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."
The Apple Watch Edition in gold.
Traditionally, gold watches are heirlooms that never go out of date.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.
Yes, it's a little confusing, but the Apple Watch Series 1 is *not* the original Apple Watch. It's a newer model.
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.
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.
See also
iOS 12: Siri shortcuts, group FaceTime and "Memoji" -- Animoji of you.
WWDC 2018: Everything Apple just announced.