Apple announced watchOS 27 at WWDC26 this week, and there’s a compatibility situation worth talking about because it affects a lot of people.

watchOS 27 drops support for Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, and the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra. All in one go. The Series 8 came out in 2022. The original Ultra, which started at €999 and was marketed as the ultimate endurance sports watch,launched the same year. Four years old and already left behind!

The models confirmed to run watchOS 27 are the Apple Watch SE (3rd generation), Series 10, Series 11, Ultra 2, and Ultra 3.

If you bought an Ultra specifically because you wanted a serious training watch that would last, and spent close to a grand on it, finding out it’s no longer supported after four years is certainly no fun.

Let’s Compare That to Garmin For a Second

Just for fun, let’s do the comparison. Garmin typically supports a Fenix generation for five to seven years with active software updates, not just security patches, but actual feature additions and improvements. Apple’s support window for the watches cut this week was effectively three to four years! For a €999 Ultra, that’s a hard pill to swallow.

Watt I Learned

If you’re on a compatible watch, update in September when it drops publicly and enjoy the new features. If you’re on a Series 6, 7, 8 or the original Ultra, your watch still works perfectly, you’ll just stay on watchOS 26, and miss out on future features going forward.

If this is the moment that makes you look sideways at a Fenix or a Coros — that’s a completely reasonable response. Those watches were built for athletes first and everything else second, they hold their value longer, and Garmin’s track record on software support for older hardware is genuinely better.

Developer beta is live now. Public beta in July. Full release September 2026.