Apple will announce iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 in June at WWDC 23. A new rumor today claims that the new mobile operating systems will drop support for a handful of older iPhones and iPads.
An anonymous user on Twitter, who has accurately reported details about Apple software updates in the past, claims iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 will drop support for the following devices:
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPad (5th generation)
- 9.7-inch iPad Pro (1st generation)
- 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st generation)
iOS 16 last year also stopped supporting a number of devices, including the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, the 1st generation iPhone SE, and the 7th generation iPod touch.
As mentioned by MacRumors, Apple may be dropping support for the above devices in iOS 17 due to an unpatchable bootrom vulnerability that affects the A5 through A11 chips.
Apple will continue to roll out security fixes for iOS 16, even following the iOS 17 release. This means owners of the above older devices will still receive security fixes.
Keep in mind that Apple has been known to limit some of the features in a new iOS release to newer devices. iOS 16’s Live Text feature is only supported on the iPhone XS, iPhone XR, and later. So, your still-supported older iPhone or iPad may not be compatible with some of iOS 17’s headline features.
