Apple has announced that it will no longer support the Apple Watch Series 3 with watchOS 9. However, you can still buy them.
Apple is known for to keep outdated products in its offer, which then serve as entry-level devices. After all, these are usually still compatible with the current operating system. With the computer watch line Apple Watch, however, this will soon no longer be the case with a device, which potential buyers should note: The Series 3, which first appeared in September 2017 and is still available from Apple as normal, can no longer be used with the upcoming watchOS 9 . Accordingly, the purchase should be avoided at all costs.
Series 3: Reluctance to buy indicated
Apple announced this decision at the WWDC developer conference, which ended last week in Cupertino. watchOS 9 will therefore require at least a Series 4 from 2018 in the future, all earlier models can no longer be used. The operating system, which is expected to be made available to the public from September, runs on the Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, Series 6, Apple Watch SE and Series 7 – plus those also expected for autumn 2022 ” ;Series 8″.
Why Apple doesn’t immediately take the Series 3 off the market with the announcement remains unclear – users themselves have to be careful not to fall into the update trap. The group is currently selling the Series 7 (from 429 euros), the SE (from 299 euros) and the Series 3 (from 219 euros) – plus the special models Apple Watch Nike and Apple Watch Hermès, which are based on the Series 7 or 7 and SE (Nike) based. As tempting as the Series 3 sounds with its low price: buying restraint is advisable.
Hardware has long been outdated
In principle, it’s amazing how long Apple has been dragging the Series 3 along with updates. Almost five years of updates for a computer clock is a long time. The hardware has evolved a lot during this phase. The Series 3 comes with Apple’s System-in-a-Package (SIP) S3, which has significantly less system performance and less memory than the current S7 (which again is not faster than the S6 from 2020, but for the larger screen of the Series 7). Apple does not provide precise information on memory size and clock frequency for the watch. In practice, this means apps that start slower and a system that runs less smoothly overall.
watchOS 9 comes with a few innovations. With QuickType – which is finally making it into the German language – there is a reunion with an iPhone function that enables easier keyboard input. In the future, Apple will also enable direct integration of Voice-over-IP telephony on the watch, release the share menu for more apps and allow developers to send photos directly from the Apple Watch to apps. There are better fitness tracking options and an overall streamlined system. As usual, the update is free.
