Several major technology companies have announced plans to discontinue support for older devices and systems, citing maintenance burdens and evolving security requirements.

Linux kernel maintainers have decided to remove support for Intel 486 processors from future kernel versions. The decision reflects the development team's assessment that maintaining compatibility with the decades-old processor architecture no longer justifies the time and resources required.

Separately, Amazon announced it will end support for older Kindle devices starting May 20, 2026. Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets released in 2012 and earlier will lose the ability to purchase, borrow, or download new content from the Kindle Store after that date. Users will retain access to books already downloaded to their devices, according to Amazon spokesperson Jackie Burke.

In related technology news, repairability experts have given Apple's iPhone a D-minus grade for ease of repair, though this represents an improvement over previous assessments. Samsung devices received the second-lowest rating with a D grade in the same evaluation.

These moves reflect broader industry trends toward discontinuing support for legacy systems as companies balance maintenance costs against user bases that have largely migrated to newer platforms. The decisions typically affect devices that are more than a decade old and represent small portions of active user bases.