Apple’s upcoming macOS 13 Ventura operating system brings cool new features to Mac computers, but if you’re got a Mac that’s older than 2017, you’re out of luck.

Apple announced a slew of updates for its various operating systems earlier this week as CEO Tim Cook et al kicked off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. As usual, Macs, iPhones, iPads, Watches and Apple TV boxes will get new, useful and glitzy features.

That includes new widgets and customization options on iPhone lock screens; a slick way of multi-tasking on Macs and iPads with a feature called Stage Manager; apps for managing your medications and tracking atrial fibrillation history on Apple Watch; and better ways of sharing photos on iPhones, iPads and Macs. These are highlights, barely scratching the surface of what’s coming this fall.

But this progress isn’t all unicorns and popsicles. As is often the case with new software, some older hardware gets left behind and can’t be updated. And if you hold onto your computers and smartphones for a long time, as Apple users tend to do, you may find this year that your devices are obsolete sooner than you expected.

Although all of Apple’s product lines are affected, the iPhone is hit particularly hard, as the company is dropping new operating system support for two generations of the flagship product. Least affected is the iPad.

Why is this happening? Apple honchos will tell you that the advanced features in the newer software wouldn’t be a great experience on the older, less-capable devices that are losing support for it, and that’s true. This is also a factor for other makers of operating systems, including Microsoft, which last year locked out users of computers that don’t have a T2 security chip from using its Windows 11 OS.

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But there are other reasons as well. Making sure that new software works on older hardware requires programming and management resources that could be put to use developing new features and fixing bugs. At some point, supporting older hardware just isn’t worth it.

And then, of course, Apple makes a lot of money selling new hardware, and would be delighted to sell owners of ancient models some up-to-date products.

That said, its products have a reputation for longevity; people tend to hang onto them longer than competitors’ products, in part because Apple does provide software updates for many years. For example, the current version of its software for iPhones, iOS 15, supports the iPhone 6S, a device launched in 2015. By comparison, no Android phones launched seven years ago are still getting operating system updates.

Here’s a look at which iPhones, Macs, Watches and iPads are being kicked to the curb with the new software, which will be available in the fall, typically around the time the anticipated iPhone 14 models go on sale:

iPhones - For the past three versions of iOS, Apple upgraded iPhones from the 6S and newer. But now, the iPhone 8, introduced in 2017, is the oldest model that works with iOS 16 - along with the iPhone X, released the same year as the first model to lose the Home button. The iPhones 6S, 7, 7 Plus and the original, small-screen iPhone SE are not invited to the iOS 16 upgrade party.

Macs - The next version of the operating system for Macs is dubbed Ventura, a.k.a macOS 13, and it no longer supports any Mac made before 2017. That includes the MacBook Pros that were redesigned in 2016; there’s still a MacBook Pro with that look in Apple’s current lineup.

Also not supported: iMacs older than 2017 and the 2013 Mac Pro, the controversial, round model sometimes called the “trash can Mac” because it looks like a desk-side wastebasket.

One thing to note about Apple’s desktop computers: The company is in the process of converting its lineup to systems that use its own processors, which it calls Apple Silicon. After Monday’s WWDC presentation, nearly all its Macs use chips designated as M1 or the newer M2, the latter found in a redesigned MacBook Air and the lowest-priced model of the MacBook Pro.

The only model still sold with an Intel processor, the chips that have powered Macs since 2005, is the 2019 Mac Pro. That one is expected to be replaced with an M2-based model later this year. And I wouldn’t be surprised if more Intel-based Macs lose support next year.

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Watches - If you’re an Apple Watch owner who just purchased the least-expensive model, the $199 Series 3, you’ll be dismayed to learn that it won’t get an OS upgrade, either. Amazingly, it’s still available for purchase on Apple’s website. Yep, Apple will sell you a product today that has no future.

One Apple Watches from the Series 4 and newer, including the Watch SE, will get the new watchOS 9.

iPads - The iPad lineup loses only two models for iPadOS 16 support: the iPad Air 2, released in 2014, and the iPad mini 4, which came out in 2015. Otherwise, everything that was supported in the current version gets support in 16.

None of this means, of course, that you must toss out your older gear just because it’s not getting the latest operating system — at least, not right away. Apple will continue to provide security updates for critical vulnerabilities. Macs, for example, get security patches for several years after OS upgrades end.

But at some point even those will cease to flow. Then, replacing your hardware should become a priority.

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Dwight Silverman worked for the Houston Chronicle in a variety of roles for more than 30 years, serving as a technology reporter and columnist; manager of HoustonChronicle.com; social media manager; online news editor; and assistant State Desk Editor. 

He has returned as a freelancer to continue his long-running technology column. You can email him at dsilverman@outlook.com and follow him on Twitter twitter.com/dsilverman.

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