- Apple on Monday announced WatchOS 5, the next version of its operating system for the Apple Watch.
- When it arrives this fall, the update will be compatible with Apple Watch Series 1 or later.
- That means it won’t work with the gold Apple Watch Edition, which started at $10,000 and could cost as much as $17,000.
- Apple discontinued the watch in 2016.
When Apple’s new Apple Watch software arrives this fall, one group of users will be left out of the update: those who shelled out for the $10,000 Apple Watch Edition.
Wirecutter’s Andrew Cunningham first noticed the change.
Apple announced the new WatchOS5 software at the 2018 Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday. The update includes several exciting new features, like a smarter version of Siri, interactive notifications, and a new Walkie-Talkie style of communicating.
But Apple says the update will be compatible with Apple Watch Series 1 or later. That means Apple is no longer giving major software updates to its first generation Apple Watch - nicknamed the Apple Watch Series 0 - and the original Apple Watch Edition, an 18-karat gold version that started at $10,000 and cost as much as $17,000.
Apple stopped selling the gold Apple Watch Edition a year after its 2015 debut. When Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 1 and Apple Watch Series 2 in 2016, the gold watch disappeared from Apple's online store entirely. These days, you may be able to find it on a secondary market like eBay.
Apple never disclosed how many gold Apple Watch Editions it sold, but sharp-eyed fans have spotted the watch on celebrities like Beyonce, Kanye West, Pharrell, Katy Perry, Drake, and Karl Lagerfeld.
Apple replaced the gold version with a ceramic Apple Watch Edition, which retails for the much more reasonable price of $1,299. That watch, along with Apple's array of other watches, will be compatible with WatchOS 5.
Read more from Apple's WWDC 2018 conference:
- Apple just announced iOS 12 - here are all the major changes coming to iPhones and iPads later this year
- Apple's next major update to the Mac arrives this fall, and is called 'Mojave' - here are all the new features
- Here are all the great new features your Apple Watch will get later this year
- Apple's adding animated avatars to the iPhone you can send in iMessage - here's how you'll create Memoji
- Apple is turning your iPhone into a powerful, virtual tape measure with a cool new app
- Apple is fixing the worst part of its CarPlay software - you'll finally be able to use Google Maps
- Here are all the new ways Apple will help you combat your smartphone addiction in iOS 12
- You can order a coffee directly from your lock screen with Apple's new 'Shortcuts' feature - here's how it will work
- Apple is stealing a great idea from Android as it gets ready to dramatically improve iPhone notifications
- FaceTime will now support video chats with up to 32 people, as well as filters and animoji
- Apple is partnering with Pixar as part of its big push into augmented reality
- Apple is giving the Stocks app on iPhone an upgrade with more charts and context