Another Batch of Older Apple Devices Are About to Be Phased Out: iPhone 11, iPad 8, and Others Will Not Be Able to Upgrade to iOS/iPadOS 27

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2026 (WWDC 2026) is set to open with a keynote at 10:00 AM Pacific Time on Monday, June 8 — which translates to 1:00 AM China Standard Time on June 9 for viewers in Beijing. At the event, Apple is expected to officially unveil its next generation of operating systems: iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, tvOS 27, and visionOS 27.

But as excitement builds around the new features — particularly a long-awaited overhaul of Siri powered by a custom Gemini AI model — a more sobering reality is emerging for owners of older Apple hardware. A growing body of leaks and informed speculation points to a significant round of device deprecations, with several beloved models facing the end of their software support lifecycle.

According to 9to5Mac, a prominent Weibo leaker known as “Instant Digital” published what they claim is the full iOS 27 supported device list. Four models that currently run iOS 26 are conspicuously absent from that list.

Regarding iPhones, the leak is relatively specific. The iPhone 11 family — including the standard, Pro, and Pro Max variants — along with the iPhone SE (2nd generation) are expected to be left behind. iOS 27 is reported to require an iPhone 12 or later. The iPhone 11 series and SE 2 both ship with the A13 Bionic chip, which increasingly struggles to meet the hardware demands of Apple’s expanding Apple Intelligence feature set.

The iPad picture is less clear-cut. 9to5Mac notes there is currently no confirmed list of supported iPad models, but extrapolating from the iPhone exclusions, the publication speculates that the iPad 8th generation, iPad Air 3rd generation, and iPad mini 5th generation — all of which share the same A12 or A13 Bionic chip family — will likely lose iPadOS 27 support. Supporting this analysis, a separate compatibility tracker suggests iPadOS 27 will cover iPad Pro models from 2020 onward, iPad Air 4 and newer, iPad mini 6 and 7, and iPad 10 and 11.

On the Mac side, the picture follows a familiar pattern: Apple’s transition away from Intel processors, which began in late 2020, is reaching its final chapter in terms of software support. The last Intel Macs that currently run macOS 26 — the 2019 Mac Pro, 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro (with four Thunderbolt 3 ports), and 2020 iMac — are expected to be excluded from macOS 27. All Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and later) are anticipated to remain supported.

Apple has historically been lauded for its exceptionally long software support cycles compared to Android device makers. However, the growing computational demands of Apple Intelligence — the company’s AI platform requiring on-device processing — are accelerating the obsolescence timeline for older hardware. Devices without sufficient Neural Engine capability and RAM headroom are increasingly unable to participate in the AI-driven features Apple is prioritizing.

Owners of affected devices still have time to prepare. Those using iPhones in the iPhone 11 lineup or iPhone SE 2 can continue using their devices on iOS 26, but will miss out on new features and, eventually, security updates as Apple shifts its focus forward. For those considering an upgrade, any iPhone 12 or later — and potentially the iPhone SE 3rd generation — appear set to remain in the iOS 27 ecosystem.

The WWDC keynote can be watched live for free on Apple’s official website, the Apple TV app, the Apple Developer app, and Apple’s YouTube channel. The Platforms State of the Union — a deeper dive for developers — follows the keynote at 1:00 PM Pacific Time on the same day and will also be streamed on the bilibili platform for Chinese audiences.