Exemplary support ends! Apple wants to incentivize watch purchases, new watchOS 27 won't be available on four-year-old models

At WWDC 2026 this year, Apple’s watch system was only mentioned in a few sentences on stage; interested parties had to read the main information from the website. And it revealed two things. Firstly, that watchOS 27 is primarily about artificial intelligence. And secondly, that many owners of older models will surprisingly not be able to join this wave.

Siri as a wrist chatbot

The flagship new feature is Siri AI, which Apple is also bringing to watches as a standalone app. In appearance and behavior, it strikingly resembles common chatbots like ChatGPT — and it’s no wonder, as it’s powered by Gemini from Google in the background. The assistant can also control apps, so you can plan a route in Maps or add a photo to an album through it.

The rest of the changes are more cosmetic. The Workout Buddy training partner processes more data and spouts more motivational messages, AI can narrow down the selection of apps based on what you’re most likely to want to launch, and the Liquid Glass appearance has also been refined. A gesture of pinching the thumb and forefinger to open a widget has been added, Wallet can display QR codes for any tickets and loyalty cards, and the music player starts faster. There are more minor improvements — from more accurate step counting to better battery life.

Who won’t get the update

And now for the surprising part. While watchOS 26 reached Apple Watch Series 6, version twenty-seven requires at least Series 9, SE 3, or Ultra 2. This means Series 7 and 8, the second generation SE, and surprisingly even the first Apple Watch Ultra, which cost over twenty thousand and have only been on the market for four years, are left out. Apple also initially mistakenly omitted Series 9 from the list, but promptly confirmed it as supported. watchOS 27 will arrive in the autumn.

How do you like the new watchOS 27?

Source: 9to5mac