Apple Has Left Out This Watch Series From Its New OS

There are indications that Apple Inc’s AAPL Series 3 Watches could be laid to rest soon and this means the wearables lineup could be due for a reset. 

What Happened: The Tim Cook-led company introduced the WatchOS 9 operating system beta for its Apple Watch devices at the WWDC on Monday, but the availability of this update left out the Series 3 devices.

The developer beta of WatchOS 9 was made available beginning Monday, while the public beta is slated for release next month. 

WatchOS 9 will be available for Apple Watch Series 4 or later paired with iPhone 8 or later and iPhone SE (second generation) or later, running iOS 16.
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Why It Matters: The Apple Watch 3 was introduced in September 2017, which makes it over 4 years old.

Apple is retailing the Series 3 watch for $199, while the Apple Watch SE starts at $279, and the Watch Series 7 has an entry price of $399.

With the dropping of WatchOS 9 and its non-availability for Series 3 watches, the Apple Watch SE could become the new budget wearable in the lineup. 

Although the Series 3 watches support WatchOS 8, the aging device has been difficult to update, with The Verge describing the process in a report as “untenable.”

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had said in March that the Series 3 could be discontinued in the third quarter of the year.

Price Action: On Monday, Apple shares closed 0.5% higher at $146.14 in the regular session and gained 0.25% in the after-hours trading, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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