Apple Ends Support for This Classic Apple Watch Model
Credit: Apple
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This month, yet another item has moved onto Apple’s list of obsolete products, although in this case it’s one that’s been supported for much longer than anyone would have expected: the 2016 Apple Watch Series 1.
To be clear, this isn’t quite the same as the first-generation Apple Watch. The original Apple Watch was unveiled in September 2014, alongside the iPhone 6 family, and went on sale the following April. However, when Apple released the Series 2 follow-up in September 2016 with several enhancements, it also re-released the original version as the Series 1 with a minor spec bump.
Following the simultaneous release of the Series 1 and Series 2 models, the first-generation Apple Watch was given the retronym “Series 0” to help differentiate it. However, Apple never used that designation; the original Apple Watch was discontinued, and later referred to in support articles simply as the “Apple Watch (1st generation)” or simply the “Apple Watch” or “Apple Watch Sport.”
The Apple Watch Series 1 was visually identical to the first-generation Apple Watch, with the only difference being a faster dual-core S1P chip inside (versus the S1 in its predecessor). This effectively made it a redux of the original, which Apple could sell as a “new” model at a lower price. In many ways, it was the spiritual ancestor of what would later become the Apple Watch SE. Naturally, the Series 1 also spelled the end of Apple’s more ambitious designs, such as the $10,000-plus 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition.
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 2 boasted a built-in GPS for the first time, plus a much higher degree of water resistance to power swim workouts, a dramatically brighter 1,000-nit display (compared to the 450 nits on the Series 0 and Series 1), and an even more powerful dual-core chip.
Interestingly, the Apple Watch Series 1 has outlasted the Series 2, making it the longest-supported Apple Watch to date. All the “Series 0” models reached Apple’s obsolete list in September 2023, after eight-and-a-half years on the market — a sad day for those who shelled out thousands of dollars for a gold Apple Watch. Meanwhile, despite being released at the same time, the Apple Watch Series 2 reached obsolescence in November 2024.
Since the Series 2 was released in September 2016, the original Apple Watch, released in April 2015, kept its record for the longest supported for a few more months, but the Series 1 has now officially taken that crown; being added to the list of obsolete products only this month, that leaves this model just a few weeks shy of a nine-year support run.
Despite being a lesser model, the Series 1 lasted longer than the Series 2 simply because Apple sold it for longer. Apple considers a product obsolete when it hasn’t been distributed for sale for more than seven years, and the Apple Watch Series 2 was discontinued in 2017 when the Series 3 replaced it, while the Series 1 was left on the market as a discounted option until September 2018, when the Apple Watch Series 4 was released.
Technically, this means we haven’t quite reached the seven-year mark for that one, but remember that Apple’s standard is based on when it “stopped distributing them for sale,” not when they were no longer sold in Apple Stores. Knowing that it planned to discontinue the Series 1 in September, it’s likely that Apple stopped distributing new inventory several weeks earlier, leaving existing stock to sell out before pulling it from the shelves entirely.
While it’s certainly worth pouring one out for the last of the OG-style Apple Watch models, if you’re still wearing a nine-year-old Apple Watch Series 1, it’s probably time to move on to a newer model.
