Apple Drops Support for Older Watches and iPads with watchOS 27

It looks like those of you holding onto older Apple Watch and iPad models might need to consider an upgrade soon. Apple has announced that its upcoming software updates, watchOS 27 and iPadOS 27, will not be compatible with several previous device generations. This move appears to be a more significant 'cull' of older hardware than we've seen in past years.

For the Apple Watch users, watchOS 27 will only be available for Apple Watch Series 10 and newer, Apple Watch Ultra 2 and newer, and the Apple Watch SE 3. This means that even relatively recent devices, like the Apple Watch Series 9 (which is only about three years old), will no longer receive the latest software features and security updates. The original Apple Watch models are also, predictably, out of luck.

On the iPad front, iPadOS 27 is also dropping support for a number of older models. While the exact list of dropped devices for iPadOS 27 hasn't been fully detailed yet, it's safe to assume that devices older than the iPad Air 4th generation and iPad mini 6th generation might be affected. This is a common practice for tech giants as they push forward with new features that often require more processing power and newer hardware capabilities.

While this news might be a bummer for owners of older devices, it's a standard part of the tech lifecycle. Companies like Apple need to ensure their software runs optimally on current hardware, and sometimes that means leaving older, less capable devices behind. For users with older iPads and Apple Watches, this could be a nudge to explore Apple's latest offerings or consider the second-hand market for newer models.