WatchOS Lifecycle: End of Life and Support Status
Last updated on October 25, 2023
WatchOS was introduced first in 2015 when the first Apple Watch was launched. WatchOS is the operating system that runs inside Apple’s watches and is based on iOS.
Support status guide
End of life (EOL) is the end of a product’s useful life. When a product reaches the end of its life cycle, the manufacturer no longer supports it. The following table explains the different phases of a product’s lifecycle. Testing status is when the product is initially released and EOL is when product support is no longer offered. The time between these two points is the support timeframe.
Testing
The software is not yet publicly available. It is in testing phase i.e., alpha, beta, release preview etc.
Active
The software is actively supported by the vendor.
Phasing Out
The software will soon reach its end of life. You need to look for upgrade or migration options. The software will automatically go into phasing out status 2 months before end of life.
End Of Life
The software is no longer supported by the vendor. You need to make sure your system and environment are safe.
Version
Released
Active Support
Security Support
(18 September 2023)
(12 September 2022)
(18 September 2023)
(20 September 2021)
(12 September 2022)
(22 September 2022)
(16 September 2020)
(20 September 2021)
(11 October 2021)
(19 September 2019)
(16 September 2020)
(16 September 2020)
(17 September 2018)
(19 September 2019)
(30 September 2019)
(19 September 2017)
(17 September 2018)
(27 September 2018)
(13 September 2016)
(19 September 2017)
(4 October 2017)
Like iOS, a newer version of watchOS is also released annually. With the release of a new version, the older version loses active support, but security patches are still provided for a little longer.
EOLs
