Will AppleWatch 2 Support the iPhone 5?

[BrodieApple]

Hey guys I'm wondering your prediction if the Apple Watch 2 will support the iPhone 5 and why or why not. I have the iPhone 5 and have been waiting all this time for the 2nd Apple Watch and will be really disappointed if I need to save up for another phone to use it.. So what do you guys think? Remember the iPhone 4S couldn't even though it got the iOS with it? Or is that because the 4S was terribly slow?

 

[Julien]

.....So what do you guys think?....

I think.....maybe

 

[MrTazz]

I had a iphone 5 when I got my watch and it was such a battery drain on my phone!! I'm glad I upgraded to a 6s so much better. So for the watch 2 hard to say!!

 

[BrodieApple]

I had a iphone 5 when I got my watch and it was such a battery drain on my phone!! I'm glad I upgraded to a 6s so much better. So for the watch 2 hard to say!!

True, the battery is already bad enough on the 5 lol but what I'm thinking is because I'll be using the watch a lot instead of my phone i won't use as much phone battery. hopefully this reason doesnt make apple decide not to support it.

 

[kfury77]

iOS 10 is supported on the iPhone 5 so it'd be very surprising if Apple Watch 2 was not compatible.

 

[satinsilverem2]

The 4s didn't have watch support because it lacked Bluetooth LE.

 

[BrodieApple]

The 4s didn't have watch support because it lacked Bluetooth LE.

Thank you very much for clearing that up!! Now I'm confident the 5 will be supported
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The 4s didn't have watch support because it lacked Bluetooth LE.

I just did research and the 4S does have Bluetooth 4.0 with low energy

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

iOS 10 is supported on the iPhone 5 so it'd be very surprising if Apple Watch 2 was not compatible.

Not really because the iPhone 4s got iOS 8, yet it can't be used with AW 1.

 

[lagwagon]

iPhone SE is the new iPhone 5. And Apple is revving up to abandon 32bit all together. There are already signs in iOS 10 that 32 bit apps aren't optimized for iOS 10 (pop up warnings that mention this) iOS 10 is likely the very last iOS to support 32bit.

So it honestly would not surprise me if the 5 was not supported for the next gen watch.

 

[matrix07]

If I'm a bet man I would bet No.

 

[BrodieApple]

iPhone SE is the new iPhone 5. And Apple is revving up to abandon 32bit all together. There are already signs in iOS 10 that 32 bit apps aren't optimized for iOS 10 (pop up warnings that mention this) iOS 10 is likely the very last iOS to support 32bit.

So it honestly would not surprise me if the 5 was not supported for the next gen watch.

But does the second watch being supported need 64 bit power??

 

[lagwagon]

But does the second watch being supported need 64 bit power??

What I was getting at, is that Apple is sending 32bit out the door soon. More and more features and such are becoming 64bit only. Once Apple drops 32bit fully nothing new that comes out from that point on will work. iOS 10, while supports the iPhone 5, it's on its way to mostly a 64bit only OS.

With the recent rumour on the front page today, it's possible the new watch will work on a 5 (the rumour saying watch 2 will only be some internals upgrade and the watch 3 in 2017 is likely to be a redesign.)

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

With the recent rumour on the front page today, it's possible the new watch will work on a 5 (the rumour saying watch 2 will only be some internals upgrade and the watch 3 in 2017 is likely to be a redesign.)

I don't think that changes anything. They can still preclude iPhone 5 from working with AW2 even with internals upgrade, just like how iPhone 4s got iOS 8 but wasn't compatible with AW1.

 

[BrodieApple]

What I was getting at, is that Apple is sending 32bit out the door soon. More and more features and such are becoming 64bit only. Once Apple drops 32bit fully nothing new that comes out from that point on will work. iOS 10, while supports the iPhone 5, it's on its way to mostly a 64bit only OS.

With the recent rumour on the front page today, it's possible the new watch will work on a 5 (the rumour saying watch 2 will only be some internals upgrade and the watch 3 in 2017 is likely to be a redesign.)

Yes I definitely agree that 32bit is on it's way out. I just am begging it will be supported because It'll take me so long to save for a new phone (I'm 13)

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Yes I definitely agree that 32bit is on it's way out. I just am begging it will be supported because It'll take me so long to save for one (I'm 13)

Are you trying to hold out for AW2? You can still get the AW1 (if you don't already have one) and you'll be able to use wOS 3 on it, as iOS 10 is supported on the iPhone 5.

 

[BrodieApple]

Are you trying to hold out for AW2? You can still get the AW1 (if you don't already have one) and you'll be able to use wOS 3 on it, as iOS 10 is supported on the iPhone 5.

Yes, but if the AW2 did support the 5 I would really regret it. I'm just gonna wait the next few months.

 

[jonnysods]

Bit hard for any of us to guess, I'd say it's on the edge of being dropped.

 

[Mac 128]

If I'm a bet man I would bet No.

I'd bet it will be supported. A conservative estimate is that Apple sold around 12 million watches in its first year. That's less than 3% out of a potential market of around 500 million iPhone customers. For those who bought gen 1 with an iPhone 5, and liked it, Apple can't really afford to alienate them from upgrading without buying a new phone, nor can they afford to alienate iPhone 5 customers who have been on the fence. Since the iPhone 7 doesn't look as though it's going to offer too many compelling reasons to upgrade, including one big reason not to -- dropping the headphone jack, I'd say a lot of 5 users will hang onto their phones for another year.

Apple needs as many many iPhone customers as possible to enable growth of the platform, unless watch 2 will be more independent from the iPhone, and will have some minimal Android support. My guess is unless the Watch really takes off next year, Apple will further support it on as many phones as possible, for as long as possible.

