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Apple will end software support for 16 devices this fall across four product lines, with the Apple Watch seeing the most sweeping cull in the product's history. The full extent of this year's software drops became clear with the announcements of macOS 27 Golden Gate , iPadOS 27 , tvOS 27 , and watchOS 27 at WWDC this week. The one bright spot is that iOS 27 features identical device support to iOS 26 , with no iPhone models removed from the compatibility list, and the same goes for the HomePod . The Apple Watch sees the sharpest cuts. watchOS 27 drops the Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra (first generation), and Apple Watch SE (second generation) in a single wave, requiring an S9 or S10 chip. watchOS 26 had supported the same lineup as watchOS 11 before it, including the Series 6 and later, the SE (2nd generation) and later, and all Apple Watch Ultra models. Wiping out three launch generations at once is the biggest loss of latest-generation support for Apple Watch to date. The iPad lineup also sees an unusually aggressive set of cuts. iPadOS 27 raises the floor to the A14 Bionic chip or the M1 chip, dropping five models that still run iPadOS 26 : The iPad Air (3rd generation), the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation), the ‌iPad Pro‌ 11-inch (1st generation), the ‌iPad‌ (8th generation), and the iPad mini (5th generation). By comparison, ‌iPadOS 26‌ cut only a single device from the iPadOS 18 list (the 7th generation ‌iPad‌). macOS Golden Gate brings the era of Intel Macs to a close. The four remaining Intel machines supported by macOS Tahoe don't make the cut this year: The MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), iMac (2020), and Mac Pro (2019). Apple said last year that ‌macOS Tahoe‌ would be the final release for pre-Apple silicon Macs, and macOS 27 makes that official. Apple TV sees two models dropped with tvOS 27: The ‌Apple TV‌ HD from 2015 and the ‌Apple TV‌ 4K (1st generation) from 2017. Only the 2nd and 3rd generation ‌Apple TV‌ 4K models will receive the update. The full list of devices losing support for the latest software this fall is as follows: ‌watchOS 27‌ Apple Watch Series 6 (2020) Apple Watch Series 7 (2021) Apple Watch Series 8 (2022) Apple Watch Ultra (1st generation, 2022) Apple Watch SE (2nd generation, 2022) ‌iPadOS 27‌ ‌iPad Air‌ (3rd generation, 2019) ‌iPad Pro‌ 12.9-inch (3rd generation, 2018) ‌iPad Pro‌ 11-inch (1st generation, 2018) ‌iPad‌ (8th generation, 2020) ‌iPad mini‌ (5th generation, 2019) macOS 27 Golden Gate ‌MacBook Pro‌ (16-inch, 2019) ‌MacBook Pro‌ (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) ‌iMac‌ (2020) Mac Pro (2019) tvOS 27 ‌Apple TV‌ HD (2015) ‌Apple TV‌ 4K (1st generation, 2017) Owners of affected devices aren't entirely without options in the near term; Apple typically continues issuing security patches for the previous OS version for at least a year after it's superseded. For the latest features, though, newer hardware is the only path forward. Apple's new operating systems are expected to be released in September following a period of beta testing. Related Roundups: iOS 26 , iPadOS 26 , iOS 27 , iPadOS 27 , macOS Tahoe , macOS Golden Gate , watchOS 26 , watchOS 27 Related Forums: iOS 26 , macOS Tahoe , Apple Watch This article, " Have One of These 16 Apple Devices? Software Support Ends This Fall " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
WWDC 2026 has come to a close, and it brought a number of announcements with the headliner being the new Siri AI functionality available both in a standalone app and integrated throughout most of Apple's next-generation operating systems. iOS 27 brings a host of other improvements with an emphasis on performance, while macOS 27, known as macOS Golden Gate, delivers some Liquid Glass design refinements and more, so read on below for all of the details! Top Stories Everything Apple Announced at WWDC 2026 in 10 Minutes Apple held its WWDC 2026 keynote on Monday, introducing iOS 27, macOS 27, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27. It took Apple around an hour and 15 minutes to walk through the major new features in the updates, but we have a quicker 10-minute recap for those who want the highlights . Our recap also includes links to all of our keynote-day article coverage, so it's a great place to catch up on all of the big announcements. And if you want a full summary of the keynote as it happened but don't want to watch the video, check out our live blog transcript . Hands-On With iOS 27's Siri AI The overarching theme of the WWDC 2026 keynote was the new Siri AI , which is integrated throughout most of Apple's operating systems and comes with a dedicated app. Access to Siri AI in the developer betas involves a waitlist , so it may take a bit before you can start trying it out, but