Today, Apple unveiled the latest version, watchOS 5, of the software that makes its Apple Watch series of wearables tick…
And this latest update brings some great new features: a super cool walkie-talkie mode that does just what you think a walkie-talkie watch would do (the feature was actually unveiled nearly three years ago, but finally arrives with this update), automatic workout detection and a bunch more.
But here is the bad news: if you were among the early adopters, those who bought the very first generation of Apple Watches that the company unveiled in 2015… well, you are out of luck because you will not get this update. In fact, your watch has reached the end of its lifecycle in terms of software updates.
And yes, we get it: it’s not one of those classical watches that you hand down from father to son, but some people paid a lot of money for those watches. In fact, those first watches was the exact time when Apple was testing the grounds with super premium gold watches that cost up to $17,000! To freshen up your mind that was the Apple Watch Edition, a timepiece crafted out of 18-karat gold. Of course, very few people bought those timepieces, but it must really suck realizing that such a huge investment can get outdated in such a short timespan.
And if that’s of any consolation, all owners of the first-gen Apple Watch will not get any future updates, not just those fancy edition models.
For all else, watchOS 5 will come for all Apple Watch models after those very first ones, so at least that’s good.
Important note: While this short support time for the original Apple Watch is definitely disappointing, Apple has actually exceeded expectations on the iPhone front and it will deliver iOS 12 to the same devices that support iOS 11, including the nearly five-year-old iPhone 5s.
