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

watchOS 10
1 year and 1 month ago
(18 September 2023)
Supported
Supported
watchOS 9
2 years and 1 month ago
(12 September 2022)
Ended 1 year and 1 month ago
(18 September 2023)
Ended 1 year and 1 month ago
(21 September 2023)
watchOS 8
3 years and 1 month ago
(20 September 2021)
Ended 2 years and 1 month ago
(12 September 2022)
Ended 2 years and 1 month ago
(22 September 2022)
watchOS 7
4 years and 1 month ago
(16 September 2020)
Ended 3 years and 1 month ago
(20 September 2021)
Ended 3 years and 4 weeks ago
(11 October 2021)
watchOS 6
5 years and 1 month ago
(19 September 2019)
Ended 4 years and 1 month ago
(16 September 2020)
Ended 4 years and 1 month ago
(16 September 2020)
watchOS 5
6 years and 1 month ago
(17 September 2018)
Ended 5 years and 1 month ago
(19 September 2019)
Ended 5 years and 1 month ago
(30 September 2019)
watchOS 4
7 years and 1 month ago
(19 September 2017)
Ended 6 years and 1 month ago
(17 September 2018)
Ended 6 years and 1 month ago
(27 September 2018)
watchOS 3
8 years and 1 month ago
(13 September 2016)
Ended 7 years and 1 month ago
(19 September 2017)
Ended 7 years and 1 month ago
(4 October 2017)
watchOS 2
9 years and 1 month ago
(21 September 2015)
Ended 8 years and 1 month ago
(12 September 2016)
Ended 8 years and 1 month ago
(12 September 2016)
watchOS 1
9 years and 6 months ago
(24 April 2015)
Ended 9 years and 1 month ago
(21 September 2015)
Ended 9 years and 1 month ago
(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.

Talk to us now

Talk to us straight and get your questions answered right away

Tell Us About Your Project