iOS 17 Rumored to Drop Support for iPhone X, First-Generation iPad Pro, and More

[mannyvel]

The older folks in my life need home button simplicity and large screens.

The home button free world has been surprisingly difficult for seniors, which is why my dad got an SE2. They basically need to relearn to swipe from the bottom, which will take them a bit. And faceID isn't as reliable or fast as Touch ID, IMO.

But the ProMax screen is super big, bigger than the Plus phones. Of course it's also expensive...but if you're rocking an 8+ you won't be complaining that the ProMax doesn't fit in your pocket.

The 12 ProMax is pretty affordable now.

 

[bodonnell202]

Given the gap between iOS 11 and iOS 13 and then iOS 13 to iOS 16 for dropping device support, I'm a little skeptical that Apple would move to a model of retiring devices every year and drop devices with iOS 17 since they'd then have to maintain yet another iOS version with regular security updates for legacy devices. It'd make the most sense for all devices supported by iOS 16 to be supported by iOS 17. Then iOS 18 could discontinue support for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X and the iPad (6th gen), iPad (7th gen), iPad Pro 9.7", and iPad Pro 12.9" (1st gen). That'd allow them to eliminate support for all 2 GB devices, all A9(X) devices, and the last 5.5" iPhone and the last 9.7" iPad in one swoop.

Yeah, I was thinking this seemed like the more likely scenario with iOS/iPadOS 17 as well, but I guess we'll find out for sure on June 5th.

 

[bodonnell202]

I suppose that this hints that iOS 18 in 2024 will drop support for iPhone 11.

Things march forward I guess.

Unlikely, the iPhone 11 is 2 years newer than the X. Worst case if Apple adopts a model of dropping devices every year the Xs & XR will be dropped with iOS 18 and the 11 & 11 Pro will be dropped with iOS 19. This rumor is suspect to me though as Apple has tended to not drop devices every year, and instead drops a couple generations of devices every 2-3 years.

 

[d686546s]

I wouldn't freak out just yet, at this point it's a rumour after all. Even if it is true, the longevity of software support is still ahead of all Android devices (with the massive caveat that Android allows updates to core apps and services without an OS upgrade, so it's not entirely Apples for apples.)

That being said, phones increasingly peak and get less exciting from generation to generation. Combine that with rising living costs and you're probably looking at people using their devices way longer than they would previously have.

I would not be surprised if Apple gently applied the breaks to its support policy to give people an 'incentive' to spend money earlier and more often. Long-lived and mostly interchangeable devices are a serious threat to the bottom line.

 

[supergt]

I give the A10X at least one more year. The addition of 4GB of ram really made a big difference with longevity.

I give it two more years since the A10 iPad 7th gen has only been out a little over three years. They SHOULD both get 17 and 18.

 

[Kingcoherent]

This makes sense from my limited anecdotal evidence. My aging iPhone X performs terribly, my iPad Pro 11 (which is similar age, and likely gets more use) still performs well.

 

[zach-coleman]

X runs so well though. I guess Apple has been adding too many emojis as major new feature each year and they take a lot of horsepower to render so A11 can't keep up with such advancements.

Always the difficult choice. Do you drop support while it still runs well, or do you update it too long that everybody complains that you slowed it down? Hard situation to win.

 

[subi257]

Forced upgrades.

Nobody is forcing you to upgrade...they are just dropping support, it will still run for years.

 

[arvinsim]

I see this as a good thing. The narrower the range of performance thresholds the OS needs to hit, the more optimized it can be for what it does run on.

The A chips already run so fast!

I would rather have long backward support than add another single-digit performance improvement.

 

[bodonnell202]

In my Darth Vader voice 'Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo'

Oh well, I am sure they will still provide security updates for another year for iOS 16, so, probably could hold out until iPhone 16 Pro Max.

You all recognize this planned obsolescence though, right? Because, Apple could still provide a base iOS 17 release that doesn't offer the new features but at least keeps the phone current with security updates and prolong the life of the device. I thought this company was about the environment.

How is offering iOS 17 with no new features any different that continuing to offer security updates to iOS 16? It's just a difference in branding at that point.

 

[PauloSera]

but it's not always about supporting what we have as long as technically possible.

Of course not, because why would that be the goal? They're not 5 year olds.

