Apple has excluded a total of 16 devices, including Macs, iPads, Apple Watches and Apple TVs, from this year’s next-generation operating system (OS) update targets. By contrast, the iPhone keeps its existing support range unchanged, prompting analysis that Apple’s generational upgrade strategy is being pursued mainly around other product lines.

According to IT outlet NineToFiveMac on June 17, Apple has ended support for many older devices in the OS 27 family it unveiled this year. iOS 27 keeps the same iPhone support range as last year’s iOS 26, but macOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS have removed several products from the support list.

The most notable point is that the iPhone alone kept its support range. NineToFiveMac assessed that “almost every platform dropped multiple devices from support, but the iPhone was an exception.”

In macOS Golden Gate, a total of 4 Macs were removed from the support lineup. They are the 13-inch MacBook Pro 2020 model (four Thunderbolt 3 ports), 16-inch MacBook Pro 2019 model, iMac 2020 model and Mac Pro 2019 model. For these products, macOS Tahoe will be the last supported version.

In iPadOS 27, a total of 5 models were removed from the support lineup. The iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation, iPad 8th generation, iPad mini 5 and iPad Air 3 will no longer be able to install the latest operating system. The last supported version for these devices is iPadOS 26.

For the Apple Watch, the scale of dropped support was larger. In watchOS 27, the Apple Watch Ultra 1st generation, Apple Watch Series 8, 7 and 6, and Apple Watch SE 2nd generation were removed from the support list. tvOS 27 also ended support for the Apple TV 4K 1st generation and Apple TV HD.

By contrast, iOS 27 and HomePod 27 will continue to support all devices that were compatible with last year’s OS 26. In effect, the only platforms that did not see their update targets reduced this year are the iPhone and HomePod.

Apple has ended support for some older devices each year as it unveils new operating systems. This year, however, a key feature is that the number of products losing support rose sharply across Macs, iPads, Apple Watches and Apple TVs instead of the iPhone.

The industry views this as a natural generational shift tied to Apple’s transition to Apple silicon and the expansion of AI functions. As the latest operating systems demand higher performance and feature levels, relatively older devices are being excluded from support.

As a result of the move, users of the affected devices will have to stay on existing operating systems or consider replacing their hardware. Security updates may be provided for a certain period, but they will no longer receive new features and major OS upgrades.

NineToFiveMac assessed the OS 27 update as a case that more strongly highlights generational change in hardware product lines other than the iPhone. It forecast that the wider scale of dropped support, particularly for Macs, iPads and Apple Watches, will also affect Apple’s future hardware replacement cycle.