Based on current patterns the base iPad has 6 years of updates (unless the iPad 5 is not dropped this year, which I doubt), while the air and the pro have 8 (air 2 and first gen pro). So I made a chart with future OS updates and supported devices.
My prediction is that the pro will move to 9-10 years from A12X, with the Air and mini staying probably at 8-9 years of updates (we’ll know about iPadOS 17 very soon...)
While Apple will ultimately decide, I think that's a reasonable prediction and I hope this can be of help to people wondering how long their device will be supported, but feel free to share your comments.
My prediction is that the pro will move to 9-10 years from A12X, with the Air and mini staying probably at 8-9 years of updates (we’ll know about iPadOS 17 very soon...)
While Apple will ultimately decide, I think that's a reasonable prediction and I hope this can be of help to people wondering how long their device will be supported, but feel free to share your comments.
iPadOS version | Year | Base iPad (year of release) | Air / Mini (year of release) | Pro (year of release) |
iPadOS 17 | 2023-2024 | From iPad 6 A10 2018 (2GB RAM) | Air 3 / Mini 5 A12 from 2019 | A10X 2017 |
iPadOS 18 | 2024-2025 | From iPad 7 A10 2019 (3GB RAM) | Air 3 / Mini 5 A12 from 2019 | A12X 2018 |
iPadOS 19 | 2026-2027 | From iPad 8 A12 2020 | Air 4 (A14) 2020 / Mini 6 A15 2021 | A12X 2018 / A12Z 2020 (6GB RAM) |
iPadOS 20 | 2027-2028 | From iPad 9 A13 2021 | Air 4 (A14) 2020 / Mini 6 A15 2021 | A12Z 2020 (6GB RAM) |
iPadOS 21 | 2028-2029 | From iPad 10 A14 2022 | Air 4 (A14) 2020 / Mini 6 A15 2021 | A12Z 2020 (6GB RAM) / M1 2021 |
iPadOS 22 | 2029-2030 | X (no newer base iPad yet, probably iPad 11) | Air 5 M1 2022 / Mini 6 A15 2021 | M1 2021 |
iPadOS 23 | 2030-2031 | X (no newer base iPad yet, probably iPad 12) | Air 5 M1 2022 / Mini 7 | M1 2021 |
iPadOS 24 | 2031-2032 | X (no newer base iPad yet, prbably iPad 13) | Air 5 M1 2022 / Air 6 M2 / Mini 7 | M1 2021 / M2 2022 |
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