MacRumors reported that all first generation Apple Watch models were going to be added to the obsolete products list according to an internal memo. This includes the gold edition which cost $17,000 when released 8 years ago.
When a product is added to the obsolete product list "Apple discontinues all hardware service for obsolete products, and service providers cannot order parts for obsolete products" according to Apple support. This means there are no more repairs, system updates or security patches. The product should still work as long as the hardware holds up. Once it breaks, that's it.
Kyle Wiens, the CEO of iFixit, gave a great response to Motherboard about this story.
“It's ludicrous,” Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, told Motherboard in an email. “High end watches are heirlooms. You can, and should, pass them down to your kids. Technology the way Apple builds it is a flash in the pan. Civilizations thousands of years from now will laugh at how short-sighted we are. Batteries that wear out in two years? Service networks that shut down after seven? That's not how you build a society that values craftsmanship.”
'It's Ludicrous': Those $17K Gold Apple Watches Are Now Obsolete - Jordan Pearson (Vice Motherboard)
