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On Monday, Apple announced a new slate of updates coming sometime this fall—among them, iOS 27, macOS 27, and watchOS 27. During the keynote, the company enthusiastically shared that iOS 27 would be available to all iPhones compatible with iOS 26. If your iPhone is currently getting the latest updates from Apple, it will continue to do so for another year. Unfortunately, some of the company’s other products weren’t so lucky.
As expected, macOS 27 Golden Gate marks the end of the line for Intel Macs. Unless you have an Apple silicon Mac, you won’t be able to update this fall. It’s a similar story for iPadOS 27: Apple is dropping a number of iPads this year, mostly from 2018 and 2019. But the real shock came with watchOS 27: Apple’s lineup is now limited to just six Apple Watches, which means there’s a decent chance your watch isn’t supported this year. While the company developed watchOS 26 for the Series 6, 7, 8, first-gen Ultra and second-gen SE, none of those watches will get the new update in the fall.
I’m an update guy; I love installing the latest OS version on each of my devices and exploring what’s changed since the last update. While I can look forward to that on my iPhone, my Mac, and my iPad this year, my Apple Watch is a different story. I have a Series 6, which means that watchOS 26 is the end of the road for my wearable. If I want to try watchOS 27, I’ll need to bite the bullet and upgrade my watch for a Series 9 or newer. The thing is, I’m not going to do that—not yet, anyway.
Why watchOS 27 isn’t worth buying an Apple Watch for
Here’s my take: While watchOS 27 seems like a great update, it isn’t worth dropping some serious cash on a new Apple Watch. Despite how many Apple Watches didn’t make the cut this year, the update doesn’t include enough captivating features to make me want to ditch my aging Series 6.
Like Apple’s other flagship updates this year, watchOS 27 is all about AI. There’s Siri AI, of course, which, taking Apple at its word, transforms the company’s assistant into something more like ChatGPT or Gemini. If I bought a new Apple Watch, I’d be able to ask Siri complex, open-ended questions that it would apparently be able to answer beyond the usual “I don’t see ‘taco bowl recipes’ in your contacts.” I could ask it to pull up photos from a trip I took last year, or pick up conversations I had with the assistant on my other Apple devices through the new Siri app. I’m not saying I wouldn’t try the new Siri if I had a newer Apple Watch, but as someone who doesn’t really use chatbots outside of my reporting, I’m just not enticed by the upgrade here.
Workout Buddy also gets upgrades this year, tapping into Apple Intelligence to offer new insights about your fitness based on your history. The AI coach now supports Spanish, and you don’t even need your iPhone nearby to use it anymore. Unfortunately, my Series 6 never supported Workout Buddy to begin with, so this is a case of not missing what I never had.
There are some miscellaneous upgrades across the board, too: There’s now a new dynamic app grid that might make it easier to find the app you’re looking for; watchOS will surface relevant info when on a phone call; there’s now perimenopause and menopause support; indoor walks and runs are tracked more accurately; a new single-tap gesture lets you select widgets in Smart Stacks, which also comes with upgraded suggestions. And Apple upgraded Liquid Glass to be a bit more legible across the board. None of these features is bad; they just aren’t worth $399 or more to pick up a brand new watch.
Really, my main temptation here would be the only non-feature Apple is rolling out this year: performance upgrades. The company is taking 2026 as an opportunity to refine its OSes across the board, and on watchOS, the company made improvements to battery life, sleep tracking, media playback, and wifi connectivity, among other boosts. But if I’m buying a new Apple Watch, I expect it to be faster and longer-lasting than my old one anyway, so performance increases in and of themselves aren’t necessarily convincing either.
My Apple Watch still works great
Is my Apple Watch about five years old? Yes. Is the microphone a bit “hard of hearing” these days? Yes. Does the battery last as long as it did when I got it? Absolutely not. Does it do just about everything I need it to? You betcha.
In recent years, the Apple Watch achieved something similar to the iPhone: The improvements year-over-year are so slight that there’s little reason to upgrade on a frequent basis. Apple released the Series 6 back in 2020, and yet, it does everything I expect an Apple Watch to do; I can track my workouts indoors and out; I can keep tabs on my sleep habits, and evaluate health trends over time; I can quickly respond to texts from friends on my wrist (even if the interface is starting to slow down); and I can check on simple stats without taking out my iPhone, like the weather, my upcoming schedule, or, of course, the time.
What do you think so far?
I’m sure I’d get a kick out of a faster watch with a better battery life, but that wouldn’t really make a difference for me day-to-day. Unfortunately for Apple, my Series 6 is too good to give up, even for watchOS 27.
My Apple Watch will still get security updates
The most important updates in my book are security patches. While I have no hesitation in keeping a device once it stops receiving new features, I stop using it once it no longer gets the latest security updates. Internet-connected devices need the latest patches or else they’re vulnerable to hackers armed with the latest exploits.
Luckily, Apple continues to issue security patches for devices after it drops official software support. There’s no guarantee how long that’ll last, but back in May, the company seeded a security update for iOS 15, which covers devices as old as the iPhone 6S. Apple originally released that back in 2015, and while I don’t necessarily expect the company to release a watchOS 26 security patch in 2031, I feel pretty confident my Series 6 will be protected from vulnerabilities for the foreseeable future.
Apple’s other updates aren’t worth upgrading for either
My Apple Watch is my only Apple device that isn’t getting an update this year, but I’m not sure I’d be tempted to upgrade my iPhone, iPad, or Mac if any of them were getting the OS axe as well. On each, Siri AI, Apple Intelligence, and performance upgrades are the headliners, with smaller features and changes accompanying the updates, too. It’s great that macOS has ultrawide display support, or that all three updates will update compromised passwords on your behalf. But if my “outdated” iPhone, iPad, or Mac still does all the things I need it to do, none of these updates are worth the cost of upgrading.
That’s not to say it’s a bad thing to upgrade. Some of Apple’s current devices are the best they’ve ever made. You cannot go wrong with an Apple silicon Mac, and my iPhone 17 Pro Max is the most durable Apple product I’ve ever owned. Still, I wouldn’t make a decision purely based on this year’s updates. If it’s time for a new phone or computer, of course upgrade. If yours is trucking along just fine, consider keeping it for the time being.