iPhone 17 Pro Max to be buried in US time capsule that won’t be opened for 250 years
Time capsules have always offered a snapshot of a moment in history, letters, photographs and mementoes from eras that looked very different from our own.
But the latest one to be sealed in the US is having a unique tech addition alongside the keepsakes.
To mark America's 250th anniversary, a giant stainless steel capsule weighing roughly 900 pounds has been buried in Philadelphia as part of the country's 4 July celebrations.
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It will not be opened until 2276, when the country marks its 500th anniversary.
Organised by America250, the capsule contains contributions from all 50 states, five US territories, and several cultural and sporting organisations, making it one of the most ambitious preservation projects of its kind. Rather than focusing on historical memorabilia, the aim is to capture an honest picture of current American life with something we all use every day.
A Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max was added to the capsule, loaded with digital artefacts stored in the Notes app to give whoever opens it in 2276 a glimpse into everyday life today.
However, whether the iPhone will hold up another few hundred years is a question in itself.
Modern lithium-ion batteries typically degrade over years, not centuries, making it highly unlikely the phone will turn on when the capsule is opened.
Just as typewriters and rotary telephones represent the everyday technology of earlier generations, the iPhone 17 Pro Max serves as a flagship of the Western smartphone market.
The Cosmic Orange iPhone 17 Pro Max is going into a time capsule for the next 250 years
— icon (5-core GPU) (@iconredesign) July 4, 2026
If only the foldable iPhone came out a year early it could have out-survived every single iPhone that will ever be made in the space-year 2276 https://t.co/DyXmWr5P0L pic.twitter.com/WRbOILqRKe
The Apple smartphone itself is barely 20 years old, which makes it all the more difficult to imagine what technology will look like in another 250 years. But in a future where AI or aliens could take over our planet, it might not even be humans opening the capsule at all.
In a similar vein, California's contribution to the capsule was an AI-generated response from Anthropic's Claude, imagining what the state could look like 250 years into the future.
Other items include a feather from Old Abe, the Civil War bald eagle mascot contributed by Wisconsin, a fragment of fabric from the Wright brothers' 1903 aircraft submitted by Ohio, a bone from the endangered North Atlantic right whale donated by Maine, an Arkansas diamond, a traditional New Mexico cookie recipe, and a commemorative pin celebrating the Oklahoma City Thunder's 2025 NBA championship.