My Apple Watch Doesn’t Support WatchOS 27, but Here’s Why I’m Not Buying a New One.
On Monday, Apple announced a new set of updates coming this fall, including iOS 27, macOS 27, and watchOS 27. During the presentation, the company enthusiastically announced that iOS 27 would be available for all iPhones compatible with iOS 26. If your iPhone is currently receiving the latest updates from Apple, it will continue to receive them for another year. Unfortunately, some of the company’s other products weren’t so lucky.
As expected, macOS 27 Golden Gate marks the end of an era for Intel-based Macs . If you don’t have a Mac with an Apple Silicon processor, you won’t be able to upgrade this fall. The situation is similar with iPadOS 27: Apple is ending support for a number of iPads this year, primarily the 2018 and 2019 models . But the real shocker came with watchOS 27 : Apple’s lineup is now limited to just six Apple Watch models, meaning there’s a good chance your watch won’t be supported this year. Although the company developed watchOS 26 for the Series 6, 7, 8, first-generation Ultra, and second-generation SE, none of these watches will receive the new update this fall.
I love updates; I love installing the latest OS version on each of my devices and exploring what’s changed since the last update. While I can look forward to it on my iPhone, Mac, and iPad this year, my Apple Watch is a different story. I have a Series 6, which means watchOS 26 is the end of the road for my wearable. If I want to try watchOS 27, I’ll have to suck it up and update my watch to a Series 9 or newer. The thing is, I’m not planning on doing that yet.
Why watchOS 27 Isn’t Worth Buying an Apple Watch
My opinion: While watchOS 27 seems like a great update, it’s not worth spending serious money on a new Apple Watch. Despite how many Apple Watch models haven’t received the update this year, it doesn’t have enough compelling features to make me ditch my aging Series 6.
Like Apple’s other flagship updates this year, watchOS 27 is all about artificial intelligence. Of course, there’s Siri AI, which, according to Apple, transforms the company’s voice assistant into something more like ChatGPT or Gemini. If I bought the new Apple Watch, I could ask Siri complex, open-ended questions that she’d presumably be able to answer, going beyond the usual “I don’t see any taco recipes in your contacts.” I could ask her to show me photos from last year’s trip or continue conversations with the assistant on my other Apple devices through the new Siri app. I’m not saying I wouldn’t try the new Siri if I had a newer Apple Watch, but since I don’t use chatbots much outside of my journalism, I’m simply not drawn to this update.
The Workout Buddy app also received updates this year, using Apple’s intelligence to provide new fitness data based on your workout history. The AI coach now supports Spanish, and you don’t even need your iPhone nearby to use it. Unfortunately, my Series 6 didn’t support Workout Buddy natively, so I don’t miss something I never had.
Overall, there are a number of improvements: a new dynamic app grid has been added, making it easier to find the app you need; watchOS will display relevant information during a call; support for perimenopause and menopause has been added; indoor walks and runs are more accurately tracked; a new one-tap gesture lets you select widgets in Smart Stacks, which also features improved suggestions. Apple has also improved Liquid Glass, making it more readable. None of these features are bad; they just aren’t worth the $399 or more it costs to buy a new watch.
In fact, the only non-feature Apple is releasing this year that excites me most is the performance improvements. The company sees 2026 as an opportunity to refine its operating systems overall, and watchOS has seen improvements to battery life, sleep tracking, media playback, and Wi-Fi connectivity, among other things. But if I buy a new Apple Watch, I expect it to be faster and last longer than my old one, so performance improvements alone aren’t necessarily compelling.
My Apple Watch still works great.
Is my Apple Watch about five years old? Yes. Has the microphone become a little “hard to hear” lately? Yes. Does the battery last as long as it did the day I bought it? Absolutely not. Does it do almost everything I need it to? Absolutely!
In recent years, the Apple Watch has achieved something similar to the iPhone: year-over-year improvements are so minor that there’s little reason to upgrade frequently. Apple released the Series 6 back in 2020, and yet it does everything I expect from an Apple Watch: I can track my indoor and outdoor workouts; I can monitor my sleep and assess health trends over time; I can quickly reply to friends’ messages right from my wrist (even if the interface starts to sluggish); and I can check simple stats without reaching for my iPhone, like the weather, my upcoming schedule, and, of course, the time.
I’m sure I’d really appreciate a faster watch with better battery life, but it wouldn’t make much of a difference to me in everyday life. Unfortunately for Apple, my Series 6 is too good to give up, even for watchOS 27.
My Apple Watch will still receive security updates.
For me, the most important updates are security patches. While I won’t hesitate to keep a device if it stops receiving new features, I’ll stop using it as soon as it stops receiving the latest security updates. Internet-connected devices require the latest patches, otherwise they’re vulnerable to hackers armed with the latest exploits.
Fortunately, Apple continues to release security updates for devices even after official software support ends. There’s no guarantee how long this will last, but back in May, the company released the iOS 15 security update , which covers devices starting with the iPhone 6S. Apple released this update back in 2015, and while I don’t necessarily expect the company to release a watchOS 26 security update in 2031, I’m reasonably confident that my Series 6 will be protected from vulnerabilities for the foreseeable future.
Other updates from Apple aren’t worth upgrading for either.
My Apple Watch is the only Apple device that won’t receive an update this year, but I’m not sure I’d be tempted to upgrade my iPhone, iPad, or Mac if any of those operating systems hadn’t also received an update. On each of them, the main improvements are Siri AI, Apple Intelligence, and performance enhancements, along with other smaller features and changes that accompany the updates. It’s great that macOS supports ultrawide displays, and that all three updates will update compromised passwords on your behalf. But if my “legacy” iPhone, iPad, or Mac still performs all the functions I need, none of these updates are worth the cost.
That’s not to say upgrading is bad. Some of Apple’s current devices are the best the company has ever made. You can’t go wrong with a Mac running Apple Silicon , and my iPhone 17 Pro Max is the most durable Apple product I’ve ever owned. However, I wouldn’t make a decision based solely on this year’s upgrades. If it’s time for a new phone or computer, by all means, upgrade. If your current phone or computer works perfectly, consider keeping it for now.