Apple issues version of watchOS 5.3.2 to support Apple Watch Series 4

Apple has made a second release of watchOS 5.3.2 available for download, this time for the Apple Watch Series 4, enabling owners of iPhone models that cannot upgrade to iOS 13 or later to continue using the wearable device with their older smartphone.

The update, released on Wednesday, is targeted specifically for the Apple Watch Series 4, and follows after a similar update that shipped on September 26 for the Apple Watch Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3. The update effectively brings the Series 4 in line with the earlier three generations.

While watchOS has moved on to version 6, that operating system requires the usage of an iPhone that runs iOS 13 or later to function properly. For owners of iPhones like the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5, they are not able to update to iOS 13 at all, and have since been supplied with iOS 12.4.2.

The function of the watchOS 5.3.2 update effectively allows the Apple Watch to continue functioning with the iPhone, despite neither device moving on to the milestone versions.

The updates also include performance and bug fixes along with maintaining compatibility. According to the security content listing for watchOS 5.3.2 on the Apple website, the update includes a fix for an exploit found by Google Project Zero that could allow a remote attacker to crash apps and allow code to be executed, with a view to acquiring a user's data.

7 Comments

coolfactor 2332 comments · 20 Years

About 5 years ago

caladanian 380 comments · 10 Years

coolfactor said:

What is that people say about Apple's planned obsolescence strategy?

I agree. Good move by Apple to prolong the life and usefulness of their devices in this way.

coffeetime69 29 comments · 8 Years

caladanian said:

coolfactor said:

What is that people say about Apple's planned obsolescence strategy?

I agree. Good move by Apple to prolong the life and usefulness of their devices in this way.

Well, it's selective. I have an "Early 2013 Macbook Pro" that can be upgraded to the latest MacOS Catalina, albeit with some features (Sidecar) not working, whereas my late 2014 iPhone 6 can't upgrade to iOS 13, and because of that, the Series 4 watches that we bought last year are also stuck in the previous major release until we get new iPhones.

AppleZulu 2176 comments · 8 Years

As always, the issue comes up because there has to be a trailing edge somewhere at some point. For an OS to avoid becoming bloatware like Windows, you have to limit potential hardware variables.

Consumer demand drives the annual addition of new hardware with new features that the OS must accommodate. To also keep running the older hardware, the OS must include code that essentially creates alternate pathways that skip the new hardware features and close loops so that the system doesn’t lock up or crash as a consequence. All those alternate pathways multiply against one another, adding bloat and the exponential possibility of error.

So at some point you call it enough and drop support for the oldest of older devices.

The symbiotic relationship between the iPhone and Apple Watch increases that complexity, so that a new Watch OS has implications for what iOS and therefor what iPhone models can be compatible.

So it is indeed nice of Apple to offer an option to continue support of 5.x Watch OS that allows owners of a year-old watch to delay an otherwise required iPhone upgrade to keep everything working together.

GeorgeBMac 11421 comments · 8 Years

I am glad to see Apple consistently providing such strong support for such a primo product.