Apple software support is about to change for a wide group of older devices. According to MacRumors, Apple’s fall 2026 software cycle removes 16 models from the newest OS compatibility lists across watchOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Golden Gate, and tvOS 27.
The important detail is that iOS 27 does not drop any iPhone models compared with iOS 26. HomePod support is also unchanged. The cuts are concentrated in Apple Watch, iPad, Intel Mac, and Apple TV hardware.
Apple software support list
The Apple Watch loses the most models at once. watchOS 27 drops Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra first generation, and Apple Watch SE second generation. The new watchOS floor reportedly moves to the S9 or S10 chip, which makes this the biggest Apple Watch support reset so far.
iPadOS 27 raises its hardware requirement to the A14 Bionic or M1 chip. That removes iPad Air 3rd generation from 2019, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation from 2018, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation from 2018, iPad 8th generation from 2020, and iPad mini 5th generation from 2019.
macOS 27 Golden Gate is the end of the line for the last Intel Macs that still ran macOS Tahoe. The dropped list includes MacBook Pro 16-inch 2019, MacBook Pro 13-inch 2020 with four Thunderbolt 3 ports, iMac 2020, and Mac Pro 2019.
tvOS 27 also removes two boxes: Apple TV HD from 2015 and Apple TV 4K first generation from 2017. Only the second and third generation Apple TV 4K models remain on the newest tvOS path.
Owners of affected devices should still see security patches for older OS versions for some time, but the newest feature releases will require newer hardware. Apple is expected to release the updates in September after beta testing.
You can follow more developments in Technowatt’s Computing coverage.