MacRumors

Apple today released watchOS 8.0.1, a minor update to the watchOS 8 operating system that was first released in September. watchOS 8.0.1 comes three weeks after the launch of watchOS 8.

‌‌watchOS ‌8 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the ‌‌‌‌iPhone‌‌‌‌.

According to Apple's release notes for the update, watchOS 8 fixes a couple of Apple Watch Series 3 bugs that affected software update progress and accessibility settings.

- Software update progress may not be displayed accurately for some Apple Watch Series 3 users
- Accessibility settings may not have been available for some Apple Watch Series 3 users

watchOS 8.0.1 is being released alongside iOS 15.0.2, a bug fix update for ‌iPhone‌ users.

In iOS 15, Apple added separation alerts to the Find My app, which let you know when you leave an AirTag or other Apple device behind. Thanks to an October 2021 firmware update, AirPods Pro now also support separation alerts. This article explains more about how they work and how you can set them up.

Called "Notify When Left Behind," the ‌‌Find My‌‌ separation alerts in iOS 15 let you know every time you are separated from your item at an unknown location, which can be helpful for items you take with you while traveling or visiting public locations. Like ‌AirPods Pro‌, for example.

The feature automatically sets your home as a Trusted Location (somewhere where you leave your ‌AirPods Pro‌ frequently and don't want to be notified every time), so you need to add your home address to your contact card in the Contacts app before enabling it.

To use separation alerts with ‌AirPods Pro‌, first you'll need to make sure your ‌‌AirPods Pro‌‌ have been updated with the latest firmware. Here's how.

How to Update Your AirPods Pro Firmware

You can do this by inserting them in the ‌AirPods Pro‌ charging case and connecting the case to a power source using the included Lightning to USB cable. Then move the iPhone or iPad that the AirPods have been paired with, near to the charging case, and make sure the iOS device has an internet connection.

After a short while, any available software updates should be automatically downloaded and installed. If you're having trouble updating your ‌AirPods‌, make sure the charging case is fully charged. You can also try resetting the ‌AirPods‌. You need AirPods firmware 4A400 or later, and can check your firmware version by following these steps:

• Connect your ‌‌AirPods‌‌ or ‌‌‌AirPods Pro‌‌‌ to your iOS device.
• Open the Settings app.
• Tap General.
• Tap About.
• Tap ‌‌‌‌‌AirPods‌‌‌‌‌.
• Look at the number next to "Firmware Version."

How to Enable Separation Alerts for AirPods Pro

The following steps run through the process of setting up separation alerts in ‌iOS 15 for ‌AirPods Pro‌ with updated firmware.

1. Launch the Find My app on your ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌.
2. Select the Devices, and tap the ‌AirPods Pro‌ in the list that you want to set up the alerts for.
3. Tap Notify When Left Behind.
   
   

4. Toggle on the switch for Notify When Left Behind.
5. Under "Notify Me, Except At," tap New Location to set a Trusted Location where you don't want to receive alerts.
6. In the "Add Location" map screen, search or enter an address in the input field. You can define the radius of the ringed geofence for your trusted location by dragging the blue dot or using the Small, Medium, or Large options at the bottom. Tap Done when you're finished.
7. If there are no more location exceptions you want to add, tap Done.
   

Now the next time you leave your ‌AirPods Pro‌ behind in a public place, you'll receive an alert informing you shortly after, giving you a chance to retrieve them before you travel any further.

Of course, these alerts depend on you not leaving your ‌iPhone‌ behind (there's currently no equivalent separation alert available on Apple Watch for this scenario), so that's the device you won't want to forget, wherever it is you go.

Apple Watch Series 7 customers are starting to see their orders ship ahead of launch day on Friday, 15 October.

Some customers who obtained a launch day delivery of the Apple Watch Series 7 started to see their order switch to "Preparing to Ship" over the weekend and now orders are starting to ship. New Apple devices are typically marked as shipped as the release date approaches, even if the item itself has been in transit for some time.

The Apple Watch Series 7 features larger displays and casing sizes, the S7 chip, improved durability, new options colors for the aluminum models, and faster charging. Pre-orders opened on Friday, October 8, and the first Apple Watch Series 7 orders are set to arrive one week later on Friday, October 15.

There were some indications that the launch of the Apple Watch Series 7 may be delayed prior to its announcement and some customers are now facing delays of up to several months for new orders. Select Apple Store locations will likely have limited in-store availability of the new device starting this Friday.

Amazon today has the 256GB M1 MacBook Air for $849.99, down from an original price of $999.00. This price is available in Silver and Gold, but only Gold is available to ship out today.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Amazon's sale today is a match of the previous low price on this model of the M1 MacBook Air, and the first time we've tracked this discount in the fall. Only Amazon has the notebook at this price as of writing.

Likewise, the 512GB version of the M1 MacBook Air is seeing a notable discount to $1,099.99, down from $1,249.00. This is a record low price for the notebook, and it's available in Gold and Space Gray.

You can find even more discounts on other MacBooks by visiting our Best Deals guide for MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. In this guide we track the steepest discounts for the newest MacBook models every week, so be sure to bookmark it and check back often if you're shopping for a new Apple notebook.

Google is winding down its Material Design custom UI for iOS apps to switch to pure UIKit, according to Google's design chief for Apple platforms Jeff Verkoeyen.

Google's suite of apps for iOS and iPadOS, including Gmail, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Drive, and YouTube, have used custom user interfaces that mirror the experience on Android for almost a decade. The purpose of these Material Design guidelines was to unify software design as much as possible across desktop, mobile, and the web for a consistent experience.

In a recent Twitter thread, Jeff Verkoeyen explained that going forward, Google will switch to using the design of UIKit, Apple's framework for building interfaces in iPhone and iPad apps. Verkoeyen said that previously UIKit was not viable due to "gaps" in its design language, but a side effect of this was "drifting further and further from Apple platform fundamentals because those fundaments were also evolving year over year." The issue has also been complained about by some users who have felt that using Google's iOS apps offers a jarring and inconsistent experience with the rest of the OS.

With iOS 14 onwards, Google believes that UIKit's design has sufficiently improved to use it widely in its iOS and iPadOS apps. Since the start of 2021, Google's design team for Apple platforms "began a deep evaluation of what it means to build a hallmark Google experience on Apple platforms by critically evaluating the space of "utility" vs key brand moments, and the components needed to achieve either."

Users can expect to see far fewer custom components in Google apps, with elements such as switches, bars, controls, lists, and menus changing to Apple's system designs. The result should be Google iOS and iPadOS apps that look and feel much more native.

There will still be some of "the highlights of Google's design language," but married to "the best of UIKit." The "new direction" will "really make products feel great on Apple platforms," Verkoeyen commented. Google is also currently hiring designers for its Apple development team amid the change.

Amazon today is matching last week's all-time low price on the AirPods Max, available at $449.00 in all colors. All models are in stock and ready to ship out today as well.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

We first saw this price at Adorama over the summer, and until today they were the only retailer to offer the $100 off discount. We've yet to track the sale at another Apple reseller, but we'll be sure to update this article if more retailers begin matching the discount.

Additionally, we're still seeing a few solid deals on other AirPods models on Amazon, including the AirPods Pro for $179.99 ($69 off) and the regular AirPods for $109.99 ($49 off). The latter model are in stock today, but the AirPods Pro are seeing a delayed shipment date into late October.

We track sales for every model of the AirPods in our Best AirPods Deals guide, so be sure to bookmark that page while you shop around for the wireless headphones.

The first full week of October was a busy one for Apple news, including the launch of pre-orders for the Apple Watch Series 7, the 10th anniversary of Steve Jobs' death, and speculation about another Apple event later in the month.

Apple also continued to roll out new features during the iOS 15.1 beta cycle and pushed some new features to several AirPods models, while we shared 50 of our favorite tips and tricks in iOS 15, so read on for all of the details!

Apple Watch Series 7 Now Available for Pre-Order

Apple surprised us a bit this week by announcing just a few days ahead of time that the Apple Watch Series 7 would become available for pre-order on Friday, October 8 ahead of a launch on Friday, October 15.

Pre-orders are now underway, although shipping estimates for many models quickly slipped, suggesting that supplies are indeed tight as had been rumored due to manufacturing difficulties.

Apple Commemorates 10th Anniversary of Steve Jobs Passing Away

This week marked the 10th anniversary of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs passing away. Apple celebrated his life with a full-page tribute on its website, including a video called "Celebrating Steve" and a statement from his family. Apple CEO Tim Cook reflected on Jobs in a memo to employees, and Apple's former design chief Jony Ive wrote a touching remembrance.

We also heard some interesting Steve Jobs stories this week, including that he once tossed the original iPhone across a room to impress journalists, and that he offered to license classic Mac OS to Dell in the 1990s.

When Could the October Apple Event Be Held?

It's likely that there will be at least one more Apple event this year, as rumors suggest that redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with a faster iteration of the M1 chip are nearing launch.

It's looking increasingly likely that the event will be held in late October, or perhaps in November, and we've rounded up a few other things that Apple might announce in addition to the new MacBook Pro models.

iOS 15 Features, Tips, and Tricks You Probably Don't Know

A few weeks have passed since Apple released iOS 15, and we've rounded up a list of 50 features, tips, and tricks that you might not have known, complete with a video providing hands-on demonstrations.

The list includes key features of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, in addition to smaller changes that aim to make the time you spend using your ‌iPhone‌ and iPad more efficient, more functional, and more enjoyable.

Everything New in iOS 15.1 Beta 3

Apple this week seeded the third beta of iOS 15.1 to developers for testing, and as usual, we've uncovered some new features and changes.

We've rounded up everything new in iOS 15.1 beta 3, including ProRes video recording in the native Camera app and a new Auto Macro toggle switch in the Settings app that can be turned off to prevent automatic switching to the Ultra Wide lens to capture macro photos and videos.

Apple Updates AirPods 2, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max Firmware

Apple this week released a new firmware version 4A400 for the second-generation AirPods, the AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Max.

The new firmware enables Find My network integration for the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. On the AirPods Pro, the update also enables a new Conversation Boost feature for face-to-face conversations. We've shared step-by-steps on how to turn on Conversation Boost in our story.

MacRumors Newsletter

Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.

So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!

Apple has opted to appeal the ruling meted out by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in the Epic Games vs. Apple lawsuit back in September, and today filed a notice of appeal with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

The Cupertino company is planning to appeal the ruling that would require it to change its App Store rules to allow developers to add in-app links to outside websites, which would pave the way for alternate payment options that do not require developers to use the in-app purchase system. While the appeal is ongoing, Apple has asked the court for a stay on the permanent injunction that requires it to implement those changes by December.

Apple asks the Court to suspend the requirements of its injunction until the appeals filed by both Epic and Apple have been resolved. The company understands and respects the Court’s concerns regarding communications between developers and consumers. Apple is carefully working through many complex issues across a global landscape, seeking to enhance information flow while protecting both the efficient functioning of the App Store and the security and privacy of Apple’s customers. Striking the right balance may solve the Court’s concerns making the injunction (and perhaps even Apple’s appeal itself) unnecessary. A stay is warranted in these circumstances.

In the original ruling, Rogers said that Apple's anti-steering rules prohibiting links to outside websites illegally stifle consumer choice. She prohibited Apple from restricting developers from including "in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms."

At the time, she gave Apple 90 days to implement these changes, but Apple is asking to wait to make any updates to the ‌App Store‌ rules until all of the appeals in the case have wrapped up, which could take years as Epic Games has also filed an appeal.

According to Apple, making changes to the ‌App Store‌ rules could "upset the careful balance between developers and customers provided by the ‌App Store‌," resulting in irreparable harm to Apple and consumers. Apple says that a stay will allow it to safeguard its platform while it works through "the complex and rapidly evolving legal, technological, and economic issues that any revisions to this Guideline would implicate."

Further, as grounds for appeal, Apple said that ‌Epic Games‌ barely mentioned the anti-steering claim during the trial, and offered no evidence that it was harmed by that particular ‌App Store‌ rule. Apple claims that it is likely to succeed on appeal, and that Epic will suffer no harm from a stay on the injunction. Apple also said that it is working on "enhancing information flow" without impacting the consumer, and that ‌App Store‌ changes could be coming that would eliminate the need for a permanent injunction at all.

Implementing the injunction on December 9 could have unintended downstream consequences for consumers and the platform as a whole. Apple is working hard to address these difficult issues in a changing world, enhancing information flow without compromising the consumer. A stay of the injunction would permit Apple to do so in a way that maintains the integrity of the ecosystem, and that could obviate the need for any injunction regarding steering.

The permanent injunction is currently scheduled to go into effect on December 9, but if Apple wins, it will not have to make changes at that time. Rogers is set to hear Apple's case on November 16. The full text of Apple's appeal can be read here.

The original lawsuit went largely in Apple's favor with the exception of the anti-steering injunction, with Apple calling it a "resounding victory." ‌Epic Games‌ has appealed the ruling and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said that the judge's decision "isn't a win for developers or for consumers."

Following the release of iOS 15.0.1 on October 1, Apple has stopped signing iOS 15.0, the previously available version of iOS that saw a public release on September 20. With iOS 15.0 no longer being signed, it is not possible to downgrade to that version if you've already updated to iOS 15.0.1.

Apple last week stopped signing iOS 14.8 as well, which means iOS 15.0.1 is the only publicly available version of iOS at this time, and those who have upgraded to iOS 15 cannot downgrade to iOS 14.

Apple routinely stops signing older versions of software updates after new releases come out in order to encourage customers to keep their operating systems up to date.

iOS 15.0 marks a major version update introducing Focus Mode, Live Text, on-device Siri, iCloud+, Safari changes, and tons more, with details available in our iOS 15 roundup.

iOS 15.0.1 introduced a fix for a bug that prevented an authenticated Apple Watch from being used to unlock an iPhone 13 model when wearing a face mask. It also addressed a bug that could cause the Settings app to incorrectly display a storage full alert and it fixed a bug with audio meditations for Fitness+ subscribers.

In September 2021, Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 7, featuring larger displays, improved durability, and faster charging. This came one year after Apple unveiled the Apple Watch SE, a low-cost Apple Watch option that still offers many of the Apple Watch features that have made the device so popular over the years.

The Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $399, while the ‌Apple Watch SE‌ is priced much more competitively at $279. As these two models share many key features, including design, water resistance, and an optical heart sensor, it may not be immediately obvious which model is better for you. Is it worth purchasing the cheaper model with fewer features? Our guide answers the question of how to decide which of these two Apple Watch models is best for you.

Comparing the Apple Watch Series 7 and the Apple Watch SE

Many of the features of these two models of Apple Watch are the same, with Apple listing the following identical features:

Similarities

• Available with aluminum casing option
• Digital Crown with haptic feedback
• Retina LTPO OLED display, with brightness of up to 1,000 nits
• "Swimproof" water resistance up to 50 meters
• 64‑bit dual-core processor
• High and low heart rate and irregular heart rhythm notifications
• Accelerometer and gyroscope (fall detection)
• Always-on altimeter
• Compass
• Ambient light sensor
• 50 percent louder speaker than Series 3
• Microphone
• Noise monitoring
• 18-hour "all-day" battery life
• GPS and GPS + Cellular models
• Support for Family Setup (GPS + Cellular models)
• International emergency calling and emergency SOS
• W3 wireless chip
• Bluetooth 5.0
• 32GB capacity

Apple's breakdown shows that these two models share a majority of features. Even so, there are a number of meaningful differences between the Apple Watch Series 7 and the ‌Apple Watch SE‌ that are worth highlighting, such as display size, ECGs, and blood oxygen monitoring.

Differences

Read on for a closer look at each of these aspects, and see what exactly both of the Apple Watch models have to offer.

➜ Click here to read more...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Activity Awards to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win an Apple Watch Series 7 and a set of Activity Awards, which are magnets that mimic the awards that you receive for reaching Apple Watch fitness goals.

Priced between $8.99 and $11.99 each, each soft enamel magnet is modeled after a different award that you can receive from completing challenges and goals in the Fitness app on the Apple Watch.

There are a wide range of awards available to match what you can earn from the Fitness app. You can get awards for matching the seven-day move, exercise, and stand requirements, plus there are awards for hitting weekly goals and achieving new records.

For those who participate and complete monthly challenges, there are awards that mark off each month of the year, and Activity Awards has also created magnets for special activity challenges that Apple offers like International Day of Yoga and Veteran's day.

Each award is designed to look like the awards that Apple makes available in the Fitness app, and they're immediately recognizable by any Apple Watch owner.

The magnets are made in the style of a soft enamel pin with bright colors and high-quality finishes, and a good strength to stick to any surface where they're placed. We reviewed Activity Awards last year and were impressed with their design and functionality.

The Apple Watch and the Fitness app have inspired many people to work out and get fit, and Activity Awards make a great self reward if you've been working hard. They serve as a physical representation of a fitness achievement to remind you of what you've accomplished.

In addition to being useful motivation for yourself, Activity Awards can also make a great gift for someone who has put a lot of effort into fitness activities with the Apple Watch. The designs in general are also eye-catching and look great on a whiteboard or refrigerator.

The grand prize winner of the giveaway will receive a 41mm or 45mm aluminum GPS-only Apple Watch Series 7 in a color of their choice, and they will be able to pick six Activity Awards. Two second prize winners will also each be able to pick six Activity Awards.

To enter to win, use the Gleam.io widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, following us on Instagram, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

The contest will run from today (October 8) at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time through 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 15. The winners will be chosen randomly on October 15 and will be contacted by email. The winners will have 48 hours to respond and provide a shipping address before new winners are chosen.

With pre-orders for the Apple Watch Series 7 opening today, dissatisfaction with Apple's new color options has been expressed by some customers and pundits on social media.

The aluminum Apple Watch Series 6 was available in Space Gray, Silver, Gold, Blue, and (PRODUCT)RED aluminum color options, while the aluminum ‌Apple Watch Series 7‌ overhauled the lineup of colors, and is available in Midnight, Starlight, Green, Blue, and (PRODUCT)RED.

These are the same colors offered with the iPhone 13 mini and ‌iPhone 13‌, except there is a Pink option instead of Green. The new iPad mini is also available in a mix of colors, mirroring Starlight and Pink from the Apple Watch Series 7 and ‌iPhone 13‌, carrying over Space Gray, and introducing a new Purple color.

The Apple Watch's Blue and Red tones have been slightly tweaked from last year's offerings, while Green is a totally new option. Midnight replaces Space Gray with a very dark navy, while Starlight replaces Silver and Gold with a subtle champagne color.

With such significant changes coming to the Apple Watch's color options this year, some customers have expressed confusion and irritation with the new hues. The replacement of Silver and Gold with Starlight has attracted particular ire, with some fans of the previous options being disappointed with the single new champagne-style color. Some fans of Silver have criticized Starlight for being too warm, while some fans of Gold have found it to be too desaturated.

While there are still Silver and Gold stainless steel Apple Watch options this year, Space Black has been replaced by Graphite, except on the Hermés models.

Stainless steel Link Bracelet users have also noted incongruity with some Series 7 models. This is particularly evident with the Graphite Stainless Steel Apple Watch, which no longer matches its accompanying Link Bracelet.

Although the Link Bracelet is a stainless steel band designed to twin with a stainless steel Apple Watch, some users have enjoyed using the band with the Silver aluminum Apple Watch in previous years. With Starlight replacing Silver, some users have noted that the cool silver of the Link bracelet now clashes with the warm tone of Starlight.

