We’re just about two months away from WWDC, which will bring a preview of Apple’s 2023 software updates. But along with the new features, we’ll also be interested in what device the new OSes can run and which older products get shut out.
According to a new report, just six devices that are able to update to iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 will lose support for iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they’re important ones:
- iPhone 8/iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- iPad (5th-gen)
- iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
- iPad Pro (12.9-inch, 1st-gen)
However, a counter-report from a known leaker on the Macrumors forums claims the iPhone 8 and X will be supported. That would mean all of the same iPhones that support iOS 16 will support iOS 17. That’s possible since we’ve heard that iOS 17 won’t have any major new features that would require a newer processor.
The iPad changes seem more solid. The 5th-gen iPad, which launched in 2017, has an A9 processor, while the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which launched in 2016 and 2015, respectively, both have slightly faster A9X processors. Apple stopped supporting the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus with A9 processors when iOS 16 launched in September. The iPhone 8 and iPhone X both have newer A11 Bionic processors.
If true, it would represent the first iPad Pro models that can’t update to the latest version of iPadOS since the line launched in 2016. Apple redesigned the iPad Pro in 2018, and it’s likely that those models will continue to be supported for at least two more versions of iPadOS and possibly longer.
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference will kick off on June 5 with a keynote presentation where we’ll learn all about the new version of iOS and iPadOS. The full versions will then enter several months of testing before arriving on devices later this fall.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor
Michael Simon has been covering Apple since the iPod was the iWalk. His obsession with technology goes back to his first PC—the IBM Thinkpad with the lift-up keyboard for swapping out the drive. He's still waiting for that to come back in style tbh.