.

Knowing how slow the original AW is, it’s actually a good thing it’s not being updated.

 

[Roller]

Walkie-Talkie between friends doesn’t work on the S0, but how about enemies or people you’re indifferent about?

 

[yaxomoxay]

I will NEVER buy another Apple watch because of this policy. When I pay an outrageous $700 for a stinking watch, I expect it to be supported for a long time to come. Apple has just become too greedy!

I am pretty sure that the Watch will continue working for all the functionalities you paid it for, for many years to come.

 

[Mizouse]

Waiting to see what the series 4 will bring.

Otherwise my 1st gen works fine.

 

[PhillyGuy72]

Well...that's stinks. BUT not shocked. My battery in my original is till fine, but performance wise it is slow as dirt. I had a feeling this would not be available for us original adopters. UNLESS a new design comes out for AW, I really have no desire to upgrade my watch.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Makes sense. No reason to hold everyone else back by trying to support an old and underpowered product. I'll be upgrading to the new watch when they release it this fall.

 

[trusso]

Got a Series 0 here. Still on watchOS 3, as I'm still on iOS 10 as well. The new features are cool, and it's a little unnerving that those expensive original models are becoming "vintage" already. All that said, I don't need my watch to do much besides tell the time and show me a couple of notifications. I see no reason (personally) to upgrade for some admittedly cool features that I will nevertheless never use.