Khaberni - Apple will end software support for about 16 devices this fall across 4 production lines, where the Apple Watch will witness the largest overall exclusion in the product's history.
The full picture of this year's software updates became clear with the announcement of macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27, and watchOS 27 at the WWDC conference.
The only positive aspect is that iOS 27 supports the same devices supported by iOS 26, without removing any iPhone model from the compatibility list, the same applies to HomePod, according to MacRumors.
The Apple Watch saw the most reductions. watchOS 27 cancelled support for Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra (first generation), and Apple Watch SE (second generation) all at once, requiring an S9 or S10 chip.
watchOS 26 supported the same device lineup as previously supported by watchOS 11, including Series 6 and newer versions, and SE (second generation) and newer versions, and all models of Apple Watch Ultra.
Cancelling support for three generations at once is the biggest loss of support for the latest generations of Apple Watch so far.
The iPad device lineup also saw an unusually large number of reductions.
iPadOS 27 raises the support level to either the A14 Bionic chip or the M1 chip, excluding 5 models still running on iPadOS 26: iPad Air (third generation), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (third generation), 11-inch iPad Pro (first generation), iPad (eighth generation), and iPad mini (fifth generation).
In comparison, iPadOS 26 excluded only one device from the iPadOS 18 list (seventh generation iPad).
As for macOS Golden Gate, it ends the era of Macs running on Intel processors.
The four remaining Intel devices supported by macOS Tahoe will not be included in this year’s list: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, with four Thunderbolt 3 ports), iMac (2020), and Mac Pro (2019).
Apple announced last year that macOS Tahoe would be the last version for Macs that do not use Apple processors, and macOS 27 formally confirms this.
As for Apple TV devices, support for two models has been discontinued with tvOS 27: Apple TV HD (2015) and Apple TV 4K (first generation, 2017).
Only the second and third generation Apple TV 4K models will receive the update.
Below is the complete list of devices that will lose support for the latest software this fall:
watchOS 27
Apple Watch Series 6 (2020)
Apple Watch Series 7 (2021)
Apple Watch Series 8 (2022)
Apple Watch Ultra (first generation, 2022)
Apple Watch SE (second generation, 2022)
iPadOS 27
iPad Air (third generation, 2019)
iPad Pro 12.9 inches (third generation, 2018)
iPad Pro 11 inch (first generation, 2018)
iPad (eighth generation, 2020)
iPad mini (fifth generation, 2019)
macOS 27 Golden Gate
MacBook Pro (16 inches, 2019)
MacBook Pro (13 inches, 2020, four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
iMac (2020)
Mac Pro (2019)
tvOS 27
Apple TV HD (2015)
Apple TV 4K (first generation, 2017)
Device owners affected still have some short-term options; Apple usually continues to release security updates for the previous operating system for at least a year after its replacement.
As for accessing the latest features, the only solution is to purchase newer devices. Apple's new operating systems are expected to launch in September after a period of beta testing.