we've already gone hands on for an early overview of how it works , so be sure to check out our video. Apple Announces macOS 27 Golden Gate With New Siri and 'Tons' of Refinements Early in Monday's keynote, Apple made one of the most anticipated announcements of the event, revealing that macOS 27 is named macOS Golden Gate . Much like Mac OS X Snow Leopard in 2009, Apple said it focused on improving macOS's performance and dozens of underlying technologies this year. Apple says macOS Golden Gate offers quicker AirDrop transfers, faster network file browsing, improved syncing in the Messages app, better Spotlight search suggestions, and other changes that make your Mac feel "more responsive than ever." "With improvements at the very core of the system and enhancements to apps and experiences you rely on every day, macOS feels better than ever," said Apple. Apple Says iOS 27 Adds These 12 New Features to Your iPhone iOS 27's key new feature is a more intelligent and personal version of Siri, but the changes go well beyond that. In a press release this week, Apple outlined additional enhancements coming across Apple Maps, Find My, Apple Wallet, Apple Music, and more. In fact, one super-dense slide briefly shown during Monday's keynote listed over 250 changes across iOS 27 and Apple's other updates . iPadOS 27 Drops Support for a Wave of iPads While iOS 27 is supported on all of the same iPhone models that work with iOS 26, the iPad lineup saw a significant cut in supported models this year. Each member of the iPad family saw the oldest model currently supporting iPadOS 26 dropped for iPadOS 27, meaning your iPad will need a minimum of an A14 or M1 chip in order to upgrade. The Apple Watch lineup saw even steeper cuts to the list of supported models , with the Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, Ultra 1, and SE 2 all not making the cut for watchOS 27. watchOS 27 also drops the Walkie-Talkie app that has been available on Apple Watch since watchOS 5 debuted in 2018. iPhone 17's 8GB Limit Costs It These Two Siri AI Features in iOS 27 In its Siri AI announcement during WWDC 2026, Apple introduced a more powerful on-device AI model which in addition to standard Siri AI functionality also powers two exclusive features : more expressive Siri voices and a major accuracy gain for systemwide dictation. Both require 12GB of unified memory. Among current iPhone models, that limits the more powerful AI model to the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, alongside iPad models with the M4 chip or later, Macs with M3 or later, and Apple Vision Pro with M5. That's right, the standard iPhone 17 misses out. Having only 8GB to its name – the minimum Apple Intelligence has required since launch – the base flagship model falls short of the new threshold. MacRumors Newsletter Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we've covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view. So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter ! Tag: Top Stories This article, " Top Stories: WWDC 2026 Recap With Siri AI, iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, and More " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Apple's employees who participated in the company's annual Close Your Rings Challenge have begun to receive a limited-edition Apple Watch band and a special enamel pin marking the 10th anniversary of the internal challenge. This year's band is a black Sport Loop with special lugs and an end piece that are colored similarly to the Apple Watch's Move, Exercise, and Stand rings. Given that these bands are limited to Apple's employees, rather than being sold directly to customers, they are relatively rare. You can keep track of hundreds of Apple Watch bands released since 2015 through the Bandbreite app on the iPhone. Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11 Tag: Apple Watch Bands Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution) This article, " Apple's Limited-Edition 2026 'Close Your Rings' Watch Band Revealed " first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
Apple has finally brought Visual Intelligence to the Mac with macOS Golden Gate , and it is a boon when it works. Here's how to get started. You can select a region on your Mac's screen and if it shows food, you can get nutrition details - image credit: Apple I admit I have sometimes taken a photo of my Mac 's screen and used Visual Intelligence on my iPhone to find out what I'm looking at. But as of macOS Golden Gate, I no longer need to do that because the Mac has Visual Intelligence built in. Apple's Sebastien Marineau-Mes, vice president of Intelligent System Experience Engineering, announced this during the WWDC 2026 keynote. But frustratingly, all he then said was that you could use it with "a dedicated keyboard shortcut." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
