Questionable Rumor Suggests iOS 13 Will Drop Compatibility for iPhone 5s Through iPhone 6s [Updated]

[mi7chy]

I would find reasonable that anything below 2 GB RAM goes under.

In hindsight, is it reasonable to go four generations of iPhones (5, 5s, 5c, 6) without Apple upgrading the DRAM and knowing that it's a criteria for ending support? iPhones would have ~6GB by now if it wasn't for that long lapse of engineering for early obsolescence and greed.

 

[technole]

More like they will drop any device that doesn't support Face ID and require High Sierra or higher to knock off older devices with headphone jack and older MBP and Mini and Pro desktops for new releases iOS devices.

No, iPhone 8 is barely a year old.

It’s basically a plan to push more upgrades. I said before after the iOS 12 goodwill of increasing performance for old models like 5s and 6s along with the battery campaign they can call it a day on anymore software upgrades.

 

[timber]

In hindsight, is it reasonable to go four generations of iPhones (5, 5s, 5c, 6) without Apple upgrading the DRAM and knowing that it's a criteria for ending support? iPhones would have ~6GB by now if it wasn't for that long lapse.

No it is not reasonable. All those devices should have had at least 2 GB, even more.

There is so much you can do with supposed optimization. I still own an iPad Air which has the first out of the park SoC, the A7, and with its measly 1 GB RAM it always needed (in every single iOS release it supported) to refresh all apps, Safari sessions, tabs, whatever ..... to pretend it was multitasking.
A few years ago I had a OnePlus 2 (2015 with 4 GB RAM), sometimes I would bring upfront a 2 week old app and that thing jumped right to where I was. The A7 runs circles around that Snapdragon 810 but the RAM skimping really limited it.

Apple still does it today particularly on the iPhones.

 

[mi7chy]

I would rather keep my SE on an optimized version of iOS 12 than be forced to upgrade to an OS that slows down my phone.

Apple don't backport major iOS features for older devices so there's no reason iOS updates should slow down your device. If anything they've stripped features like 32bit app compatibility so it should be lighter/faster. Reason why iOS 12 is faster because they removed all the delay() functions introduced in previous versions to slow down the device to force you to upgrade. On the other hand, by not updating you lose out on bug, security and app compatibility fixes.

 

[gbc204]

I can see the 5s and maybe the 6. Those will be pretty long in the tooth, especially by the time iOS 13 comes out. But at the very least, if they don't make a new 5SE, they should put one out with more RAM. Given how quickly the clearance/refurbs have been selling out, there's clearly still a demand. And I bet the it would result in an uptick in asian markets too.

 

[Think creative]

I'd be surprised if the 6S doesn't get the update, but I'll be in the market anyways come fall so all good.

 

[iSayuSay]

I personally think 6s will get iOS 13, at least as its final updates. Remember that Apple sells SE inventory just a few weeks ago. There's no way that Apple would drop the support within less than a year. It's also possible that A9 will be supported until iOS14, at most.

A10 will probably get iOS 14 or 15 as final upgrade.
A11 will stop at iOS 16, and so on and so forth.

 

[bluecoast]

What you're suggesting is just visual bells and whistles, whereas I'd expect real features to reflect the need to shun two generations of devices.
Multitask on the iPad may get an overhaul, file management too, but what else? What would be so resorce intensive as to cut off so many devices?
There isn't that much of a difference between the desktop interface on my Mac compared to my iPhone or iPad Pro.
Similar animations, transparency etc.
The only real difference being the ability to place multiple windows on multiple desktops in Spaces.

Good points. I’m no UX designer but I bet if you put an upgraded more realistic physics engine in and a new version of metal with lots of fancy effects into iOS and then told the UX designers that they could finally make the 2d version of iOS that they always wanted to, I’d expect that only modern phones could handle that.

 

[31 Flavas]

I doubt the control centre switch was based on user feedback or research. As with the time indicator, the only motive seems to be consistency with the X. Which, again, I find super insidious, because most customers are using TouchID iPhones and the X-R-S userbase is yet to grow (especially in Europe).

Insidious? Uh... what sinister plot would moving the clock involve involve?

 

[Neepman]

As others have said. its the only way they will sell some new phones is to brick the old ones with a new iOS that twists the arms of the app developers to decompatilize their apps with the old iOS.

 

[Nilhum]

Cutting support to sell more devices is probably the best idea for Apple. IOS 12 sped up old devices and made them more usable. Seems counterproductive if you want people to upgrade, though great for the consumer.

 

[MrUNIMOG]

Apple has never stated in any of their documentation that device lifetime is "as long as 5 years from the purchase date."

iPad 1 had support for just 2 years.
Same with Apple Watch and iPhone 3G.

Apple drops support when they see fit.

