4 Signs It’s Time to Upgrade Your Apple Watch

Apple Watches are designed to last for years, but they don’t last forever. Eventually, it will be time to upgrade and we want to highlight signs when it may be time to do so.

Over time, an Apple Watch’s performance and support will start to degrade. Performance that was once top notch will start to suffer and the device will start missing out on Apple’s best software features.

It’s the nature of the beast as the hardware inside the company’s smartwatches has a shelf life.

Once you start noticing these cracks, you’ll have a decision to make: Ride it out with an underperforming device or upgrade to a new model.

If you’ve been an Apple Watch user for a long time, you may know some of the tells, but if you’re not an expert or an enthusiast, here are the signs to look for.

Here are four telltale signs it’s time to upgrade to a new Apple Watch.

You Want More Battery Life

Apple Watches use use lithium-ion technology. And like all rechargeable batteries, the lithium-ion battery inside your Watch will become less effective over time.

As the battery gets older, the amount of charge it can hold lessens. This will result in you having to put the device on the charger more often.

In addition, Apple says a battery’s ability to deliver maximum instantaneous performance, or “peak power,” may decrease as thee battery ages.

If you head into your Apple Watch’s Settings app, tap the Battery section. Now tap Battery Health. You’ll see a percentage in the readout.

The battery started at 100% but now it may be at 80% or lower.

Once the percentage starts to get low, somewhere below 80%, you’ll still be able to use your Watch but you may run into more battery drain issues. You may also start to experience other performance issues as well.

If your Apple Watch’s battery is having trouble holding a charge, or if it takes forever to charge, you may want to invest in a new model.

Yes, you can swap out the battery for a new one, but newer Apple Watch models like the Apple Watch Ultra 2 deliver best-in-class battery life that will allow you to use it all day.

Lack of Software Support

If Apple no longer supports your Apple Watch with software updates, it’s probably time to move on.

Once software support for a Watch ends, there are several implications. First off, it means the device won’t get any new features. What you have operating system-wise is what you get.

Second, it means the device won’t get any bug fixes or security patches from Apple. That’s a big deal, especially the security part.

Like many companies, Apple is engaged in a game of cat and mouse with nefarious people who want to gain access to your device and the data stored on it.

Without regular or even irregular security patches, your device could be vulnerable.

This year, watchOS 11 drops support for the Apple Watch Series 4 from 2018, the Apple Watch Series 5 from 2019, and the first-generation Apple Watch SE from 2020. These devices will remain on watchOS 10.

It’s unclear if Apple will continue to update them with bug fixes and security patches after watchOS 11 arrives.

The good news is if you were to upgrade to a new Watch in 2024, you could snag a budget model like the Apple Watch Series 6 still receive updates.

You Need More Storage

Storage on an Apple Watch isn’t as important as it is on a device like the iPhone, but for some it might matter.

The Apple Watch started with 8GB of storage but Apple doubled the storage to 16GB when it released the Apple Watch Series 3 and Apple Watch Series 4.

Since then, Apple’s launched models with 32GB and now 64GB. The Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 both have 64GB of space.

If you’re constantly running out of internal storage on your Apple Watch, it’s probably time to upgrade to a model with a higher storage capacity.

Even if it’s just for the peace of mind additional storage brings.

Performance Stinks

If your Apple Watch’s performance is in bad shape, consider upgrading.

As an Apple Watch’s hardware ages, and it receives new software, performance may degrade.

The operating system may become slow and sluggish. Crashes may occur. And you may experience longer loading times when using certain apps.

There are manual fixes for some performance stability issues but others you may not be able to fix on your own.

Upgrading to a newer Apple Watch with a newer processor should net you better all-around performance.