At the recently concluded Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple unveiled iOS 18 alongside watchOS 11, which adds lots of new and useful features. The upcoming update will be available for the latest Apple smartwatch models, but what’s interesting is that Apple is dropping support for three of its older smartwatches. These include the Apple Watch Series 4, Watch Series 5 series and the first generation Watch SE (1), the company’s first affordable smartwatch.
At the bottom of the watchOS 11 newsroom announcement, Apple says that the upcoming update “will be available this fall as a free software update for Apple Watch Series 6 or later paired with iPhone Xs or later, running iOS 18.”
Why is Apple not supporting Apple Watch Series 5 and older smartwatches?
The Apple Watch Series 4 and Watch Series 5 pack the now-dated S4 and S5 chips. These chipsets are powered by the same processor and, therefore, offer similar performance. Coincidentally, the Apple Watch SE, launched in 2020, also packs the older S5 chipset. In other words, the Apple Watch Series 4, Watch Series 5 and the Watch SE all have the same processing power.
For those wondering, before the Apple Watch Series 9, the Watch Series 6 was the last time Apple got a much more powerful processor, so it is highly possible that these older smartwatches don’t have the processing power required to handle the newer AI-powered features.
However, ending OS updates won’t make your older Apple Watch completely useless. While you will miss out on newer features, the tech giant might roll out updates to patch bugs and security vulnerabilities.
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