Original Apple Watch won't get WatchOS 5 update -- even if you spent $17,000 for gold

"WatchOS 5 will not be available on the original Apple Watch."

Sean Hollister Senior Editor / Reviews

When his parents denied him a Super NES, he got mad. When they traded a prize Sega Genesis for a 2400 baud modem, he got even. Years of Internet shareware, eBay'd possessions and video game testing jobs after that, he joined Engadget. He helped found The Verge, and later served as Gizmodo's reviews editor. When he's not madly testing laptops, apps, virtual reality experiences, and whatever new gadget will supposedly change the world, he likes to kick back with some games, a good Nerf blaster, and a bottle of Tejava.

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Sean Hollister

June 4, 2018 2:13 p.m. PT

The Apple Watch Edition in gold.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET

This story is part of WWDC 2022, CNET's complete coverage from and about Apple's annual developers conference.

Traditionally, gold watches are heirlooms that never go out of date. The 18-karat gold Apple Watch Edition , however, is now officially behind the times.

According to Apple (via Kyle Seth Gray on Twitter) the original first-generation Apple Watch , gold or otherwise, won't get updated to the latest WatchOS 5, announced on Monday at WWDC.

That means it won't get enhancements like an improved automatic workout tracking mode, or the Walkie-Talkie feature that lets you communicate directly with other Apple Watches on the go.

watch-os-5-compatibility-apple — Yes, it's a little confusing, but the Apple Watch Series 1 is *not* the original Apple Watch. It's a newer model.
Apple/Screenshot by Sean Hollister/CNET

We're not sure how many gold Apple Watches the company ever really sold, but it can't be pleasing to the owner of a $10,000 watch (much less a $17,000 one) to hear this news. And then there's all the regular OG Apple Watch users to think about.

It's also worth considering that the Walkie-Talkie feature was actually promised back in 2014, months before the first Apple Watch hit the market.

Watch this: WatchOS 5 updates the Apple Watch with Walkie-Talkie app

01:40

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. When we asked Apple back in 2015 how it'd keep the Watch from going obsolete, the company declined to comment. Yes, we sorta saw this coming.

At least the original Apple Watch did get a couple years of updates. That's more than you can say for phones made by some of the company's rivals.