https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2022/09/apple-watch-series-3-gracefully-slain-at-just-under-5-years-old/

Like a cat trying to hide its pain, Apple's Series 3 Watch quietly disappeared Wednesday afternoon, following the company's newest Apple Watch announcements, including an ultra-premium rugged Apple Watch Ultra. There wasn't room in Apple's lineup for the S3, nor was there likely room on the S3 for WatchOS 9. Series 3 would have been 5 years old on September 22.

The Series 3 stuck around in Apple's lineup for a strangely long period, outlasting every other Series release except 7 (which it really might have tied, depending on how you time these things). It was the "discount" Apple Watch, even if it was often only $30-$50 less than the Apple Watch SE at times and often far more expensive than third-party refurbished Apple Watches. In July, Ars Technica's Corey Gaskin wrote in an Apple Watch buyers' guide that the Series 3 was "more like a little toy at this point," and was only—maybe—worth it for putting on kids who don't notice their phone ringing.