iPhone 17 Pro Max sealed in America’s 250th anniversary time capsule, reopening in 2276

A time capsule for the 250th anniversary of American independence includes a bright orange iPhone 17 Pro Max.

An iPhone 17 Pro Max will represent American innovation in the nation's official time capsule, joining a collection that reflects how the United States chose to remember itself in 2026.America 250America250 has sealed the nation's official time capsule with an iPhone 17 Pro Max inside. The capsule preserves a snapshot of the United States that won't be reopened until 2276.The collection will be buried on July 4 at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia as part of the country's 250th anniversary celebration. Organizers chose the iPhone to represent American innovation during the semiquincentennial.America250 says the iPhone 17 Pro Max represents advances in handheld computing, photography, and connectivity. Few consumer products have changed how people communicate, work, and create as profoundly as Apple's smartphone. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

An iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange has been sealed inside a 250 year time capsule as part of America's Semiquincentennial celebrations, with the device not due to be seen again until the 23rd century. America250, the congressionally appointed nonprofit leading the 250th anniversary celebrations, announced that "America's Time Capsule" was officially sealed and buried at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia on July 4, 2026, to be reopened in 2276. The iPhone was included through America250's "America Innovates" initiative as a representative of the cutting edge of American innovation and technology in 2026, with the device showcasing advances in handheld computing, imaging, and connectivity that have transformed how people work, communicate, and create in the 21st century. The device contains "digital artifacts" in the Notes app, intended to give whoever opens the capsule in 2276 a small window into everyday life in 2026. The capsule itself was built to give the iPhone and everything else inside it the best possible chance of surviving intact. Developed with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and preservation experts at the Library of Congress, it uses a 900 pound, precision milled stainless steel cylinder sealed with indium, a soft metal that deforms under compression to fill microscopic imperfections in the sealing groove. It was covered with a 1,100 pound stainless steel bell jar that creates a protective air pocket to keep the vessel dry underground. Beyond the iPhone, the capsule holds contributions from all 56 states and territories and all three branches of the federal government, including a feather from Civil War era bald eagle mascot "Old Abe" (Wisconsin), fabric from the Wright brothers' 1903 aircraft (Ohio), and an AI generated response from Anthropic's Claude submitted by California imagining the state 250 years from now. Related Roundup: iPhone 17 ProBuyer's Guide: iPhone 17 Pro (Caution)Related Forum: iPhoneThis article, "iPhone 17 Pro Max Sealed in Time Capsule Until 2276" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums

America's 250th anniversary time capsule includes an iPhone 17 Pro Max, an AI-generated prediction, and dozens of historic artifacts to represent life in 2026.

In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, a gigantic time capsule has been buried with numerous items from every state to commemorate our current era – one of them being an iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange. The time capsule is set to be unsealed in 2276 for America’s 500th anniversary.