Apple's commitment to iPhone hardware support is truly impressive. During the WWDC 2026 keynote, the company announced that iOS 27 will work on all the devices that currently support iOS 26—all the way back to the iPhone 11, released in 2019. Apple even spent extra effort to customize and speed up the OS on older devices. But the news isn't nearly so good for Apple Watch owners.
During the same presentation, Apple showed off the watchOS 27 update, which features the new Siri AI experience, including the Siri app; a new dynamic apps screen, a new single-tap gesture, and more. But what Apple did not talk about at all is what devices will support this flashy new OS.
And it turns out Apple likely left that bit out because the news isn't great: a huge chunk of currently supported Apple Watches will not make it to the watchOS 27 update shipping this fall.
Credit: Khamosh Pathak
In contrast to Apple's longstanding support for iPhones turning seven this year, much newer Apple Watches won't support the new OS. It seems watchOS 27 will only be supported on Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, Apple Watch Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and 3, and the Apple Watch SE 3. That is it. Apple is dropping support for Apple Watch Series 6 all the way to Series 8. Even the first Apple Watch Ultra model won't be supported. The 2nd Generation SE model loses support as well. What's more, Apple originally left the Series 9 off the compatibility list, making it look like even fewer watches were supported this year.
What do you think so far?
While dropping support for older devices is understandable, the Ultra 1 is the hardest to swallow. The Ultra 1 is a high-end smartwatch that retailed for $800 back in September 2023. With the Apple Watch, hardware iterations are slow, and an Apple Watch from a couple of years ago remains fully capable and fast enough to perform all the tasks you're likely to ask of it.
