Organizers of the official 250th anniversary celebrations in the United States have officially sealed an "American time capsule" at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, including an iPhone 17 Pro Max Cosmic Orange version. The capsule is scheduled to be reopened 250 years later in 2276. This initiative was initiated by America250, a non-profit organization designated by the U.S. Congress. It aims to use this smartphone that represents the cutting-edge technology level in 2026 to show the future development of contemporary America in the field of innovation and technology.
According to information released by America250, this iPhone was selected as a time capsule as part of the "America Innovates" program to symbolize the major changes in mobile computing, imaging technology and network connectivity in the 21st century, showing how these technologies are reshaping the way people work, communicate and create. The phone is pre-written with a number of "digital artifacts" stored in the "Memos" application, intended to provide people who open the capsule in 2276 with a window into daily life in 2026.
In order to maximize the safety and integrity of this iPhone and other items in long-term storage underground, the time capsule body adopts a structure designed by preservation experts from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Library of Congress. The capsule core is a precision-milled stainless steel cylinder weighing approximately 900 pounds that is sealed using indium metal—a soft metal that deforms when pressed to fill tiny imperfections in the sealing grooves, improving long-term sealing. The outside of the cylinder is covered with an approximately 1,100-pound stainless steel bell, creating an additional air barrier in the underground environment and providing dry and stable storage conditions for the contents.
In addition to iPhones, this time capsule also brings together various objects and information from 56 states and territories across the United States and the three branches of the federal government. These include feathers from Old Abe, Wisconsin’s bald eagle mascot from the Civil War, fabric from Ohio’s Wright brothers’ 1903 airplane, and a California submission, generated by Anthropic’s AI model Claude, imagining the state’s future 250 years from now. Through these physical and digital information spanning time and space, the organizers hope to build a unique and concrete historical link between two generations separated by two and a half centuries.