Most of these links lead to pages that read “unavailable” in an embarrassing failure for Apple.
Yesterday, December 21st, marked the end of online sales of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2. Now, the only Apple Watch someone in the U.S. could buy is the Apple Watch SE. Apple had to stop selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 thanks to a patent lawsuit they lost. The patent involved the blood oxygen sensor on these devices, and, as the Apple Watch SE does not have blood oxygen monitoring, it avoided the ban. That means that, on Apple’s homepage now, at least in the U.S., Apple puts the SE at the top of the page, with their flagship watches pushed down below.
How the mighty have fallen… down the page, that is.
We knew Apple was going to pull their watches. December 21st marked the end of online sales, and the 24th will mark the end of in-person sales. However, what some may not have realized is that Apple will also cease repairs and replacements of their devices. The repair ban goes back further than the sales ban. Apple won’t be able to repair some Apple Watch Series 6 and newer. If it can sense your blood oxygen, Apple can’t help you.
Sales Ban Becomes a Repair Ban
Apple won’t be able to make out-of-warranty repairs or replacements on the Apple Watch Series 6, 7, 8, 9, or Apple Watch Ultra 1 or 2. Apple’s warranties outside of AppleCare+ usually last only a year. You’d think the repair ban would be limited to issues with the sensor, but it apparently includes any issue on the Apple Watch. A broken screen, a swelling battery, none of it would be something Apple could repair. And, since Apple has made repairs so impossible, it’s likely that any damage will turn your Apple Watch into ewaste instantly. Typically Apple simply replaces Apple Watches with damage, which is why the sales ban became a repair ban, Apple can’t hand out these devices anymore.
Apple Watch owners who could need service and have no way to get it. If your Apple Watch breaks, your only option might be a new watch… from someone else.
I’m a fan of inexpensive quartz watches. Casio makes some timeless, quality watches. Timex is having a bit of a renaissance, and even has plenty of Peanuts watches if you miss your Apple Watch Snoopy watch face. Swatch has a variety of fun, gorgeous designs that’ll spark a conversation any time you slap one on your wrist. G-Shock has great traditionally tough watches with new health tracking features. Garmin is the king of fitness watches right now. Finally, a great all-rounder smartwatch is the Samsung Galaxy Watch6, though, as I found out with my Galaxy Watch5, you’ll need a Samsung phone to unlock all of the features.
Maybe this could be a good opportunity to ditch your smartwatch? Go with a nice watch that tells the time instead of tracking you.
Apple’s likely hoping this Apple Watch ban won’t lead to people ditching the rest of their ecosystem either. Getting a Galaxy Watch could be the precursor to getting a Galaxy Phone, and Apple won’t want that. Apple has to consider not only their lost sales on the Apple Watch, but what losing a piece of their tightly-knit ecosystem really means.