watchOS 27 drops support for five Apple Watch models, here’s why

Chance Miller | Jun 19 2026 - 6:34 am PT

When Apple announced watchOS 27 last week, one thing people noticed right away was device compatibility. Apple is dropping support for multiple older Apple Watch models this year.

In an interview with TechRadar Cait Dooley, Apple Watch and Health Product Marketing Manager, offered more context on watchOS 27 compatibility.

Is watchOS 27 compatible with your Apple Watch?

As we reported last week, watchOS 27 drops support for the Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, and Series 8. It also drops the Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) and the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra.

Here’s the full list of Apple Watch models compatible with watchOS 27:

According to Dooley, the decision stemmed from a goal of ensuring users have “have the best experience” no matter which Apple Watch model they’re using. This year, that meant making some cuts to compatibility.

Top comment by PartTimeTinkerer

Liked by 16 people

iPhones 11-15 don’t support Siri AI but they still receive the other benefits that comes with iOS 27 (better performance, battery efficiency enhancements etc). I don’t understand why Apple couldn’t have done something similar with watchOS 27.

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Dooley emphasized, however, that users with older Apple Watch models will still be able to pair their device to their iPhones running newer versions of iOS:

“With every software release across every single one of our platforms, we always want to ensure that you have the best experience, so we make power and performance a priority.

“The great new features in watchOS, including the capabilities of SIri AI and the new tap gesture, work best with the processing power that is in Apple Watch Series 9 and later, Ultra 2 and later, and SE 3. Older devices can still be paired with iPhones that are running the latest software and continue to receive security updates, so they can continue to have a great Apple Watch experience.”

watchOS 27 brings a handful of new features to Apple Watch, including Siri AI with a dedicated app. There’s also a new dynamic app grid, improvements to Workout Buddy, and more.

For a full rundown on what’s new in watchOS 27 for Apple Watch, check out our full guide here. watchOS 27 is currently available to developers for beta testing. A public beta will be released in July, followed by a release to everyone in the fall.