Apple Watch Ultra 1 owners — your support has just stopped

Apple confirmed at WWDC 2026 that the Apple Watch Ultra 1 will not receive watchOS 27. The update ships in September. After that, Ultra 1 owners stay on watchOS 26 permanently. No new features or OS updates. Series 8 owners share the same fate. Sorry to be the bringer of bad news for your expensive Watch.

What you miss in watchOS 27

With one exception, watchOS 27 is a meagre update. The losses that probably matter most are the AI features, which require an iPhone 15 Pro or above. The fitness side does have a series of improvements, but none stand out. Apple has clearly been refocusing the company on AI, an area where it is widely recognised to have fallen behind.

Interestingly, the pre-WWDC trade-in value for the Ultra 1 was only $205. Expect that to fall further now that the watch has a confirmed end-of-life date. If you are considering an upgrade through the Apple Store, you might be able to grab the trade-in value now before it falls further and defer the money you get for a September purchase (I did that last year).

Why was your Ultra 1 cut

The cut was for commercial reasons to drive an upgrade decision. The underlying hardware is very similar in capability.

Officially, Apple will say that the Ultra 1 and Series 8 run on 2019 tech (the S8 SiP, built on A13 Bionic architecture). They will say it’s for technical or compatibility reasons, but that’s likely not true. In daily use, the Ultra 1 and Ultra 2 were widely recognised as near-identical in responsiveness, despite the S9’s faster GPU and Neural Engine on paper.

What watchOS 27 delivers for everyone else.

If you are considering the upgrade or if you have a newer watch, watchOS 27 brings the following:

• Siri AI arrives as a dedicated app on the watch, synced across devices and processed in the cloud via a paired iPhone 15 Pro or newer.
• HealthKit now exposes heart rate and cycling power zones to third-party apps, with live zone updates during workouts.
• Developers can set custom zone boundaries per workout, opening the door for apps like TrainingPeaks and Intervals.icu to display real-time power zone data natively on the watch.
• Workout Buddy gains coaching insights tied to pace, distance, and duration, works without an iPhone nearby, and adds Spanish-language support.
• Treadmill run-and-walk distance tracking improves with updated motion algorithms.
• Cycle tracking in the Health app adds perimenopause and menopause support, alerting users to cycle deviations.
• A dynamic app grid provides faster access to six frequently used apps.
• A new index-and-thumb tap gesture selects widgets directly from the Smart Stack.
• Find My consolidates into a single app on the watch.
• GymKit expands to iPhones, removing the Apple Watch requirement for pairing with gym equipment.
• The Liquid Glass design refresh continues with improved readability and contrast across the interface.
• The Apple Watch Series 9 has been confirmed as supported after Apple’s website initially omitted it from the compatibility list. Apple acknowledged the error to 9to5Mac.

Opinion

It’s a cash grab by forcing you to upgrade. We all know it.

Apple has moved at a glacial pace, dithering with what to do about AI. It still seems to be lagging behind the field.

Don’t forget that no Apple Watch has onboard AI capabilities. All the AI processing has been on your iPhone and the cloud, and nothing announced today changes that. A fast 5G link from my Ultra 3 direct to AI on the cloud when I’ve left my iPhone 15 Pro at home might be interesting. We shall see. I’ve found everything Apple has done with AI to date wholly underwhelming.

That said, if AI can make Siri even 20% better, I will be happy. That is my favourite go-to feature announced today. I will try out the developer beta in the next few days and report back.

In terms of the other features: what a sorry bunch. I’m probably the only person who likes Liquid Glass, so I’m happy that it’s expanding. Similarly, the consolidated Find My view is one I will use, and it will fix something that has bugged me for a couple of years: separate watch apps.

Last Updated on 9 June 2026 by the5krunner

the5krunner

tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID