Apple WatchOS Lifecycle: End Of Life And Support Status
Last updated on January 16, 2024
Apple WatchOS is the proprietary operating system developed by Apple for its line of smartwatches, better known as the Apple Watch. It is based on iOS – the OS for iPhones – and was first launched in 2015, alongside Apple’s first smartwatch.
Support status guide
End of life (EOL) is the end of a product’s useful life. When a product reaches the end of its life cycle, the manufacturer no longer supports it. The following table explains the different phases of a product’s lifecycle. Testing status is when the product is initially released and EOL is when product support is no longer offered. The time between these two points is the support timeframe.
Testing
The software is not yet publicly available. It is in testing phase i.e., alpha, beta, release preview etc.
Active
The software is actively supported by the vendor.
Phasing Out
The software will soon reach its end of life. You need to look for upgrade or migration options. The software will automatically go into phasing out status 2 months before end of life.
End Of Life
The software is no longer supported by the vendor. You need to make sure your system and environment are safe.
Version
Released
Active Support
Security Support
(18 September 2023)
(12 September 2022)
(18 September 2023)
(21 September 2023)
(20 September 2021)
(12 September 2022)
(22 September 2022)
(16 September 2020)
(20 September 2021)
(11 October 2021)
(19 September 2019)
(16 September 2020)
(16 September 2020)
(17 September 2018)
(19 September 2019)
(30 September 2019)
(19 September 2017)
(17 September 2018)
(27 September 2018)
(13 September 2016)
(19 September 2017)
(4 October 2017)
(21 September 2015)
(12 September 2016)
(12 September 2016)
(24 April 2015)
(21 September 2015)
(21 September 2015)
Like iOS and macOS, a new major release of WatchOS takes place annually, usually in September. Each new version is supported for a year until the next WatchOS version is rolled out.
When a newer version rolls out, the older WatchOS version is no longer supported. However, an older version may still receive a security update past its End of Support date.
Apple has no written rules for how long a WatchOS version will be supported. For some, security support ends with mainstream support, while other versions may still receive a security update after they reach end of life.
EOLs
