Long before the MacBook ever existed, Apple offered consumers its iconic iBook line. Born after Steve Jobs' return to the company in 1996, it was a cheaper and less powerful follow-up to Apple's professional laptop solution, the PowerBook. Clearly, that segmentation didn't hurt its support, because even 27 years after its launch, the iBook lineup is still capable of receiving updates from Apple's servers.
MacOS which officially supports 27 year old iBooks can still connect to a modern Wi-Fi network, and download updates from apple servers without any modifications, Apple is the opposite of planned obsolescence. From r/MacOS
The poster was able to download a few patches in the ripe year of 2026; granted, these aren't truly full updates, as even security support for the iBook G4 ended in 2011. Still, the fact that these files are sitting ready, just waiting for anyone who needs them, is impressive. Having a functional macOS still up and running on this machine is equivalent to Windows 98 being hosted on Microsoft's servers today (spoiler alert: it isn't).
While the post's author was quick to praise Apple, the comments do point out the nuance that these are just decade-old updates piled up over the years. OP likely opened his iBook just now or connected it to the internet for the first time in a while and received these updates. That's another aspect to point out here: this 21-year-old device is capable of connecting to a modern Wi-Fi network without any mods, a significant part of the iBook G4's legacy.
The iBook was a very important device for Apple as it repositioned the public's image toward both the company and toward laptops in general. It was the first mainstream consumer laptop with Wi-Fi (Apple called it AirPort), and coupled with the hula-hooping demo on stage, it was like you could see the wireless future right there. It's only poetic that almost three decades later, people are impressed seeing how seamlessly it connects to the internet. It may not be able to browse websites as efficiently, but it paved the way for every laptop to come.
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