Original iPad had more like 2.7 years with current OS. However, iPad 2 had more than double that.
Original Watch had about 3.5 years with current OS.
iPhone 3G had over 3 years, so had the original iPhone.
[doublepost=1549049794][/doublepost]

Apple don't backport major iOS features for older devices so there's no reason iOS updates should slow down your device. If anything they've stripped features like 32bit app compatibility so it should be lighter/faster. Reason why iOS 12 is faster because they removed all the delay() functions introduced in previous versions to slow down the device to force you to upgrade. On the other hand, by not updating you lose out on bug, security and app compatibility fixes.

delay functions? Yeah sure.. Stop making up stuff.

 

[BXRich]

regardless of their motives, it's not a good look for a story like this to come out right after it was made public of the slowed iPhone sales - it's too easy to think that it's a move to only increase sales of new devices and less about performance compatibility between older devices and newer iOS versions.
.
.

 

[matteuk]

Relax apple I was going to upgrade my iPhone 6s with the upcoming iPhone anyway. But I won’t if I’m forced.

 

[Val-kyrie]

Apple don't backport major iOS features for older devices so there's no reason iOS updates should slow down your device. If anything they've stripped features like 32bit app compatibility so it should be lighter/faster. Reason why iOS 12 is faster because they removed all the delay() functions introduced in previous versions to slow down the device to force you to upgrade. On the other hand, by not updating you lose out on bug, security and app compatibility fixes.

So what are the odds they reintroduce delay functions?

Do we know if Apple has removed the delay functions for other iOS devices like the iPad?

 

[Tmelon]

I doubt that Apple would have revived the SE a couple of weeks ago if they intended on dropping support for it in the same year.

 

[jcavanaug]

Yeah....this just seems unlikely. Might drop the 5s and original Air, but the rest? C'mon.

 

[otternonsense]

Insidious? Uh... what sinister plot would moving the clock involve involve?

Not just the clock. All these changes (intentionally or not) serve to accustom the user's mental model towards the X's gesture/UI language. It might make sense for the new iPad Pro, but then why not retain the previous experience on TouchID iPads like they did for TouchID iPhones? Laziness? Tough deadline? Or iPhone X fever pitch in Cupertino?

 

[0388631]

Such a courageous move. If true, I hope it comes back to bite Apple in the ass.

 

[-Ray-]

First, Apple is NOT yet doing anything like that. It's all in your weird & ugly dreams.

Next, according to their own warranty policy, they have obligations to support their devices during those lifetime period. Devices' lifetime is stated as long as 5 years and is counted from the device purchase date.

Finally, you seem to be an apple f...ng troll & I wish you the worse of luck )

I'm a troll because I stated strong opinions and facts? Did I say I believed this rumor? I was speaking in the general sense that Apple will in fact one day pull the cord on supporting their legacy systems and people will complain. At some point it becomes obvious that a device will not perform to that of a new phone.

Everyone is quick to blame Apple, Microsoft, or hell even Google when things slow down when new stuff comes out. Accusations are made that they are purposely slowing them down when in fact a lot of the issues stem from the newer software consuming more resources because of features and "innovation".

Look at the fiasco Microsoft had with XP and the state of the web in the mid 2000s. Microsoft was stuck supporting XP well over 15+ years and people STILL refuse to upgrade; even with 7 supporting the majority of the hardware.

Just my educated two cents. I work in the software industry and quite frankly its a b*tch supporting legacy architecture when rolling out new stuff. Just turning off those features does not work the way you think it does. Often they still need to be embedded into the system and the instructions themselves continue to exist in some manner.

You can only make something efficient so far before its time to pump up the resources.

 

[MattMJB0188]

The iPad Air 2 and iPhone 6S are fairly newer devices.

 

[Heimrikr]

This would be an insanely incredible dick move by Apple after just recently offering the sale of the SE on their official website. Even some of the most hardcore Apple loyalists will feel betrayed and the move will be viewed as nothing but a tyrannical strategy to FORCE iOS users to upgrade.

Hell, it will probably scare investors too as the move will make Apple appear weak and desperate.

I seriously hope they don’t do this; I JUST forced myself to finally gamble it and buy the SE brand new before retailers ran out of stock and I’ve been wanting it since it released. So if i soon learn Apple is only going to support a flagship level, flagship PRICED device like the SE for just TWO damn years, they can kiss my fat royal @ss. They may have sucked me in this once but if this article turns out to be true, it will definitely NEVER happen again....

 

[developer13245]

Still on iOS 10, with 32 bit apps

 

[PickUrPoison]

So what are the odds they reintroduce delay functions?

Do we know if Apple has removed the delay functions for other iOS devices like the iPad?

What delay functions?

 

[Val-kyrie]

What delay functions?

The ones referred to in this post

Apple don't backport major iOS features for older devices so there's no reason iOS updates should slow down your device. If anything they've stripped features like 32bit app compatibility so it should be lighter/faster. Reason why iOS 12 is faster because they removed all the delay() functions introduced in previous versions to slow down the device to force you to upgrade. On the other hand, by not updating you lose out on bug, security and app compatibility fixes.