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 13 June 2026 by the5krunner
My favourite kit and nutrition
- Injinji – Runners protect your toes. Avoid discomfort and minor injury. Run more. Run faster. I use them.
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter — The small adapter that keeps your charging cables tidy. Essential for race day. I use one.
- Garmin charging puck — the fastest and most reliable way to top up your Garmin before a session. I use one.
- Ravemen FR300 — Front light that mounts directly under your Garmin or Wahoo head unit. Keeps your bars clean and your beam pointed where it matters. I use one.
- Body Glide – The blue anti-chafe stick that all swimmers and many runners use. I use it.
- Maurten — The race nutrition trusted by elite athletes. Gels and drink mixes engineered to be easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Garmin Varia RTL515 — A radar rear light that alerts you to vehicles approaching from behind. Pairs with your Edge or Garmin watch. I use this model.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2 — The power-meter pedals most serious cyclists choose. Accurate, easy to move between bikes. I use this model.
- Garmin Forerunner 970 — A serious choice for a pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Polar H10 — My daily driver for accurate, waking HRV readings.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3 — The bike computer that has the feature Garmin lacks: usability. I use mine on most rides.
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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
They confirmed S9 will support it but Ultra 1 is still being dropped despite both watches running the same SoC. planned obsolescence in action i guess.
Anyway, to me it’s a huge disappointment. Still no offline topo maps or actual hiking features like ascent planner, offline trail navigation or even more metrics other than distance and elevation gain etc.
Sadly as much as they are great smartwatches, it’s perfectly clear now that Watch Ultra is NOT the outdoors/adventure watch it was meant to be and advertised as and Apple has no interest in that product category whatsoever so it will never be that. When out in the backcountry, I need to see my trail grade, remaining elevation gain etc. what i don’t need is Siri…
A shame as Garmin could use some competition in that field and when AW launched i jumped in hoping Apple was serious about this segment but sadly it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.
yes I broadly agree.
Apple would say, “There’s an app for that.”