Other mismatching band and casing combinations have been noted by users across various social media platforms and websites, with some claiming that the Series 7's colors mismatch with more bands, more severely compared to the color options offered in previous years.

There is now an unprecedented level of fragmentation with Apple's color options across its product lines. The ‌iPhone 13‌ and Apple Watch Series 7 now contrast with the iPad Air and AirPods Max models, as well as the 24-inch iMac and iPhone 12, with other devices like the ‌iPad mini‌ overlapping the divide.

Apple effectively now has three separate color palettes for its devices, in addition to the pre-existing tonal differences with the same shade that was common to see with the likes of Space Gray. Other product lines, such as the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and HomePod mini, also no longer have any matching colors with the aluminum Apple Watch Series 7 or standard ‌iPhone 13‌ models. This appears to have irked some users who like to have matching colors across multiple Apple devices.

As yet, there are no rumors about what colors Apple's redesigned MacBook Pro and Mac mini machines could be available in. When they do arrive, likely at an event later this month, there may be some more clarity about Apple's plans for color options going forward.

The Apple Watch Series 7 just became available for pre-order today, and while there are some carrier deals linked to activating cellular service, we're also starting to see the first straight cash discounts on the new models thanks to Expercom.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Expercom. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

You'll need to sign into your Expercom account to access the special pricing and some models are already selling out, but in general, you'll see the following prices and availability for aluminum models at the time of publication:

• 41mm GPS - $379.05, down from $399 (All colors)
• 41mm GPS + Cellular - $474.05, down from $499 (All colors except Red)
• 45mm GPS - $407.55, down from $429 (All colors)
• 45mm GPS + Cellular - $502.55, down from $529 (Midnight and Blue)

Expercom is currently quoting shipping estimates of 3–6 weeks for new orders, which may not be much different than ordering from Apple considering shipping on some models quickly slipped into November.

Despite speculation that the Apple Watch Series 7 may be thinner or thicker than its predecessors, the latest models have the same thickness as the Series 6.

Now that Apple's official specification pages have gone live, it has been confirmed that the Apple Watch Series 7 models are 10.7mm thick, which is the same as the Series 6 models that have today been discontinued. Both the 41mm and 45mm casings have the same thicknesses.

While early specification documents obtained by MacRumors revealed many aspects that Apple did not clarify during the announcement of the device, such as the S7 chip, the thickness and exact dimensions were unknown until today.

Alleged renders that depicted an Apple Watch Series 7 with squared-off edges suggested that the new model would be 1.7mm thinner, with an overall thickness of 9mm. Contrastingly, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Series 7 would be "slightly thicker overall" than the Series 6. Once it was announced, promotional images of the Apple Watch Series 7 also fuelled speculation that the new models may be thinner. It is now clear that none of these rumors turned out to be correct.

Apple says that the casings of the Apple Watch Series 7 have been refined with softer, more rounded edges, but overall the dimensions are very similar to the Series 6. The Apple Watch Series 7 is available in new 41mm and 45mm size options that are 1mm taller than the 40mm and 44mm options of previous generations.

The smaller 41mm Series 7 model is also 1mm wider than the 40mm Series 6 model, but the 44mm and 45mm models have the same width. Bands from older Apple Watch models continue to be functionally compatible with the Series 7, but these dimensions could indicate that older 38mm or 40mm bands used with the 41mm model may not be completely flush with the casing, although the curvature of the casing may mitigate this issue. This would not be a potential problem with the larger 45mm model since it has the same width as the 44mm model.

The Apple Watch Series 6, introduced by Apple in September of last year, has been discontinued following the launch of the new Apple Watch Series 7.

Following pre-orders of the Apple Watch Series 7 opening up earlier today, Apple has removed the Series 6 from its website, no longer offering it to purchase for customers. The Apple Watch Series 7 replaces the Series 6 and now leaves the Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 3, and Series 7 in the lineup.

Apple announced the Series 7 earlier last month but declined to offer availability dates until earlier this week. Between the Series 7's announcement and pre-orders, Apple kept the Apple Watch Series 6 available for purchase on its website, but many models were unavailable and out of stock.

