Apple Watch Ultra (1st Gen) Compatibility Catastrophe

Background

The Apple Watch Ultra (1st Gen) is marketed by Apple in their product specifications webpage as being fully compatible with iPhone 8 (or later) and iOS 16 (or later). However, this is not the case; See the bullet point list item #15 at the bottom of the page and know that it is a lie.

[Incident]

I purchased a used, good condition apple watch ultra (1st gen) due to the superior sensors and health tracking capabilities compared with the leading competition. I don't personally use an iPhone but rather a grapheneOS device and had an old iPhone 8 Plus lying around which was a perfect pairing companion for the watch, as well as a health data receptacle Citing the official Apple Watch Ultra specifications page, I confirmed compatibility when my iPhone 8 Plus showed IOS 16.7.10, well within spec.

However, the webpage turned out to be out of date and thus massively erroneous as my first pairing to the watch triggered a software update which rendered the watch incompatible with any iPhone prior to the XS and nor running IOS 18. It is basically "bricked" until I buy a new iPhone.

Given that IOT devices are primary targets for botnet-enslaving malware, and with the Apple Watch having several critical bugs patched in the latest WatchOS version (11), I was not satisfied to permanently downgrade my watch, and instead proposed a solution which involved Apple providing me with the cheapest device capable of pairing my watch so that I can benefit from the remaining feature upgrades and software patches. This was outright rejected by every individual I spoke with ranging from sales support, customer support and an Apple Store Manager. Shocking to me given I flagged their US and Canada websites for immediate update as well as spending over a dozen hours troubleshooting with their engineers, I figured it was the least they could do. After all this, if my wasted time was billable, I could've bought two new iPhones. But I won't, on principle.

Fast forward to the present, where I'm evaluating next steps as far as filing a consumer rights protection complaint and even considering taking legal action. If only there was an OS with native call recording...

For anyone else considering purchasing an apple product on a secondary market, understand that future compatibility guarantees, especially for software support, are better described as pinky promises: Easily made and just as easily broken. Furthermore, from a sales perspective, your compatibility issues present a prime opportunity to upgrade you to the lates version.

[Company]'s response

A support ticket was eventually filed after several attempts with Apple Customer Care, who passed me off in between each other like hot potato for several weeks. Every encounter involved me re-explaining my situation, including a live demonstration of the erroneous webpage, whereby Apple support acknowledged several points of wrongdoing on Apple's part without ever offering a suitable remedy.

"Taking accountability", according to Apple, was to downgrade my watch software, with instructions to either upgrade my iPhone or never update the watch software lest the incompatibility issues arise once more.

Lawsuit

A notice of dispute resolution was mailed to the Apple Legal team. Further steps might be taken to file a complaint against Apple for violations of Section 52(1) of Canada's Competition Act, which prohibits willful or negligent misrepresentation in advertising.

Claims

The notice reiterates the discussions with Customer Support, and proposes any of three viable remedies:

1. Replace my incompatible iPhone with a modern equivalent to restore full functionality to the Watch or provide sufficient store credit to purchase one at retail cost.
2. Replace my incompatible watch with the latest Apple Watch Ultra 2 and I would take on the responsibility of acquiring an iPhone for myself. In good faith, a condition and generational upgrade (Used Gen1 to New Gen2) would be received as an attempt to bridge the gap, which I would reciprocate with an iPhone purchase to complete the equation.
3. Compensation of $3000 for the undue inconvenience, hassle and financial loss incurred while pursuing remediation.

Rebuttal

TBD

Outcome

TBD

Consumer response

TBD

References

Apple Watch Ultra - Technical Specifications - Apple Support