Will Your Apple Watch Get watchOS 28?
Apple has not announced watchOS 28, and nobody outside Apple knows which Apple Watch models it will support. The list is published at WWDC in June, and this page switches to it that day.
What can be said now comes from Apple's own record — how many versions each chip generation has been given, and which ones it dropped last year. On that record every one of the 6 Apple Watch models that run watchOS 27 should get watchOS 28: none sits where Apple has drawn the line before. Every model is below, with the reasoning.
Every Apple Watch and Its Chances
Newest first. Expected and Likely mean Apple's record leaves room for more versions; Possible is a coin toss; Unlikely and Very unlikely mean the model sits where Apple has drawn the line before. This is our assessment, not a leak — the models' own pages explain each call.
| Apple Watch | Chip | Year | watchOS 28 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch SE 3 | S11 SiP | 2025 | Expected |
| Apple Watch Series 11 | S11 SiP | 2025 | Expected |
| Apple Watch Ultra 3 | S11 SiP | 2025 | Expected |
| Apple Watch Series 10 | S10 SiP | 2024 | Expected |
| Apple Watch Series 9 | S9 SiP | 2023 | Likely |
| Apple Watch Ultra 2 | S9 SiP | 2023 | Likely |
How Apple Decides
Apple drops Apple Watch models by chip generation, and it does not say in advance which. What it has done is consistent enough to read.
For watchOS 27 it dropped the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), Apple Watch Ultra (1st generation) — hardware from 2020–2022, after 4 to 6 major versions of watchOS.
The oldest Apple Watch still supported is the Apple Watch Series 9 (S9 SiP), from 2023. With watchOS 27 it has now had 4 major versions — fewer than the models Apple dropped last year. Even so, nothing in Apple's record marks it as next.
Two things move the line besides age: memory, since Apple's on-device intelligence features need more of it than older models have, and the chip's neural engine. A model can be on the supported list and still miss the headline features — which models get Apple Intelligence is a separate list.
Which Apple Watch models Were Dropped From watchOS 27
Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Series 7, Apple Watch Series 6, Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), Apple Watch Ultra (1st generation). They stayed on the previous version, which keeps receiving security fixes — and that is what to expect for any model watchOS 28 leaves behind.
If Your Apple Watch Does Not Make the Cut
It keeps working, and it keeps getting security updates for the version it is on — Apple has patched the previous release for years after a model stopped receiving new ones. Apps keep supporting it for a while too, usually a year or two, because developers support the last two versions.
What it does not get is new features. If those matter, the release of watchOS 28 in September is when the trade-in values of the dropped models fall, so the months before it are the better time to sell.
When Will Apple Announce watchOS 28?
At WWDC, Apple's developer conference in early June. The keynote names the supported Apple Watch models, the first developer beta ships the same afternoon, and the public release follows in September. Until then, watchOS 27 is the current version.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will your Apple Watch get watchOS 28?
Nobody outside Apple knows until WWDC in June. By Apple's own record, 6 of the 6 Apple Watch models on watchOS 27 should get it and 0 probably will not — the table on this page gives the call for each model.
Which Apple Watch models will not get watchOS 28?
On Apple's record none look at risk this year.
When is watchOS 28 announced?
At WWDC in early June. The supported list is part of the keynote, and the first beta is out the same day.
When is watchOS 28 released?
In September, alongside the new Apple Watch models — the same timing Apple has used for years.
What happens to Apple Watch models that do not get watchOS 28?
They keep working on watchOS 27 and keep receiving its security updates. They miss the new features, and apps gradually stop supporting them over the following year or two.