Apple faces lawsuit over watchOS 27 compatibility cutoff

Apple is facing a proposed class action over its decision to leave five relatively recent Apple Watch models behind with watchOS 27. The lawsuit argues that Apple has effectively shortened the useful life of watches that still work perfectly well, including the original Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch SE 2.

The complaint was filed on August 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Richard Goetz. It targets Apple’s decision to end major watchOS updates for Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, Apple Watch SE 2 and the first-generation Apple Watch Ultra.

That is the same group of devices that caused quite a bit of frustration when Apple revealed its watchOS 27 compatibility list in June. We covered that reaction at the time, particularly because Series 8, SE 2 and the original Ultra hardly feel like ancient hardware. 

The lawsuit calls it software tethering

The wording used in the complaint is fairly strong. Goetz accuses Apple of what it describes as “software tethering”, arguing that Apple controls how long the watches continue receiving new software even though the underlying hardware may remain usable for considerably longer.

The plaintiff bought an original Apple Watch Ultra in December 2022 for around $799, according to the complaint. He argues that Apple did not disclose at the time how long the watch would receive major watchOS updates, and claims he would have paid less had he known that it would miss out on watchOS 27 less than four years later.

The proposed class covers California residents who bought any of the five affected models. The complaint seeks damages and other relief, but this is still at a very early stage. Apple has not yet filed a response to the allegations and no class has been certified by the court.

“Bricked” is probably stretching it

Some coverage of the case describes Apple as “bricking” these older watches, but that needs a fairly large asterisk. Apple is not remotely disabling the watches, and owners will not wake up to find their Series 8 or Ultra suddenly unusable.

They simply will not move beyond watchOS 26. Apple currently lists watchOS 27 as compatible with Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, Series 11, SE 3, Ultra 2 and Ultra 3. Series 6 through Series 8, SE 2 and Ultra 1 are absent from the list.

Those older watches can therefore continue doing what they do today. The longer-term problem is that apps, features and compatibility with future iPhones can gradually move on, leaving a perfectly functional piece of hardware increasingly isolated.

The SE 2 is the awkward one

The original Apple Watch Ultra will probably grab most of the attention because of its hefty price-tag. Still, Apple Watch SE 2 may present the more uncomfortable question for Apple.

Apple only replaced SE 2 with Apple Watch SE 3 in September 2025. That means a model that remained part of Apple’s current lineup until less than a year ago is already excluded from the next major version of watchOS.

A buyer can look up battery life, case materials, sensors and processor specifications before spending hundreds of dollars on a smartwatch. But one of the biggest factors affecting how long the product remains current – the software support – is much harder to quantify.

Whether Goetz can turn that argument into a successful class action is another question entirely. For Apple Watch owners, though, the case puts a spotlight on something that was already becoming increasingly difficult to ignore after the watchOS 27 announcement: software support needs to be part of the hardware value calculation.