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iOS 15 Rumored to Drop Support for iPhone 6s and 2016 iPhone SE

Could have asked anyone of us for this rumor 😁 My SE can't even deal with iOS14 battery life, so retired already.
 
allpar said:
The rationale for dropping these is not like the rationale they had in the past, e.g. specific hardware dependencies. I would not support (not that anyone cares) dropping the 6S / 6S Plus / SE. Especially given they were still selling the old SE fairly recently.

I don't see any reason to get rid of a perfectly good, fast-running phone for... what?
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allpar said:
The rationale for dropping these is not like the rationale they had in the past, e.g. specific hardware dependencies. I would not support (not that anyone cares) dropping the 6S / 6S Plus / SE. Especially given they were still selling the old SE fairly recently.

I don't see any reason to get rid of a perfectly good, fast-running phone for... what?
Click to expand...
keep in mind that the 6S has only a dual core processor and only 2 GB of RAM. It runs fast for now, but I could easily see how it could quickly slow down.
iOS has been rumored to get a minor facelift for years now, and the Big Sur redesign came as a complete shock to people last year. It hadn’t been rumored anywhere. So if iOS got a new coat of paint, it might not run as fast as it does currently, and I could see a rationale for dropping some of those old devices.
 
Geepaw said:
Never said it would.... Cutting off support suggests that Apple is making a decision based on economics rather than user experience. But, yes, the phones are completely functional otherwise.
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I’d say, and many people would agree with me, that it is a good user experience to have a device supported for 5+ years. All devices eventually have to stop being supported anyway, so it’s not a bad thing that it lost support.
 
This doesn't surprise me as the SE 1st Gen turns 5 in April and the 6S will be 6 yrs old by the time September comes around. OTOH the 6S & SE may be good enough for iOS 15.
 
What would be the technical justification for dropping these and not the iPhone 7, which has the same amount of RAM? Past releases have dropped older devices based on RAM or major processor features like 64-bit support. Other than a slight speed increase, what's different enough in the iPhone 7 compared to the 6s/SE that makes it more able to run a newer OS? You could maybe argue for dropping only the SE in iOS 15 due to its smaller screen size, but I just don't see the justification for treating the 6s and 7 differently.

I've speculated in the past that the 6s and SE could get iOS 15 before finally being dropped along with the 7 in iOS 16. The demarcation line there would be that the A11 in the 8/X have the neural engine, since even the 8 has the same amount of RAM as the 6s/SE/7.
 
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I am still using my 6s Plus. Still does everything I need, though I wish it had more RAM so apps wouldn't keep reloading when I switch between them. I hope they release an iPhone SE plus with 4GB of RAM and a nice screen, it's all I want.
 
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I’m curious to know if they plan to keep offering software updates for Apple TV HD and HomePod. Both of those devices have an A8 SoC. Of course tvOS is a modified slimmed down version of iOS and we found out last year that HomePod’s OS was changed from regular iOS to being based off of tvOS.

I would think so because they are still selling those products but they also discontinued the 6th gen iPod touch in May 2019 right before announcing iOS 13 a month later which dropped support.
 
Lounge vibes 05 said:
Well good news.
most developers don’t require the latest version of iOS for their applications. They usually support the last two or three years of iOS versions.
and even after they stop updating their app for older versions, it takes at least another year to completely break compatibility, if that ever actually happens.
Plus, Apple usually provides at least three years of security updates. iOS 10 got a security update last year for the iPhone 5.
iOS 12 has gotten several security updates.
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ios a bit odd , some new thing required new library req new os function while android mess on non standard api and fragmentation .Forcing to new os not bad idea at all.
 
Jon80 said:
I’m sure many won’t believe me, but i’m blown away by the speed and stability of my iPad 5 A9 chip on iOS 14. It feels no different to my iPhone XS, with the exception of reloading apps more with the limited ram.
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Many don't believe him....his enemies envy him...he's the man with the fast iPad running on an A9 chip!! tune in to see what happens when he's pushed over the edge and challenged to what he holds dearly.
 
Security updates will still continue for at least a year afterward, probably more, based on Apple’s history.
 
bankshot said:
What would be the technical justification for dropping these and not the iPhone 7, which has the same amount of RAM? Past releases have dropped older devices based on RAM or major processor features like 64-bit support. Other than a slight speed increase, what's different enough in the iPhone 7 compared to the 6s/SE that makes it more able to run a newer OS? You could maybe argue for dropping only the SE in iOS 15 due to its smaller screen size, but I just don't see the justification for treating the 6s and 7 differently.

I've speculated in the past that the 6s and SE could get iOS 15 before finally being dropped along with the 7 in iOS 16. The demarcation line there would be that the A11 in the 8/X have the neural engine, since even the 8 has the same amount of RAM as the 6s/SE/7.
Click to expand...

Technical justification would be not continuing to support any (or all) parts of the chip, be it CPU, GPU, or RAM.
I would speculate that if they drop the A9 devices as per this rumour; it’ll be because they don’t want to continue compiling for the CPU/GPU cores.

However; there is the obvious observation to make that there‘s little (technical) point in dropping support for the iPhones based on this chip, but still putting the effort into releasing iPadOS for equivalent iPads:
Particularly as the iPads require more memory and processing (due to more features and more concurrent multitasking), more GPU performance (and the .X still has the same GPU architecture), and still have to support cellular data like any iPhone.

tl;dr: If not going to discontinue support for an entire chip generation; it would make sense to drop iPad support first.
 
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yellow8 said:
In a few years, I won't have to bother developing apps for the iPhone SE small screen.
Will make my life easier! But for now, I certainly won't drop support!
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7th gen iPod Touch says hi
mtnmac26 said:
sounds like A9 will be dropped - curious about A9X iPad Pro support? 🤔
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Both Pros will definitely get ipados15. A9X is still kicking strong for now




azentropy said:
The original SE and 6s makes sense. 2017 iPad seems a bit early.
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I think for that iPad it could be the wildcard but just because it was released in 2017 doesn’t mean anything. It has the same chip, speed and ram as the other A9 devices albeit with a bigger battery and better thermals

I would have thought A9 Devices may get iOS 15 but because Apple extended the COVID exposure thing to the 5s and 6 lineup as of iOS 12.5 yeah I full on believe A9 won’t get iOS 15

also iPhonesoft and the verifier are not reliable sources

especially iPhonesoft. The idiots who said OG SE won’t get iOS 13 because of its screen size but Mini 4 would get iPadOS13 🤦‍♂️
 
Every year I've nearly bought the latest iPhone like I used to do and every year I decided to keep my 6S. It's still an absolutely fantastic device that works perfectly (although the battery life leaves a lot to be desired).

It really has gotten better and better with time. Apart from Apple slowing down iPhones which was reversed it's been pretty much perfect for these last 5 years.

2021 is the year I'll be buying the new (M2?) MacBook Pro and iPhone 13 Pro, along with new AirPods, very much looking forward to it.
 
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