Apple Ends Support for 16 Devices as New OS Versions Arrive

Apple will end official software support this fall for 16 devices across four product categories, with the full scope becoming clear this week at WWDC 2026, where it unveiled macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27 and watchOS 27. The only bright spots for users are iPhone and HomePod, where iOS 27 keeps the same supported models as last year and the smart speakers remain on the list.

The hardest hit is the Apple Watch line. watchOS 27 drops support for Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, the first-generation Ultra and the second-generation SE. The new system will require an S9 or S10 chip or newer, a particularly sharp cut because the previous version supported all of those models. The article says removing three watch generations at once is unprecedented in the product’s history.

Apple is also raising the bar for iPads to A14 Bionic or M1 and later, which removes five still-popular models: iPad Air 3, 12.9-inch iPad Pro 3, 11-inch iPad Pro 1, the eighth-generation standard iPad and iPad mini 5. On the Mac side, macOS 27 formally ends the Intel era at Apple by dropping the last four Intel-based Macs still supported last year, including MacBook Pro models from 2019 and 2020, the 2020 iMac and the 2019 Mac Pro.

For Apple TV, tvOS 27 leaves behind the 2015 HD model and the first 4K model from 2017. Users of unsupported devices will not be left immediately unprotected, as Apple typically provides security fixes for older versions for about a year, but new features will require a hardware upgrade. The new releases are expected to reach users in September, after beta testing ends.