Apple Watch Series 3 Is Not Ready for watchOS 7.4.1
My wife curses me with every watchOS update
The trouble started last year shortly after Apple launched watchOS 7 (along with the new Apple Watch Series 6 and Watch SE). My wife’s Apple Watch Series 3 ($199 GPS model), which I bought for her almost two years ago, did not like the update at all.
It should have. WatchOS 7 is compatible with all Apple Watches back to version 3, but it turns out it’s compatible in the figurative sense: Apple Watch Series 3 can run watchOS 7 but getting it on the wearable is like trying to stuff 16 clowns into an eight-clown car.
The issue boils down to a matter of space. Apple Watch Series 3, which launched in 2017 and has sold continuously since, was blessed with just a precious 8 GB of storage (you could get 16 GB if you paid more for the cellular model, which is no longer available). Subsequent Apple watches have far more storage space. Apple Watch Series 4, for instance, has 16 GB. Even the affordable Apple Watch SE has 32 GB. WatchOS 7 needs at least a tad over 3 GB to install on any of these compatible smartwatches.
When we tried updating my wife’s watch last September, it repeatedly failed. Eventually, I saw a message noting that lack of space. Various online sources, including Apple, suggested removing apps and…
