watchOS 11 Drops Support for These Apple Watch Models - MacRumors
Skip to Content

watchOS 11 Drops Support for These Apple Watch Models

As was rumored, watchOS 11 drops support for the Apple Watch Series 4, Apple Watch Series 5, and first-generation Apple Watch SE, according to Apple's website.

apple watch series 4 flames
The update is compatible with all other models, including the Apple Watch Series 6 and beyond:

  • Apple Watch SE (2nd generation)

  • Apple Watch Series 6
  • Apple Watch Series 7
  • Apple Watch Series 8
  • Apple Watch Series 9
  • Apple Watch Ultra
  • Apple Watch Ultra 2

Even though the Series 5 has an S5 chip, it has the same processor as the S4 chip in the Series 4, so it is not too surprising that Apple dropped support for these models simultaneously. Key changes with the Series 5 compared to the Series 4 included an always-on display option, increased storage, and a compass.

watchOS 11 continues to work with a paired iPhone XS or newer. A developer beta is available starting today, and a public beta will follow in July.

The general public can expect watchOS 11 to be released in September.

Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

Surprise and Shine Live Coverage Article

Apple Event Live Blog: iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro, and More

Wednesday September 9, 2026 9:10 am PDT by
Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, where we're expecting to see the foldable iPhone Duo, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 models, new AirPods 5 earphones, and perhaps some other announcements. Apple is providing a live video stream on its website, on YouTube, and in the company's TV app across various platforms. We...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium

New Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 Features Revealed

Sunday August 30, 2026 7:54 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today further outlined what to expect from the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 set to be unveiled on September 9. While it was initially rumored that Touch ID may be coming to the Apple Watch this year, Gurman reiterated that he does not expect the Series 12 or Ultra 4 to have any major design changes compared to the current Series 11 and Ultra 3 models. ...
apple surprise and shine event

Apple Event Today: iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo Cheat Sheet

Tuesday September 8, 2026 10:24 am PDT by
Apple's biggest event of the year is almost here, and all eyes are on Cupertino. With the first foldable iPhone expected to headline Apple's "Surprise and Shine" event on Wednesday, September 9, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the rumor mill has been running full throttle, fuelled by the biggest single design change in the life of the iPhone. To get you up to speed, here's a quick reference...

Top Rated Comments

rotvaldi Avatar
30 months ago
What a ******** to kill watches at 4 years… dude the SE 1st gen came out same as S6 like forreal
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
roguedaemon Avatar
30 months ago
sad that my only reason to upgrade is my series 4 is no longer supported...
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
30 months ago
I bought my SE 2020 shortly before the 2022 came out. I’m very disappointed that I got less than 2 years of software updates for it. This it the last Apple Watch I’ve bought. I don’t think Apple will provide security updates to it for long.

I don’t understand why the $149 Apple TV HD gets support for 10 years whilst the $399 Apple Watch only gets 4 years.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
30 months ago
The new features in watchOS 11 are not overwhelming for me too but the point is that watchOS 10 won’t get security updates for long so it quickly gets unsafe.

Technically there’s no reason why the SE (as well Series 4 and 5) get dropped with watchOS 11. It’s does not have any major changes which require a more powerful processor.

The Apple TV HD which has the Apple A8 in it will get the iOS 18 based tvOS 18.

If Apple wants to force the customers to replace their perfectly working watches (mine has 97% battery life left) my clear answer is that I will never buy one again. I understand when they drop devices if they can simply not handle the new software version but this is a kind of planned obsolescence.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
30 months ago
literally why cant they just give the series 4/5 watchOS 11? are they really pushing the chip of a damn watch that hard? its just greed. smh
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Blackstick Avatar
30 months ago
One thing I've seen with the Apple Watch is that, more than any other device, if it's even a few generations old -- it's painfully slow to sync/unsync, upgrade, erase, etc.

I know they're miniature compared to phones and the constraints on the wrist are enormous because of size and cooling considerations alone, but they really gotta make that a lot less painful.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)