The most expensive silence of the keynote
Not a word was spent on watchOS 27 compatibility requirements during the WWDC keynote. The news emerged only from Apple's spec pages, as exclusively documented by TechRadar: six models currently compatible with watchOS 26 will not be able to upgrade to watchOS 27. The list includes Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, 9 — the latter launched only in 2023 — Apple Watch SE (second generation) and, most notably, first-generation Apple Watch Ultra.
Ultra 1: four years of support at $799
The Ultra 1 cut is the most painful. Anyone who bought the model at its $799 launch price in 2022 is left with a device dropped from the new operating system after just four years. TechRadar calls this move 'very predatory' and suggests it may drive users toward Garmin. The minimum compatibility threshold is now Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple Watch SE 3.
The likely technical reason
Tom's Guide notes that watchOS 27's strict requirements are tied to Apple Intelligence features, which need newer hardware and, for full use, must be paired with a nearby iPhone 15 Pro or later. Dropped models 'presumably' — as TechRadar writes — lack the compute power to handle even a reduced version of Siri AI. Core features on unsupported models will continue to work, but progressive incompatibility with apps built for watchOS 27 will become a problem in the medium term.