With the release of the new iPad mini and iPad Air having the A12 with 3GB RAM what does that do to the odds that iOS 13 will drop support for 2GB RAM devices?
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iOS 13 drops 2GB devices?
- Thread starter MyopicPaideia
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Highly unlikely. Apple still sells the low end iPad, iPhone 7, and iPhone 8, all of which have 2 GB of RAM. No way Apple drops software support on devices it currently sells.
Doubt it. The iPhone 6 got 1 GB of ram right? And they are still selling the iPhone 7 so if anything they will drop support for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus (which was too slow for the screen in the first place)
i think 1GB RAM devices will drop in iOS 13
Considering the amount of 2GB devices still on sale, and especially how new the iPhone 8 still is, I'd say nil chance 3GB will be a requirement for iOS 13. It is very possible all remaining 1GB devices will be dropped, though:
iPhone 7, 8 (still being sold by Apple); iPhone 6s and 6s plus (still being manufactured by Apple and being sold new through third party channels); iPad 6th gen (still being sold by Apple).
iPhone 7, 8 (still being sold by Apple); iPhone 6s and 6s plus (still being manufactured by Apple and being sold new through third party channels); iPad 6th gen (still being sold by Apple).
All current devices that run iOS 12 will be supported. May be features missing for the oldest devices but I don’t see them dropping anything else.
Dropping 1GB seems very likely. I'd say dropping the A8 but the mini was sold with that processor up until last week (although with 2GB RAM) so that seems less likely. I wonder how long until Apple drops everything without the Neural Engine? That's the most unique piece of hardware on the SoC now that everything has been 64bit for a number of years.
In my opinion - no chance. It's definitely a possibility that iOS 13 will drop support for all devices with 1 GB of RAM, but even that seems suspect since the iPod Touch 6 (A8 with 1 GB of RAM) is still on sale and the iPhone 6 & 6 Plus would receive fewer years of software updates than the 5s.
Why would release of brand new devices with more RAM suddenly trigger the drop of many other fairly recent devices that are still on sale with just slightly less RAM (especially when even much older devices with even less RAM are still currently supported)?
I doubt that RAM amount is a direct reason for Apple to drop support, unless the system would actually require larger amounts of RAM for normal usage.
Apple usually discontinues products, because: (1) they are no longer covered by warranty (i.e. discontinued for a couple of years), (2) they rely on obsolete or outdated technology that Apple does not want to support any longer (e.g. 32-bit CPUs), (3) the software just does not run well (though this seems to be rare).
My guess is that Apple will drop A7 devices (iPhone 5S, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2 and 3), because those have been discontinued for years now. The A8 devices are a mixed bag, because the iPad Mini 4 has been sold till last week and the iPad Touch is still sold. The A-chips have a different level of Metal support, which might be a reason why Apple singles out devices by CPU/GPU.
Apple usually discontinues products, because: (1) they are no longer covered by warranty (i.e. discontinued for a couple of years), (2) they rely on obsolete or outdated technology that Apple does not want to support any longer (e.g. 32-bit CPUs), (3) the software just does not run well (though this seems to be rare).
My guess is that Apple will drop A7 devices (iPhone 5S, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2 and 3), because those have been discontinued for years now. The A8 devices are a mixed bag, because the iPad Mini 4 has been sold till last week and the iPad Touch is still sold. The A-chips have a different level of Metal support, which might be a reason why Apple singles out devices by CPU/GPU.
Personally I would love iOS drops iPhone 6s support so I will never be bothered to update to iOS 13, as I can feel running iOS 13 would be a disaster for A9 chip.
But, dropping A9 support is less likely because not only it has 2GB RAM, but also still a very capable processor.
But, dropping A9 support is less likely because not only it has 2GB RAM, but also still a very capable processor.
Says who? iOS 12 runs great on my iPhone 8, iPad Mini 4 and iPad Air 2, all of which have 2 GB of RAM.
I’m thinking the 6 and 6 plus will get dropped (understandably too). I really hope the rumours about the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and SE getting dropped aren’t true. There’s still a good year or two of life in those.
I highly agree! iOS 13 might be another big version of iOS that continues performance improvements and make older devices feel newer like they have been doing with iOS 12. iOS 12 runs better than iOS 11 did on my iPad 10.5 Pro, iPhone X and especially my iPhone SE.
If they don’t run too well on 2GB, same could be said for 3 and 4 GB, just a bit better, no? In that case, should Apple only allow latest iPhone to run iOS 13, dropping all other devices?