Will iPhone survive till 2276? US buries iPhone 17 Pro Max in time capsule

The US just celebrated its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026. As part of the celebrations, a special capsule was buried meant to preserve some key things from today for the next 250 years. And one of these things was the iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange.

In Short

• iPhone 17 Pro Max buried in America 250 capsule
• The capsule is expected to be opened in 2276
• The iPhone 17 Pro Max may not work by then

As the US marked its 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026, a 900 pound (roughly 408 kg) stainless steel time capsule was buried in Philadelphia with items meant to represent life in 2026. The capsule is due to be opened after 250 years, in the year 2276. And when the people in 2276 open this America 250 capsule, one of the items that they will see will be an iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange.

The capsule includes items that represent what life is in 2026, from all 50 states of the US as well as its five territories, to give those in the future a clue about how we lived. In this regard, the iPhone 17 Pro Max may be one of the most important items as smartphones have become a central part of our lives.

An iPhone in 2276?

Organisers state that the iPhone 17 Pro Max in the capsule includes digital artifacts stored in the Notes app. These artifacts are meant to give a snapshot of everyday life if the device can still be accessed after 250 years. Though it is unlikely that people in 2276 will be able to actually turn on the iPhone. You see, the iPhone 17 Pro Max uses lithium-ion batteries that degrade over years, making it highly doubtful that the device will actually work when the US completes 500 years.

In case future residents of the US do manage to make the iPhone 17 Pro Max operational, they could look through photos, notes and other digital material on the device and compare it with whatever technology exists in 2276.

While it is not possible to predict how the people of the future would react to seeing a smartphone, it is likely that the world would have made big leaps in tech by then. To give you some context, 250 years earlier, when the US was formed, the world had just started using steam engines. And the telegraph was still decades away.

Claude predicts US in 2276

Though one of the items in the capsule does try to predict the future. The state of California submitted an AI-generated response from Anthropic’s Claude, printed on archival paper, after asking, “Write me a prediction of what California will be like 250 years from July 4, 2026.” The response imagined highways disappearing, grizzly bears returning and California joining Oregon, Washington and British Columbia in a “Pacific Federation.” Only time will tell whether this actually happens in the future.

There are other items in the capsule too. Arizona used nano-etching technology to place the full text of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution on a stainless steel coin, while New Hampshire sent a brochure tracing key events in its Revolutionary War history.

The capsule itself is made of stainless steel and shaped like a cylinder. This is expected to make it more durable and less prone to cracks when compared to a standard box-like design. It is covered with a secondary cylinder that will trap air and push out any approaching water. To make sure the 2026 capsule is found, officials have put details into National Park Service succession plans and will mark the burial site with a capstone.

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