Apple Watch Series 3 discontinuation and Watch SE price drop signal arrival of new smartwatches

Although Apple has not confirmed what products it plans to unveil at tomorrow's 'Far Out' event, the timing of two product changes has hinted as much. For some reason, Apple has kept selling the Watch Series 3 for years, with the company keeping it on as a cheaper option even to the Watch SE. However, Apple has finally started discontinuing the Watch Series 3, at least in Australia, the UK and the US.

Presumably, Apple has finally consigned the Watch Series 3 to history because of its incompatibility with watchOS 9, an OS update that the company should discuss in detail at its Far Out event. For reference, watchOS 9 will be compatible with the Watch Series 4 and later, including the upcoming Watch Series 8 and the Watch Pro.

Seemingly, the Watch SE will replace the Watch Series 3 as Apple's cheapest smartwatch. Amazon may have revealed the Watch SE's upcoming price drop too, with the retailer reducing the LTE models by approximately US$100. For example, the 40 mm variant now costs U$229, with Apple still charging US$329 on its website. It remains to be seen whether Apple will continue to offer all models, although we would expect the 40 mm GPS version will drop below US$200. 

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