Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPadOS 18 Rumored to Drop Support for These iPad Models
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Got my iPad 8 in February 2021, it has been a champ, but the newer updates, and the 32 GB of ram (of which 15 GB are just for iPadOS) really weighed it down over time. Also the scratches and dents it has (stupid me lending it to my brother) made it qualifiable for retirement. I’ll miss it, my first Apple product 🫡
No biggie. My iPad Pro will continue to do what it does. The biggest thing that could get me to upgrade my iPad at this point would be better battery life and the ability to use USB-C… and I’m in nooooo rush
No, the mini is still keeping support. The mini 5 is from 2019, and the article says 2019 and later
I agree and this is quite weird actually.
The Mini 5 and iPad Pro 2018/2020 have the same cpu, the A12.
The only difference is ram and gpu.
It's almost like they want you to give them more of your hard earned money for a new one.
The 2019 iPad mini is the 5th generation mini, so no, not according to this rumor. Though it will likely be the last round for it.
Not really with the 6th gen. That device was up-to-date on launch and even came with the better chip for its year. It certainly wasn't an afterthought. If anything, it is more of a small iPad Air rather than a small iPad like its prior generations.
Don't be too sad, people with A10X iPad Pros. The amount of RAM in your device makes any more upgrades really inadvisable. If you got your iPad in 2017, that's a good long run and you can get security updates for iPadOS 17 for at least a year more.
But the air has a neural processing unit, first introduced in the A11 and A12 series.
The A10X, while having more memory than the 10.5 Air’s A12, does not have a neural processing unit.
Yeah, 100% true. The lesson is to be cautious about updating the OS, I suppose.
This was bound to happen considering iPadOS 17 supports A10 devices, while iOS 17 requires at least an A12 (which also shows that Apple could've easily supported iPhones as far back as the iPhone 7 with iOS 17).
Still, when I'm looking at how recent all the supposedly supported devices were released (base model as recent as 2020), I feel like OS support longevity is far from ideal, especially for a device like an iPad, which for many is simply a secondary device that's rarely upgraded. Apple doesn't have to include every new (AI) feature for every iPad, but having an up-to-date Safari (as it's still tied to the OS) and support for the latest SDK versions so developers don't have to keep their apps compatible with legacy iOS would go a long way.
Still, when I'm looking at how recent all the supposedly supported devices were released (base model as recent as 2020), I feel like OS support longevity is far from ideal, especially for a device like an iPad, which for many is simply a secondary device that's rarely upgraded. Apple doesn't have to include every new (AI) feature for every iPad, but having an up-to-date Safari (as it's still tied to the OS) and support for the latest SDK versions so developers don't have to keep their apps compatible with legacy iOS would go a long way.
The real issue I see is compatibility with Apps.
Apple still provides for a few more years security updates on devices that do not get the major release.
Still, this yearly process where devices older than exactly 5 or 6 years are dropped shows this is a clear strategy. I also see that more expensive devices (Pro) get a bit more years than cheaper ones (base iPad). It is almost possible to predict what will be dropped next year (for instance my 5th gen iPad mini will get its last major revision this year, it seems).
"Fortunately", iPadOS is not progressing much anyway, so there is hardly anything surprising to expect. Each year, there will be some comments that it can be used as a main computer and each time it still shows how crippled it is.
Apple still provides for a few more years security updates on devices that do not get the major release.
Still, this yearly process where devices older than exactly 5 or 6 years are dropped shows this is a clear strategy. I also see that more expensive devices (Pro) get a bit more years than cheaper ones (base iPad). It is almost possible to predict what will be dropped next year (for instance my 5th gen iPad mini will get its last major revision this year, it seems).
"Fortunately", iPadOS is not progressing much anyway, so there is hardly anything surprising to expect. Each year, there will be some comments that it can be used as a main computer and each time it still shows how crippled it is.
I finally plan to replace my 12.9” 2018 iPad Pro this year. I use it daily as media consumption device and a notes taking notebook from work. Working hybrid it’s very convenient to write everything down in the GoodNotes app. I just throw the iPad in my bag when I have to go in.
I'd be in no rush to replace my 7th gen iPad in this case. My 2nd gen iPhone SE will most likely support iOS 18, but maybe somewhere down the line I'll buy a newer "regular" iPad, since I don't use it for audiovisual work or anything like that, but for web browsing, email, reading e-books, and watching movies when I'm on the go (like if I'm taking a day trip to a convention in Boston or something else where I don't need my MacBook Air but don't feel my iPhone SE could handle what I want).
My 2019 iPad 7 won't get iPad OS 18.
Even my 2021 Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 lite has received Android 14 and that's it.
Perhaps security updates for 2024.
My old 2014 Dell PC will keep Windows 10 until October of 2025.
That's more like how it should be.
Nobody thinks of all these devices going to landfill.
Even my 2021 Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 lite has received Android 14 and that's it.
Perhaps security updates for 2024.
My old 2014 Dell PC will keep Windows 10 until October of 2025.
That's more like how it should be.
Nobody thinks of all these devices going to landfill.
I agree - my 2017 10.5 iPad Pro has had a great run. I kept this and gave to my kid (now 7) a few years ago, as I had gotten a 2018 11" iPad Pro (new in box) in 2019. It's still great for them - only issue now is battery life. I tried to get it replaced by Apple a few months ago (Coconut Battery was showing 72%!) but Apple's diagnostics showed it was still ~87% (!!).
Hopefully after it's no longer supported, Apple continues to have some stock of the 10.5 iPP for awhile, so I can get it replaced with the battery replacement fee.
The A10X is still more than fine for my kids needs - and the low RAM isn't as big of an issue for them either.
I wish they would do the opposite, let us downgrade our devices to older versions of iOS. I have 2 iPad 10's my kids use which run like absolute dog$#( on iOS 17 and an iPad mini 4 which also runs horribly on iOS 15. That's why I prefer Windows, still runs great on 10+ year old hardware and if it doesn't anymore I can always switch to Linux or even ChromeOS if I'm desperate. Between the planned obsolescence, lack of choices, and walled garden I've really been taking a lot of steps back from Apple.
The 11" iPad Pro (2018) has an A12X chip, not an A10X chip, so I think this article is wrong.
Source: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ipad/specs/apple-ipad-pro-11-inch-a1980-wi-fi-only-specs.html
Source: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/ipad/specs/apple-ipad-pro-11-inch-a1980-wi-fi-only-specs.html
The 11" iPad Pro from 2018 has an A12X processor (not an A10X), so I think this article is wrong.