What would be the issue for not supporting it? Even if the 5 couldn't use iOS 10, they could make the new watch compatible with the iOS9 watch app, without the ability to use some new features (it wouldn't be the first time Apple has done this). Or Apple might offer updates to the watch app for 32-bit phones (again I don't believe it would be the first time Apple has done this). Again, Apple isn't in the position to start eliminating potential customers for the watch yet -- unless there are so few 5 activations that it isn't worth the effort to maintain compatibility.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

What would be the issue for not supporting it? Even if the 5 couldn't use iOS 10, they could make the new watch compatible with the iOS9 watch app, without the ability to use some new features (it wouldn't be the first time Apple has done this).

We already have a precedent in this. The iPhone 4s could use iOS 8, yet could not work with AW1, and wOS 1 required iOS 8. The beta wOS 3 requires wOS 10.

If they planned to make it compatible with iOS 9, they would be beta testing it as well to catch bugs.

 

[matrix07]

I'd bet it will be supported. A conservative estimate is that Apple sold around 12 million watches in its first year. That's less than 3% out of a potential market of around 500 million iPhone customers. For those who bought gen 1 with an iPhone 5, and liked it, Apple can't really afford to alienate them from upgrading without buying a new phone, nor can they afford to alienate iPhone 5 customers who have been on the fence. Since the iPhone 7 doesn't look as though it's going to offer too many compelling reasons to upgrade, including one big reason not to -- dropping the headphone jack, I'd say a lot of 5 users will hang onto their phones for another year.

Apple needs as many many iPhone customers as possible to enable growth of the platform, unless watch 2 will be more independent from the iPhone, and will have some minimal Android support. My guess is unless the Watch really takes off next year, Apple will further support it on as many phones as possible, for as long as possible.

Fair enough. You've made a good point. Mine came from instinct, yet I still can't see iPhone 5 support. We shall see.

 

[Mac 128]

Fair enough. Your argument is strong. Mine came from instinct, yet I still can't see iPhone 5 support. We shall see.

Well I don't disagree Apple could still drop support for it -- cutting their nose off despite their face if you will. The 4s was a different story in that the Watch was a complete unknown when they introduced the watch, and decided it wasn't worth the investment. Now Apple knows how steep the hill is to climb. So to prevent watchOS 3 and the 2nd gen watch from working with the iPhone 5 would likely be a mistake depending on how many of that model are still in active use.

On the other hand, Apple seems to be timing the launch with the new iPhone release. So I wouldn't be surprised to see some kind of bundle where the phone and watch can be purchased on a combined upgrade plan. And, if the rumor of including a cellular radio is true, a bundled carrier package that includes the watch in the plan. All of that would help drive sales and presumably upgrades from old iPhone 5 customers, which Apple certainly has to calculate into their strategy. It seems like a balancing act at the moment.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Fair enough. You've made a good point. Mine came from instinct, yet I still can't see iPhone 5 support. We shall see.

I'd say your instinct is most likely correct considering the precedent that they've already established with iPhone 4s and iOS 8.
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So to prevent watchOS 3 and the 2nd gen watch from working with the iPhone 5 would likely be a mistake depending on how many of that model are still in active use.

Not necessarily. As iOS 10 is supported on iPhone 5, those with AW1 and iPhone 5 could still update to watchOS 3.

 

[BrodieApple]

Part of me thinks that they'll be dropping a model each new Apple Watch with the iOS releases, like how the iPhone 4S got cut out with iOS 8. But in order to get as many Apple Watch users as possible they might still keep it. Also, think of it this way. The iPhone 5C was released as a brand new phone only 3 years ago when the Watch gets released unlike 4 for the iPhone 5. So since it's still a decently new phone Apple may still want to support these users. And the 5C has same specs as the 5, so they would support both.

 

[JayLenochiniMac]

Also, think of it this way. The iPhone 5C was released as a brand new phone only 3 years ago when the Watch gets released unlike 4 for the iPhone 5. So since it's still a decently new phone Apple may still want to support these users. And the 5C has same specs as the 5, so they would support both.

Or they could drop the 5c as well. Honestly, it can go either way so I wouldn't be surprised if they do support the iPhone 5 after all. It's all speculative and we only have the precedent (that iPhone 4s got iOS 8 but wasn't compatible with the AW1) to go by.

Keeping as many Apple Watch users as possible isn't really an issue as those with the iPhone 5 and 5c can still update to watchOS 3 on their AW1.

 

[Mac 128]

Part of me thinks that they'll be dropping a model each new Apple Watch with the iOS releases, like how the iPhone 4S got cut out with iOS 8. But in order to get as many Apple Watch users as possible they might still keep it. Also, think of it this way. The iPhone 5C was released as a brand new phone only 3 years ago when the Watch gets released unlike 4 for the iPhone 5. So since it's still a decently new phone Apple may still want to support these users. And the 5C has same specs as the 5, so they would support both.

The 4s doesn't represent any kind of precedent because it was the first release of the watch, and in all likelihood a marketing decision more than a technical one, to encourage upgrades, and leave 30-pin phones & 3.5" displays behind as fast as possible.

Since then Apple has learned demand has not necessarily been as strong as they hoped. Dropping a supported model, much less two, while trying to grow the market for the watch, especially if the 7 proves as uninspired as it looks, would just be a bad idea. As of April, 60% of all iPhones in service were 4" displays. A fair chunk of those are 5 & 5c models. While a lot have probably upgraded, or tried to upgrade to the hard to get SE, it seems logical. There's still a strong base for the older models in place.

The Watch also adds Pay to those older phones, and that's something Apple Also wants to encourage. If 5 & 5c customers hold onto their phones another year, and a new watch comes out, why would they buy the old buggy technology, just because their phones won't run the new?

It could go either way, but my money is on it being supported.