I hope you have a modern Apple Watch or iPad, because otherwise watchOS 27 and iPadOS 27 won’t run on your device. Apple often drops support for older devices with its latest software updates, but this year it’s culling even more device generations than ever before.
Apple is dropping support for at least three generations of Apple Watch models in watchOS 27. According to Apple’s website, the latest watchOS update will only be available on Apple Watch Series 10 devices and above, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and above, and Apple Watch SE 3. That list may be incomplete; we’ve seen reports of people successfully installing the watchOS 27 developer beta on both the Series 9 and first-generation Watch Ultra. We’ve asked Apple for confirmation on which models are supported.
It’s a surprise support cull for Apple Watch models, which consumers certainly don’t refresh as much as an iPhone. WatchOS 26, released a year ago, supported Apple Watch Series 6 and later, as well as Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) and later, and all Apple Watch Ultra models. This was the same list of devices as watchOS 11. Even if the Series 9 and first-gen Watch Ultra are supported in watchOS 27, that still means owners of the Series 6, 7, and 8, as well as the Watch SE (2nd gen), are out of luck.
Over on the iPad side, iPadOS 27 cuts support for 3rd-generation iPad Air models and 8th generation regular iPad models. iPad Pro owners will also need a 4th generation 12.9-inch model or above, or a 2nd generation 11-inch model and above.
Surprisingly, Apple is maintaining support for its iPhone 11 models with iOS 27 later this year. This means an iPhone from 2019 is supported by its latest OS updates, but an Apple Watch from 2022 isn’t. Make it make sense.
Update and correction, June 8th: An earlier version of this article misstated which iPads would receive iPadOS 27. The 4th-generation (A14) and 5th-generation (M1) iPad Air are supported, not unsupported. In addition, while Apple’s watchOS 27 preview page omits the Apple Watch Series 9 and first-gen Apple Watch Ultra from the list of supported devices, those models do appear to be supported.
