Apple Just Dropped Five Apple Watch Models From watchOS 27

• Apple Watch SE (3rd generation)
• Apple Watch Series 9
• Apple Watch Series 10
• Apple Watch Series 11
• Apple Watch Ultra 2
• Apple Watch Ultra 3

The following five models, which were all supported by watchOS 26, are now excluded :

• Apple Watch Series 6
• Apple Watch Series 7
• Apple Watch Series 8
• Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
• Apple Watch Ultra (1st generation)

These devices hit a hard stop with watchOS 26. The SE 2 and original Ultra debuted in 2022, making them just four years old; the Series 8 launched that same year . Coverage has noted that this is the largest single-generation compatibility purge Apple has applied to the Apple Watch .

Why Apple narrowed the list so aggressively

Apple has not released an official statement explaining the reasoning behind the sharp cutoff. However, reporting and technical analysis point to a specific hardware requirement: Apple is drawing the line at devices with the S9 SiP or newer .

The excluded models all use Apple’s older S8 or earlier system-in-package architectures, including the first-generation Ultra, the SE 2, and the Series 6 through 8 . The S9 chip introduced a dedicated Neural Engine for faster on-device processing, and coverage ties the compatibility decision directly to features launched with watchOS 27 — most notably Siri AI, which demands more on-device compute, along with a new tap gesture for the Smart Stack and wider design refinements .

The S9 line — which is present in the Series 9 and all supported models above it — is considered the minimum floor for those capabilities. Apple’s decision to exclude the S8-based first-gen Ultra while keeping the S9-based Ultra 2 and Series 9 reinforces that the cutoff is chip-driven rather than tied to product line or age alone .

Critics have pointed out that Apple could have offered a feature-limited update to older watches, similar to how older iPhones receive a version of iOS without every new AI feature . Instead, the company applied a hard cutoff, leaving owners of relatively recent hardware without any path forward.

What this means for owners of dropped watches

If your Apple Watch is on the dropped list, here’s the practical impact:

Your watch still works. Excluded models will stay on watchOS 26 and continue to function for fitness tracking, notifications, and all current apps. Being dropped from the update does not mean the hardware is bricked .

No watchOS 27 features. You won’t get the headline additions, including Siri AI, the new Smart Stack tap gesture, and any system-wide design changes Apple is introducing with watchOS 27 .

Security support may narrow. Apple typically continues to provide security updates for the previous watchOS version for some time, but the company hasn’t specified how long watchOS 26 will receive patches. Historically, older watchOS versions receive security fixes for at least a year after the new version ships, but there is no guarantee .

An upgrade is the only path forward. If you want watchOS 27, you’ll need to move to one of the six supported models: SE 3, Series 9, Series 10, Series 11, Ultra 2, or Ultra 3 . Owners of a Series 8 or first-generation Ultra — watches that are still powerful and widely regarded as capable devices — face a significantly shorter upgrade cycle than many expected, which has drawn pointed criticism across tech publications .

The iPhone matters too. Installing watchOS 27 also requires an iPhone 11 or later (or iPhone SE 2nd generation or later) running iOS 27. Some Apple Intelligence features available on the watch additionally require an iPhone 15 Pro or newer .

For anyone weighing whether to upgrade, the key takeaway from this cycle is clear: the chip inside your watch now matters more than its age or product line. Future watchOS compatibility will probably follow the same pattern, tied more tightly to silicon generations than ever before.