These three Apple Watch models will lose support and will not be updated to watchOS 11
Not all Apple Watch models that are currently supported by Apple will be getting updated to watchOS 11. And that is too bad considering that watchOS 11 has some pretty nifty new features that we told you about on Monday. According to Apple's watchOS 11 Preview website, the Apple Watch models receiving watchOS 11 will include:
- Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)
- Apple Watch Series 6
- Apple Watch Series 7
- Apple Watch Series 8
- Apple Watch Series 9
- Apple Watch Ultra
- Apple Watch Ultra 2
watchOS 11 requires that the user owns an iPhone XS or later running iOS 18.
The three Apple Watch models that are losing watchOS support this year include the Apple Watch Series 4 which was released in 2018, the Apple Watch Series 5 that launched in 2019, and 2020's first-generation Apple Watch SE. Since I do wear the latter timepiece, I must confess to not being extremely happy about this news. You might recall that the Apple Watch Series 5 was the first to sport an always-on display.
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A developer beta for watchOS 11 is available starting today with the watchOS 11 public beta expected to be released starting sometime next month. The final stable version of watchOS 11 will probably be launched in September. Perhaps the coolest new feature that I won't get on my first-generation Apple Watch SE is the Translate app which will translate something written or dictated to one of 20 languages.
Translation app is coming to watchOS 11
With the Translation app, the translated words will be said out loud and can even be slowed down to make them easier to understand. And if you download a language on your Apple Watch, you can use the translate app with that language even without your iPhone present. Another cool addition to watchOS 11 adds support for Live Activities that will appear in the Smart Stack on the Apple Watch. You can follow the score of the big game or track the arrival of your Uber right on your wrist.
If you own one of the three Apple Watch models losing support and want to experience the new watchOS 11 features, you are going to have to give up your Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5, and first-generation Apple Watch SE and purchase a new Apple Watch. If you want to save some money, the second-generation Apple Watch SE GPS variant, released in 2022, is only $174.30 at Woot. But there's a catch.
Although it doesn't feature an always-on screen and is missing features such as an EKG sensor and the Pulse Oximeter, what really makes the second-generation Apple Watch SE a crap shoot is the possibility that it could lose watchOS support in just two years. If you don't mind taking that risk, at $189 the second-generation Apple Watch SE might be worth a roll of the dice.
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