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

[PickUrPoison]

The Clearance SEs are coming from all over the country. It’s weird. So Apple would have cleared all the unsold SEs out of their stores in September when they dropped them. Apple doesn’t store inventory. So they likely shipped them to third party authorized retailers, where they likely have been sitting on store shelves. So why, 5 months later, would suddenly round hem up and sell them for clearance prices? Why not just leave them on the store shelves of authorized retailers to sell for whatever they can get? They aren’t doing that with any other older phones they’re still selling like the 6, 6 Plus, 6s and 6s Plus. And why now? March is a new product introduction month for Apple, and it’s when the SE was originally introduced.

So I’m starting to think Apple is trying to get the cheap SE out of the market before they introduce a new SE 2 next month, which might not be all that different than the old one. So they get as much for them as possible while they can, then introduce a new one at a much higher price without giving potential customers an even lower clearance price on the old one.

I don’t know why Apple is clearing them out now. But with the iPhone 7 at $449, I don’t think there’s much room to introduce an SE2 (that’s not much different than the old one) at “a much higher price.” Apple apparently didn’t think they’d really move at $349/449, or they wouldn’t have discounted them so heavily.

I don’t think there’s anywhere near the interest in smaller phones that some SE fans seem to think there is. Otherwise Apple (and all the dozens/hundreds of Android manufacturers) would be only too willing to supply them. The vast majority of customers just prefer larger screens—even though they cost more. I really do think it’s just that simple. Sure there’s some demand for a cheap and/or small phone, but not enough to make it worthwhile for anyone to bother with.

 

[halledise]

A questionable and unconfirmed rumor from Israeli site The Verifier suggests that Apple's iOS 13 update, expected to be previewed this summer at the Worldwide Developers Conference, will drop support for a number of iPhones and iPads.

The site says iOS 13 will be unavailable on the iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus, all devices that are compatible with iOS 12.

As for iPads, The Verifier believes Apple will drop support for the iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, and possibly the iPad mini 4. The sixth-generation iPod touch is listed as a device that will also be incompatible with iOS 13.

If this rumor is true, and we don't know that it is because The Verifier did not provide details on where the information is from or how it was obtained, it would see Apple dropping support for three generations of iPhones at one time, a move that seems somewhat unlikely.

Apple aims to provide software updates for its iOS devices for as long as possible. Both iOS 12 and iOS 11 offered support for the iPhone 5s and newer, the iPad mini 2 and newer, and the iPad Air and newer. At the time iOS 12 launched, some of those devices were five years old.

Dropping support for everything up to the iPhone 7 would leave iOS 13 compatible only with iOS devices from 2016 or later. Two of those devices, the iPad mini 4 and the sixth-generation iPod touch, are current-generation devices, though they may not be by the time iOS 13 launches as updates for both are in the works.

To cast further doubt on the site's claims, it lists the iPhone 6s as a device that won't support iOS 13 without naming the fifth-generation iPad. Both the fifth-generation iPad and the iPhone 6s use the A9 chip.

The Verifier claims that in addition to dropping support for iOS 13 on a wide swath of devices, Apple will also restrict some iOS 13 features to newer models to "make as many users upgrade to the latest models of iPhones." While it's true there are sometimes iOS features limited to newer devices because of hardware limitations, Apple has a long history of supporting older devices for years after launch.

The Verifier has previously provided semi-accurate info on Apple's plans. In 2017, for example, the site said Apple would bring Group FaceTime to iOS 11. We did get Group FaceTime, but not until iOS 12.1 in 2018.

Update: The Verifier has updated the original article to list the lack of iOS 13 support for the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s as "questionable" rather than concrete.

