Apple has public lists in which we can check which products are old, and which are already obsolete. If the latter occurs, the teams that fall into that category they will no longer receive technical support or repairs officially. So if you are one of the first users of Apple Watch, or if you have an older model, in this post we will see how the situation is.
Category differences are important
When we are buying an Apple product, we expect it to have as long a useful life as possible. However, we must point out some differences that are important in the face of devices that have been on the market for more years. To begin with, you need to know that a device that is no longer updated, does not imply that it is obsolete. The Apple Watches that support watchOS 9 (the current version, in the absence of seeing watchOS 10), are the following:
- Apple WatchSeries 4
- Apple WatchSeries 5
- Apple WatchSeries 6
- Apple WatchSeries 7
- Apple WatchSeries 8
- Apple Watch SE
- Apple Watch Ultra
Apple Watch models ranging from Series 1 to Series 3 no longer receive updates of software. However, they will only be officially considered obsolete equipment, at the moment in which Apple decides to introduce them to the list. However, before they are part of the “vintage”, they have another list of “old products”. It is the previous step, so to speak. These are those terminals that have been on the market for years, but still not enough to be discontinued. And only those that, once they have been withdrawn from sale, have passed more than seven years, are considered obsolete.
Old or obsolete Apple Watch?
On May 8, 2023, Apple updated its list of old and obsolete devices. So far, there is no Apple Watch that is on the list of obsolete products. But yes, hhere is a list of Apple Watch that the brand already considers as old equipment. These are the following:
- Apple Watch 1st generation, 38mm.
- Apple Watch 1st generation, 42mm.
- Apple Watch Series 2, with aluminum case, 38 mm.
- Apple Watch Series 2, with aluminum case, 42 mm.
A particular case is that of the Apple Watch Series 3. This model no longer receives software updates, but it is also not on the list of old products (and, of course, not on the list of obsolete products). Even if it does not receive more systems, that does not mean that it will not be fully functional with everything it currently has, both in hardware and software.
If we go to check the official Apple technical service, we will see that the estimated prices for the models from the Apple Watch Series 3 to the Apple Watch Ultra appear. However, that does not mean that the models considered “old” cannot receive technical support. They will only stop receiving this assistance at the moment in which Apple considers them obsolete, and it is only a matter of time to see which ones will be the next to be included in these lists.
