iOS 16 leak says only these devices will be supported

The rumor: Apple is planning to drop support for their oldest devices with iOS 16, according to iPhone Soft.

Here’s what devices are said to be supported…

  • iPhone 13 Mini
  • iPhone 13
  • iPhone 13 Pro
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12 Mini
  • iPhone 12
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone SE 2020
  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone 8
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 7 Plus
  • iPad Pro 11/12.9-inch 2021
  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2016+)
  • iPad Pro 10.5-inch (2016+)
  • iPad Pro 11-inch (2018+)
  • iPad Air 3
  • iPad Air 4
  • iPad 6
  • iPad 7
  • iPad 8
  • iPad Mini 5
  • iPad Mini 6

But many older devices didn’t make the cut…

  • iPhone 6s
  • iPhone 6s Plus
  • iPhone SE 2016
  • iPad Mini 4
  • iPad Air 2
  • iPad 5
  • iPad Pro 9.7/12.9-inch 2015

Our take: Listen, the only reason I’m covering this is because I just don’t believe that Apple will extend support for another year. That being said, iPhone Soft predicted that these same devices wouldn’t be supported on iOS 15 last year, which ultimately turned out to be incorrect. So take this with a grain of salt. But also consider that those devices are from 2015: I think six years of updates for those devices is more than fair, especially considering that Apple will still release security updates for them moving forward.

iOS 15 likely won’t support iPhone 6s, SE (2016) & 3 older iPads

The rumor: iOS 15 won’t support a number of Apple’s older devices, according to iPhone Soft (not yet rated).

  • On the chopping block for iPhone: iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone SE (2016)
  • And for the iPads not getting iOS 15: iPad mini 4, iPad Air 2 and iPad 5

Our take: While it was impressive that iOS 14 supported the same devices as iOS 13, there is only so much that Apple can do with old hardware. Most of these devices saw 5+ years of support, which is respectable.