– watchOS 27 drops support for Series 6, 7, 8, and 9, requiring Series 10/11, Ultra 2/3, or SE 3.
– Series 9 (with S9 chip) is excluded, while the same-chip Ultra 2 is supported, creating inconsistency.
– Apple Watch software support is no longer reliable, cutting off devices after just two major updates.
– Long-term updates, once a key advantage over competitors, are no longer guaranteed for Apple Watch.
watchOS 27 Anounced at WWDC With New Restrictions
Apple introduced watchOS 27 at WWDC today, which is a big new operating system update for the Apple Watch that should be coming out in the fall. Excluding the Siri AI and the new chatbot built on Google Gemini, there are not many fresh features to get excited about. But, the software support for older watches is going to be heavily cut down, which is a massive change from before.
Which Apple Watch Models Are Compatible
Even though watchOS 26 worked with the Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, and 9, as well as the first-gen Ultra and the second-gen SE, Apple has slashed support by four generations all at once. To run watchOS 27, you will need a Series 10 or Series 11 ($299 on Amazon), an Apple Watch Ultra 2 or 3, or an Apple Watch SE 3. That means the Series 9, which launched only two and a half years back, has only got two major software updates.
Performance and Chip Similarities
This is really bothersome, mainly because the Series 9 watch uses the exact same Apple S9 chip which is also inside the Apple Watch Ultra 2. That Ultra 2 model came out at the same time and is confirmed to work with watchOS 27, so the inconsistency is confusing. Since the S6, S7, and S8 chips from the earlier generations were practically identical, maybe there is some technical reasons for dropping support for those models.
Long-Term Support and Consumer Trust
Apple is leaving customers who bought a costly smartwatch just two years ago out in the cold, which shows that you cannot always count on future updates. People who purchase an Apple Watch now should not expect long-term software support anymore, which is a shame. In the smartwatch market especially, having long updates was a real plus for the Apple Watch compared to many of its rivals.