The Series 7 is Apple's most high-end Apple Watch model, featuring advanced health features and display technology. The Series 7 starts at $399, with the most expensive configuration having a $1499 price tag.

The ‌Apple Watch SE‌ is the mid-level Apple Watch model; starting at $279, the SE offers customers basic Apple Watch features without advanced functionality, such as a blood oxygen sensor. The Apple Watch Series 3, introduced five years ago, remarkably remains in the Apple Watch lineup and starts at just $199.

Apple this month started including 7-day complimentary AppleCare+ coverage with new products purchased through its stores in Australia, including any new Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, AirPods, HomePod mini, and more. The complimentary coverage is automatically included with the purchase of a qualifying new Apple product.

The addition was brought to our attention today by MacRumors reader Jack Jacobs, but based on recent updates to the AppleCare+ terms and conditions in Australia, it appears the change was implemented last week, on September 30.

The complimentary AppleCare+ period provides the same coverage as a paid AppleCare+ plan, including coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage, according to the terms and conditions. After the complimentary coverage expires, customers may purchase AppleCare+ as a one-time purchase or on a monthly basis.

It's unclear why Apple implemented this change, but it could relate to strong warranty protections under Australian Consumer Law. The complimentary AppleCare+ coverage is not available in the United States or other countries that we checked.

Update: The change in policy is due to new requirements for add-on insurance like AppleCare+ in Australia. Under the new regulations, there is a mandatory four-day pause between the sale of a product and any add-on insurance for that product, so Apple is providing seven days of free AppleCare+ coverage to span that gap.

The regulations apply across a broad range of product categories and are intended to help protect customers against high-pressure sales and poor-value insurance products frequently offered at the time of product purchase.

Apple Watch Series 7 pre-orders began minutes ago and some configurations are already facing extended delivery estimates into November on Apple's online store in the United States, including some aluminum and stainless steel options.

Some customers have expressed their frustration that Apple did not provide more details on Series 7 configurations and pricing prior to pre-orders beginning, forcing some people to decide which model they wanted to purchase in the heat of the moment. For customers who did not manage to pre-order their desired Apple Watch for launch day delivery, some configurations will likely be available for Apple Store pickup on launch day.

Apple Watch Series 7 pricing starts at $399 for aluminum models, $699 for stainless steel models, and $799 for titanium models. Apple has finally updated its Apple Watch Studio page that helps with choosing a case, size, and band, and the Apple Watch comparison page is also now updated to reflect the Series 7's tech specs.

Apple Watch Series 7 will begin arriving to customers and launch in stores on Friday, October 15.

Today, pre-orders for the Apple Watch Series 7 began on Apple.com as well as on participating carrier websites. Similar to years past, the launch of a new Apple Watch is seeing a few solid day one discounts from carriers like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile/Sprint.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

For all pre-orders, the Apple Watch Series 7 can be ordered today, and it will begin shipping (and be available in stores) on October 15.

AT&T

AT&T's offer for the new Apple Watch requires you to purchase two models, and then you'll get $200 off in bill credits. This offer supports the Series 3 (up to $289.99), Series 4 (up to $699.99), Series 5 (up to $749.99), Series 6 (up to $799.99), SE (up to $359.99), and Series 7 (up to $799.99).

You'll need to buy two Apple Watch models, and place both on a qualifying installment plan with AT&T. The Apple Watch purchases must be two new lines or a new line and an upgraded line. Certified refurbished watches are excluded from this deal.

After purchasing, your $200 credit will begin within three billing cycles, applied in equal amounts over the entire installment plan term.

Verizon/T-Mobile/Sprint

When purchasing the Apple Watch Series 7 directly from Apple.com (or at an Apple Store) and activating it on a new line with Verizon, T-Mobile, or Sprint, you can get a $100 e-gift card. Full details are available on Apple's site as you go through the model selection and checkout process.

Be sure to visit our full Deals Roundup to shop for even more Apple-related products and accessories.