Apple Watch First Generation Won't Get watchOS 5

Apple on Monday announced watchOS 5 at the Wordwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2018. It is the company's latest operating system for its Apple Watch models, and the update includes several exciting new features, such as a new Walkie-Talkie style of communication, interactive notifications, smarter version of Siri, and more. Notably, the Cupertino giant will release the new watchOS version as a free update for Apple Watch Series 1 and later. This essentially means Apple is dropping the support for the original Apple Watch. Apple with iOS 12 however, didn't phase out any iPhone or iPad device, saying the iOS 12 update will be available for all devices iOS 11 was available for.

Back in 2015, Apple had launched its first generation Apple Watch. Buyers of one of the smartwatches that were unveiled back then, will have had less than three and a half years running the latest software. Interestingly, it includes people who bought the variants that cost $10,000 to $17,000. Apple had indeed released a $17,000 Apple Watch Edition that came with a case made from a customised version of 18-karat rose gold, along with a sapphire display and a magnetic charging case. Even for such a costly device, Apple says the update will be incompatible.

As mentioned, Apple has officially confirmed that watchOS 5 will drop support for the first-generation Watch and will require at least a Series 1 watch. Users will have to upgrade to new hardware if they wish to access automatic workouts or Walkie Talkie chats.

Having said that, users will still be able to continue using their original Apple Watch models with watchOS 4. However, there are several updates arriving with watchOS 5. Apart from the big software update, several users might get tempted to upgrade the next generation Apple Watch that could launch this fall.

Will iOS 12 boost sales of affordable iPhones in India? We discussed that on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.