Overview
- Apple confirmed on Friday that watchOS 27 will run only on Apple Watch SE (3rd gen), Series 9–11, and Ultra 2–3 while Series 6–8, SE 2 and the original Ultra will receive only security updates.
- Company spokespeople told reporters the cutoff is driven by power and performance requirements tied to newer silicon that better supports the on‑device machine learning used by Siri AI.
- Siri AI on the watch also requires a nearby iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence, meaning users will need a compatible iPhone to access the new conversational Siri features from their wrist.
- watchOS 27 adds a dedicated Siri app, a dynamic app grid, Workout Buddy improvements, a single‑tap gesture, Liquid Glass refinements, and a unified Find My app while turning off some low‑usage features to preserve battery life.
- The software is in developer beta now, a public beta is planned for July and the full release will arrive in the fall, and Apple has not provided a detailed technical breakdown explaining why paired iPhones cannot bridge the hardware gap for excluded watches.