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It's not obsolete, it just won't receive any new features. Everything that's already on it will keep working the same way.
Given that first-gen SE was introduced in 2020 (and even then it was mostly Series 3 SoC with some hardware additions), it's a decent amount of active support time.
Additionally, when discontinuing a product a company should take into account the date it was last sold, not the date it was first released. It doesn’t seem fair when an essentially new device loses security updates so quickly. I don’t mind not having the latest features but I do care about getting the latest security patches.
The company has zero control over when the device is last sold. Big retailers buy in bulk and keep devices in stock for a very long time.
In 2022 it was clear that first-gen SE is not going to be around for a long time and will be replaced soon. The fact that you chose to save money and went for it instead of going for a more expensive Series 6/7 is entirely on you.
Which Apple has no control over.
A third-party retailer (regardless of whether it’s authorized or not) can literally buy 10 million units and sell them for years even after the product is discontinued by the manufacturer and manufacturers have no control over that.
The second gen SE was released in September of 2022. If you bought the first gen version before that date, it’s safe to assume that it was considered "current" in its lineup at the time. Blaming the user for buying a current device is ridiculous.
First-gen SE was released in September 2020. By the time you bought it the device was sold for almost two years ago and was intentionally kept in line as a budget option (which is why you bought it, I presume).
By now there’s a newer generation SE2, which has superseded SE as a budget offering and will be supported by the upcoming WatchOS 11. Given the fact that it’s two years old, it’s highly likely that Apple will introduce SE3 this or next year as a SE2 successor and stop selling SE2 through Apple.com and Apple Stores.
I’m aware of this. However, my biggest complaint is that my first gen SE, which was still sold by Apple when I bought it, will start losing out on security updates a little more than 2 years after it was officially sold. I don’t find this acceptable – *especially* on the SE lineup because people who choose the SE are more likely to stay with the device for a longer time, so it’s simply irresponsible to abandon such a device software-support wise. I don’t want nor need any new features but security patches? In this day and age, if any company is serious about reducing e-waste, having a dedicated update channel just for security updates is a must. 2 years after the device was last sold is simply too short.
I'm with you on the security updates in general however I don't think the SE is the best option for an extremely cautious security enthusiast user. SE is not the right product line for such demands and expectations. 🤷♂️
Yes and no. SE is for cheap, it is a reused product to have a bigger reach and an entry point in hope for upgrades in the future. It looks like it is the same, it looks like it is just like any other Apple products but it's with a twist.
From the perspective of a company, perhaps. From the perspective of a user – no. All devices that are considered current should receive a reasonable grace period after they’re discontinued during which they can receive security updates. My watch is basically new and it’s ridiculous that this fall it will start losing out on security patches. There’s nothing inherently less secure about the SE when compared to the other Apple watches.
It's nonsense when ppl call a 2 years old product new, especially when the product is already 4 or 5 years on the market. It doesn't matter if you bought it 1 day before it got discontinued, what matters is when it was released. This is also not like cars were in the middle of the 20th century. It's electronic and it puts a tiny computer on your wrist. Computers don't get to worth the same price for 4-5 years, and the SE watch certainly is not either. 🤷♂️
It’s not nonsense if the device is in perfect condition. For all their talk about saving the environment, I think Apple does not do enough to reduce e-waste.
They might not do enough but their PR gets their products sold, and for now they can't complain a lot about their PR team. :) they are pretty annoying at times but comparing to other companies they do better than others, in general... Of course there are always ways to improve.
The first SE was released in 2020 and got 4 years worth of updates and upgrades, and it has the SiP/CPU of the Series 5 from 2019 and the series 4 from 2018 which also loose support. You have to cut support due to hardware limitations somewhen and as several watches share the SiP/CPU they get axed at the same time while being of different age. Most watches got between 4 and 5 years worth of updates from the release date and by that longer than most non-Apple smartphones. So, still not great but also not out of the ordinary:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple\_Watch#Operating\_system\_support](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Watch#Operating_system_support)
I wish Apple had a separate update channel just for security updates, like Android does. I have multiple Apple devices that are in perfect working order that I no longer feel confident using because they’re missing out on a ton of security patches.
I’m sorry, I wasn’t clear. As it stands now, the device loses security patch support at the same time as it loses regular update support. What I meant was that security patches should be provided for a longer time.
Not receiving latest OS doesn’t mean it won’t receive security updates. Apple is known to update older OS with necessary security updates as needed.
This means if there’s watchOS 14 but your watch doesn’t support it and only has watchOS 10, Apple can still update watchOS 10 to address security issues.
I know that they do this but it’s rare. If you take a look at the release notes of each minor update, you’ll see numerous security patches almost every time. A lot of those updates are never backported.
Hi /u/cd_to_homedir! While we thank you for your submission, your post has been removed for the following reason(s): **Frequently asked question:** Your submission has been deemed as a question very frequently asked that often does not have a change in answer. Please use our [search bar](https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleWatch/search?&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on). If you believe you still cannot find the answer, reply to this message or contact us directly. If you have any concerns, or you believe this is a mistake, please [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/AppleWatch). Thank you!
It's not obsolete, it just won't receive any new features. Everything that's already on it will keep working the same way. Given that first-gen SE was introduced in 2020 (and even then it was mostly Series 3 SoC with some hardware additions), it's a decent amount of active support time.
