1st generation: April 24, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-04-24) Series 1 and Series 2: September 16, 2016; 7 years ago (2016-09-16) Series 3: September 22, 2017; 6 years ago (2017-09-22) Series 4: September 21, 2018; 5 years ago (2018-09-21) Series 5: September 20, 2019; 4 years ago (2019-09-20) Series 6 and SE (1st generation): September 18, 2020; 3 years ago (2020-09-18) Series 7: October 15, 2021; 2 years ago (2021-10-15) Series 8 and SE (2nd generation): September 16, 2022; 23 months ago (2022-09-16) Ultra: September 23, 2022; 22 months ago (2022-09-23) Series 9 and Ultra 2: September 22, 2023; 10 months ago (2023-09-22)[3]
The Apple Watch is a brand of smartwatch products produced by Apple. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with watchOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was released in April 2015,[5][6] and quickly became the world's best-selling wearable device: 4.2 million were sold in the second quarter of fiscal 2015,[7] and more than 115 million people were estimated to use an Apple Watch as of December 2022.[8] Apple has introduced a new generation of the Apple Watch with improved internal components each September[9] – each labeled by Apple as a 'Series', with certain exceptions.[a]
Each Series has been initially sold in multiple variants defined by the watch casing's material, color, and size (except for the budget watches Series 1 and SE, available only in aluminum,[10][13] and the Ultra, available only in 49 mm titanium[12]), and beginning with Series 3, by the option in the aluminum variants for LTEcellular connectivity, which comes standard with the other materials.[14] The band included with the watch can be selected from multiple options from Apple, and watch variants in aluminum co-branded with Nike and in stainless steel co-branded with Hermès are also offered, which include exclusive bands, colors, and digital watch faces carrying those companies' branding.[14]
The Apple Watch operates in conjunction with the user's iPhone for functions such as configuring the watch and syncing data with iPhone apps, but can separately connect to a Wi-Fi network for data-reliant purposes, including communications, app use, and audio streaming.[15][16] LTE-equipped models can also perform these functions over a mobile network, and can make and receive phone calls independently when the paired iPhone is not nearby or is powered-off, substantially reducing the need for an iPhone after initial setup.[b] The oldest iPhone model that is compatible with any given Apple Watch depends on the version of the operating system installed on each device.[19] As of September 2023[update], new Apple Watches come with watchOS 10 preinstalled and require an iPhone running iOS 17, which is compatible for the iPhone XS and later.[20]
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