It's a record: watchOS 11 ends support for the most Apple Watch models ever
Apple and its smartphones are renowned for their long support times: even older iPhones can often get a software update, even though they have long since been "written off". That's not the case with smartwatches. Apple does not specify the exact number of years after which Apple Watch will stop receiving new OS versions, so it often happens unexpectedly.
Here's What We Know
Apple recently unveiled watchOS 11, and it turns out that the new version of the operating system will not be available for three models: the Apple Watch Series 4 (2018), Apple Watch Series 5 (2019), and Apple Watch SE 1 (2020).
This is a record number for Apple, as the company has previously discontinued support for one or two models once every few years. For comparison:
- watchOS 5 dropped the Apple Watch Series 0
- Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 were dropped in watchOS 7
- watchOS 9 dropped the Apple Watch Series 3
- watchOS 11 dropped the Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, and SE 1
By the way, Apple Watch Series 5 and SE 1 use the same S5 chipset, so their simultaneous withdrawal seems logical. However, what happens next is unclear, as the Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, Ultra 1 and SE 2 also use the same processor. So it's likely that Apple will eventually stop producing all of these models at once.
Source: Android Authority