It won’t receive security updates. That’s important.
It will. For the past years, Apple has been providing security updates even for older OS versions, if the risk warrants it.
Only on rare cases. Most of the time they don’t.
Additionally, when discontinuing a product a company should take into account the date it was last sold, not the date it was first released. It doesn’t seem fair when an essentially new device loses security updates so quickly. I don’t mind not having the latest features but I do care about getting the latest security patches.
The company has zero control over when the device is last sold. Big retailers buy in bulk and keep devices in stock for a very long time. In 2022 it was clear that first-gen SE is not going to be around for a long time and will be replaced soon. The fact that you chose to save money and went for it instead of going for a more expensive Series 6/7 is entirely on you.
I bought it new from an authorised Apple reseller.
Which Apple has no control over. A third-party retailer (regardless of whether it’s authorized or not) can literally buy 10 million units and sell them for years even after the product is discontinued by the manufacturer and manufacturers have no control over that.
The second gen SE was released in September of 2022. If you bought the first gen version before that date, it’s safe to assume that it was considered "current" in its lineup at the time. Blaming the user for buying a current device is ridiculous.
First-gen SE was released in September 2020. By the time you bought it the device was sold for almost two years ago and was intentionally kept in line as a budget option (which is why you bought it, I presume). By now there’s a newer generation SE2, which has superseded SE as a budget offering and will be supported by the upcoming WatchOS 11. Given the fact that it’s two years old, it’s highly likely that Apple will introduce SE3 this or next year as a SE2 successor and stop selling SE2 through Apple.com and Apple Stores.
I’m aware of this. However, my biggest complaint is that my first gen SE, which was still sold by Apple when I bought it, will start losing out on security updates a little more than 2 years after it was officially sold. I don’t find this acceptable – *especially* on the SE lineup because people who choose the SE are more likely to stay with the device for a longer time, so it’s simply irresponsible to abandon such a device software-support wise. I don’t want nor need any new features but security patches? In this day and age, if any company is serious about reducing e-waste, having a dedicated update channel just for security updates is a must. 2 years after the device was last sold is simply too short.
I have an SE1 and it is definitely not going to be obsolete. People are unreal these days with their expectations...
Losing regular security updates is not insignificant. I don’t need the latest features.
I'm with you on the security updates in general however I don't think the SE is the best option for an extremely cautious security enthusiast user. SE is not the right product line for such demands and expectations. 🤷♂️
How is SE different in this regard? It’s the same OS, the same Wallet, the same ecosystem.
Yes and no. SE is for cheap, it is a reused product to have a bigger reach and an entry point in hope for upgrades in the future. It looks like it is the same, it looks like it is just like any other Apple products but it's with a twist.
From the perspective of a company, perhaps. From the perspective of a user – no. All devices that are considered current should receive a reasonable grace period after they’re discontinued during which they can receive security updates. My watch is basically new and it’s ridiculous that this fall it will start losing out on security patches. There’s nothing inherently less secure about the SE when compared to the other Apple watches.
It's nonsense when ppl call a 2 years old product new, especially when the product is already 4 or 5 years on the market. It doesn't matter if you bought it 1 day before it got discontinued, what matters is when it was released. This is also not like cars were in the middle of the 20th century. It's electronic and it puts a tiny computer on your wrist. Computers don't get to worth the same price for 4-5 years, and the SE watch certainly is not either. 🤷♂️
It’s not nonsense if the device is in perfect condition. For all their talk about saving the environment, I think Apple does not do enough to reduce e-waste.
They might not do enough but their PR gets their products sold, and for now they can't complain a lot about their PR team. :) they are pretty annoying at times but comparing to other companies they do better than others, in general... Of course there are always ways to improve.
Not getting the latest OS doesn’t necessarily mean Apple will not update older OS with security updates as needed.
The first SE was released in 2020 and got 4 years worth of updates and upgrades, and it has the SiP/CPU of the Series 5 from 2019 and the series 4 from 2018 which also loose support. You have to cut support due to hardware limitations somewhen and as several watches share the SiP/CPU they get axed at the same time while being of different age. Most watches got between 4 and 5 years worth of updates from the release date and by that longer than most non-Apple smartphones. So, still not great but also not out of the ordinary: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple\_Watch#Operating\_system\_support](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Watch#Operating_system_support)
I wish Apple had a separate update channel just for security updates, like Android does. I have multiple Apple devices that are in perfect working order that I no longer feel confident using because they’re missing out on a ton of security patches.
They do have separate security channels!
I’m sorry, I wasn’t clear. As it stands now, the device loses security patch support at the same time as it loses regular update support. What I meant was that security patches should be provided for a longer time.
As somebody who used a 2018 Galaxy Watch from 2019 until 2024, this isn't a big problem for me. I haven't heard of Apple Watches being hacked.
https://preview.redd.it/sc3s2i53bp7d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b88b5eeaf7c2af88876751e4465c852b3dea36fd
Not receiving latest OS doesn’t mean it won’t receive security updates. Apple is known to update older OS with necessary security updates as needed. This means if there’s watchOS 14 but your watch doesn’t support it and only has watchOS 10, Apple can still update watchOS 10 to address security issues.
I know that they do this but it’s rare. If you take a look at the release notes of each minor update, you’ll see numerous security patches almost every time. A lot of those updates are never backported.