1 yr. ago • 95%

1st gen iPhone SE + watch

I bought a new Apple Watch for my wife. She has a 1st gen iPhone SE (she just loves it and doesn't want to upgrade). The watch won't work with her phone - obviously something I should have checked into before purchasing. Is there anything I can do? Like maybe swap the watch out for an earlier model?

8 comments

It looks like anything from Series 7 down will work with your wife's SE with iOS 15.

The small print from the Apple Watch Series 7:

Apple Watch Series 7 requires an iPhone 6s or later with iOS 15 or later.

iPhone SE was released after the iPhone 6s and can take iOS 15 so you should be good

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- Thanks so much!
  
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  Zndl points out correctly that the trick is to not update the watch past watchOS 8. I would hope the watch series 7 would still ship with watchOS 8.
  
  The most recent watch that maxes out at watchOS 8 is the series 3 but that one is pretty underpowered, so I’d have a hard time recommending it.
  
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It’s not really about the watch model. It’s about the watchOS version. If you get a series 7 with watchOS 9, she won’t be able to use it. You need watchOS 8. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

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- Looks like you’re right. For the fine print to be right, Apple Watch Series 7 would have to ship with watchOS 8. Do you think they’re still shipping like that? What a weird dilemma.
  
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I purchased a used iPhone SE 2 for my son from Amazon for $140. This phone had a brand new battery and the screen and back glass are flawless. I was very impressed.

However, if you love the iPhone SE 1, I think that the iPhone 13 mini would replace it well. You would keep the squared off aesthetic, but gain a lot of usable screen real estate. The latest iPhone SE phones are the same size as an iphone 6, and similar to the mini, but they have lower end features and the round aesthetic. The only deal breaker I see is that the SE phones have touch ID rather than Face ID. Not sure which she would prefer. (I would love to have both!)

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https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone-SE,iphone-SE-3rd-gen

For 10mm difference on the height and width, it’s time to buy her a new iPhone as well. It’ll run the latest software, and have much better battery life than her worn battery.

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- I upgraded to a new iphone some time ago(iphone se2020) but i still miss my old 2016 se. Even compared to some new iphones I would still choose the old one everyday. The software isn't that much of an issue for most apps
  
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