Apple Is Leaving Its First Apple Watch Ultra in the Dust

Apple will not release watchOS 27 for the original Apple Watch Ultra, Series 6-8, or Apple Watch SE 2, citing the lack of a neural engine in those models. The update, which includes AI-enhanced Siri and other features, will only be available on Series 9 and later. This marks one of the first times Apple has dropped support for a premium wearable after just four years.

In the age of AI, more and more gadgets are being left dead in the desert of discarded tech. Even the four-year-old $800 Apple Watch Ultra won’t receive the watchOS 27 update this fall, and we’re now learning about other features beyond AI-enhanced Siri that older wearables will miss out on. Relatively few Apple Watches will receive the new updates that Apple announced at WWDC. The Apple Watch Series 9 https://gizmodo.com/apple-watch-series-9-review-1850908847 and later have access to the upcoming software https://gizmodo.com/confirmed-watchos-27-does-in-fact-support-apple-watch-series-9-2000768714 enhancements. But the Series 6 through 8, the Apple Watch SE 2, and the 2022 Apple Watch Ultr https://gizmodo.com/apple-watch-ultra-series-8-se-2-reveal-price-and-mor-1849504872 a aren’t compatible with watchOS 27. None of the chips in these watches include neural processing cores capable of running Siri and its new contextual awareness features. Starting with the S9 SiP, all watches have at least a four-core Neural Engine that’s supposedly capable of running some minute backend AI tasks. In his latest newsletter, Bloomberg’s Apple leaker-in-chief Mark Gurman reported https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-06-14/siri-ai-hands-on-review-ios-27-macos-27-details-iphone-fold-touch-macbook Sunday that there are a few features Apple didn’t reveal during its WWDC 2026 keynote https://gizmodo.com/live-updates-from-apple-wwdc-2026-2000765748 that we can expect to see in the fall. Older watches won’t receive the supposed “Modular” watch face https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-05-03/how-will-john-ternus-run-apple-as-ceo-with-more-investments-fewer-buybacks?srnd=undefined that Gurman claimed would include a larger clock with three customizable “elements” pasted below the time. All three Apple Watch Ultra models have access to a more complicated version of that watch face. Despite that, the original $800 Apple Watch Ultra won’t receive any other benefits. Apple has promised https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/12/watchos-27-improves-apple-watch-performance/ that watchOS 27 will enhance all facets of the wearable experience. That includes a better battery life, faster initial Wi-Fi connections, more accurate sleep tracking, and faster media playback and app extensions. The current dev beta update also removed the Walkie Talkie https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/10/watchos-27-removes-walkie-talkie/ app, https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/10/watchos-27-removes-walkie-talkie/ which has been around since 2018, though it remains unclear whether Apple will put it back in for the official update. Apple has a strong track record of supporting products long after they’ve been ostensibly left behind. Even an iPhone 11 from 2019 will support the upcoming iOS 27. MacRumors’ Aaron Perris claims to have confirmed https://x.com/aaronp613/status/2064501757821014020?s=20 that the original HomePod from 2018—running on an ancient A8 chip—will run HomePod Software 27. Of Apple’s massive hardware stack, the first Ultra appears to be only the Apple Watch being sacrificed on the altar of AI. You’d be justified in feeling a little miffed that your $400 Apple Watch is suddenly hitting the end of its life; owners of the similarly lacking $800 Apple Watch Ultra are very unhappy. One redditor https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleWatch/comments/1u5lgcv/watchos 27 unsupported devices/ wrote, “There’s nothing Apple is doing that can’t be tweaked or down-clocked that would prevent older watches from running a new OS. We’re not simulating particle collisions on the new OS.” Apple’s first Ultra wearable already missed out on major watchOS 26 features https://support.apple.com/en-us/123002 , such as hypertension notifications for high blood pressure which were only available on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Series 9 or later . It also lacked live translation for incoming texts. Now, it’s an outmoded model that Apple seems all too happy to toss aside. Of course, it could also entice users to upgrade to the next $800 smartwatch, like the Apple Watch Ultra 3 https://gizmodo.com/apple-watch-ultra-3-review-biggest-is-best-except-if-its-not-2000663354 , or to the rumored Series 12 watch, https://gizmodo.com/this-years-apple-watch-might-play-things-very-safe-2000757011 which may not offer many real hardware updates.