 

[Mr. Dee]

How is offering iOS 17 with no new features any different that continuing to offer security updates to iOS 16? It's just a difference in branding at that point.

How is different from offering a rebranded iPhone 13 as an iPhone 14 and saying it has an optimized A15? There have been previous releases of iOS that had flagship features that were not available to older iPhones.

 

[Sausage.Biscuit]

The home button free world has been surprisingly difficult for seniors, which is why my dad got an SE2. They basically need to relearn to swipe from the bottom, which will take them a bit. And faceID isn't as reliable or fast as Touch ID, IMO.

It is the same with my parents, whom are in their early 70's and mid 60's. They can't handle my newer iphone when they occasionally have to use it for something. They really rely on a Home button as an anchor on their older iphones.

 

[Vespi]

I suppose that this hints that iOS 18 in 2024 will drop support for iPhone 11.

Things march forward I guess.

Err no, you have iphone xs first, 11 will be droppes by iOS 19

 

[KOTN91]

Although it doesn’t seem that long since the X was released, it will have been 6 years by the time the next iOS 17 is available. So this is fair, and anything that’s over 5 years is very decent support

I think the next couple of major iOS releases after 17 may not drop any devices, as quite a few will have been dropped with 16 and 17, and the A12 seems to be a minimum for a lot of the features anyway. So reckon XR and XS will be safe for a while

 

[thawk9455]

A11 Bionic and iPhone X is getting pretty old in the tooth, that was late 2017. I don't know that many who still have that phone considering how we got several better form factors after that.

But iPhone 8 wasn't fully discontinued until April 2020. That's only 3.5 years of support. My current XS is older than that...

 

[jclardy]

So 5 years seems to be apples limit now.

X, Xs, 11 Pro, 12 Pro, 13 Pro, 14 Pro, (15 Pro). Technically you have software support for 6 years if you bought on launch day (Nov 2017), and iOS 16 security updates will continue for at least a year. So you could stretch it to 7 years safely.

 

[AppleMango]

I hope it’s not true; I just set up my old X for an elder Person and it’s running great.

 

[5786735]

Err no, you have iphone xs first, 11 will be droppes by iOS 19

Right. Good point. And iPhone 11 has an A13 Bionic. So if these support drops are based on CPU (the most probable driver) that puts iPhone 11 a couple of years out. Even assuming this rumor is true and there's an actual pattern.

I'd love to get a couple more years out of mine. The hardware is fine for my needs, but getting left behind on software/OS updates starts becoming a problem because of the whole ecosystem (i.e., Mac, HomePod, Watch, etc.)

 

[iamgalt]

Forced upgrades cycle being shorter it was imminent

It's not a forced upgrade. You can still use the older phones and iPads, they just won't have the latest version of iOS. And I got a feeling that except for people on forums like these, that's not that big of a deal.

 

[JosephAW]

My friend still has an X. Just put in a new battery, updated to iOS 16. Complaining battery life is significantly diminished. Turned off most background tasks.

 

[1284814]

And slow down iPhone 11, apple is terrible . Only update your phone if it’s middle to latest, and not close to the list of unsupported devices.
my iPad Air 2 is terrible now running iOs 15

 

[d686546s]

It is the same with my parents, whom are in their early 70's and mid 60's. They can't handle my newer iphone when they occasionally have to use it for something. They really rely on a Home button as an anchor on their older iphones.

There's people who really can't deal with newer stuff anymore and there's people who simply refuse.

It's tough, and I'm not looking forward to it, but I think the former group is actually quite small and, at some point, a dedicated senior phone is the better way to go.

In general, there's no good answer though. One the one hand it's good to be inclusive and keep a model around for people who need it, on the other hand you can't keep technology locked in time.

 

[Apple2501]

No. It’s not right that new software won’t work on my old phone. Hold back the world so I dont have to spend a nickel on current technology. Besides, I like the way new software overtaxes my phone so that it turns all warm and cozy in my pocket. It’s great for a winters day.

 

[darkelipse04]

It is the same with my parents, whom are in their early 70's and mid 60's. They can't handle my newer iphone when they occasionally have to use it for something. They really rely on a Home button as an anchor on their older iphones.

My parents are also on their early 60’s and 70’s, English is not their native language and they are from another country originally. They are not tech savvy by any means and I was able to move them from an iPhone 6s to an iPhone XS almost two years ago and they were able to do it…