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

i don't doubt that this rumor is true.
yet as an owner of an SE, i really don't care.
i got sucked into the whole upgrade system yet pulled back and thought what do i really need?
bigger screen, new case, AirPods, etc.
answer - neh!
i love my SE in which i have a home button and a power button, thus can perform a simple reset and flush the caches, plug in my sony earbuds and choose whether to upgrade to a new iOS or not.
as for iOS 13, the answer is definitely a no
i'm happy not being up with the latest and greatest.
i do have mojave on my current model MacBook yet don't automatically upgrade to every new thing that comes down the pipe from apple

 

[iApple_man]

I received a Samsung Galaxy S7 to test out for 6 months in 2017. It’s sitting in my drawer because it didn’t receive Pie and is unbearably slow compared to my 7+ that I bought in 2016.

Exactly why I left Android myself. Nice looking phones, but no true support. 2014 is when I started with Apple, well when they got bigger.

 

[glassyeyed]

Not even Apple would bring back sales of a device that they plan to make obsolete in 3 months.

WERE they going to do that, they'd have just dumped their SE inventory on a vendor like Walmart, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. They chose direct sales of the SE for a reason AND it's the same reason they introduced the 2018 iPad: They want to capture the price-sensitive segment while not cannibalizing their high-end.

 

[Mac 128]

Not even Apple would bring back sales of a device that they plan to make obsolete in 3 months.

WERE they going to do that, they'd have just dumped their SE inventory on a vendor like Walmart, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc. They chose direct sales of the SE for a reason AND it's the same reason they introduced the 2018 iPad: They want to capture the price-sensitive segment while not cannibalizing their high-end.

Right. My expectation is that at a minimum they’ll update the internals and the screen, probably remove the headphone jack, probably even add wireless charging, and put it on the level of the iPhone 8 which will allow them to sell it at a higher price, or at least the same as the iPhone 7 is now, which if Apple continues to offer it next year, will cost even less. That keeps the SE and iPhone 8 on the low end, with the XR filling the middle, and XS & Max at the top. All with wireless charging and similar internals.

We might get really lucky and get an XR mini, but that seems unlikely at the price point they’re trying to meet.

Either way, a 3 year old SE would likely still undercut any small phone market if they were offered alongside a spec bumped SE2 at the Apple Store, and an SE2 with much better features would likely make the SE worthless on the authorized retailer market, forcing a price cut below even the clearance price they’ve been offering.

 

[iMEric984]

How else would Apple get people to pay for their overpriced garbage when their old phones are working perfectly fine and surely can handle this update no problem? Typical of today's Apple.

Right. Because what other “innovative” company has software support with their latest software version on a 6 year old phone????

Didn’t think so.

Shoo shoo now.
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Does iPhone 7 have more RAM than the 6S?

iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and 7 have 2 GB.
iPhone 7 Plus 3 GB.

 

[tipoo]

Dropping 1GB RAM devices as the next cutoff would make sense, but hopefully after one more release.

The 6S going with the 5S makes no sense, it has twice the RAM and is pretty close to the iPhone 7 in architecture and performance.

 

[ChrisChaval]

Even if the iPhone SE will get iOS 13 I am not sure if I want to install it ...

iOS 12 works great but 3 years in I am getting concerned about performance issues with future iOS versions

Normally I install new iOS releases right away but next time I will wait and see

 

[Wanted797]

You're suggesting that consumers get what they pay for but they're not. You're being disingenuous if you think they should accept limited iOS releases on their shiny new iPhone just because it wasn't purchased the year that model was released.

If I buy a tv that is an older model I can’t complain to the company when they stop providing updates sooner than the new model. So long as they provide support during warenty and it keeps working.

 

[I7guy]

Highly doubt the 6S will get dropped. The 5S and 6 are done. Good riddance, way too slow to use nowadays.

I would be surprised if Apple deprecates the 6s(+) in ios 13. I can see the 5s and maybe the 6. (If apple had put 2 gig of memory in the 6 it would have been a different story).

 

[EM2013]

I would be surprised if Apple deprecates the 6s(+) in ios 13. I can see the 5s and maybe the 6. (If apple had put 2 gig of memory in the 6 it would have been a different story).

I used a backup iPhone 6 on iOS 12 for a couple of months and it was horribly slow. No way it’ll be able to run iOS 13 if it’s a redesign.

But yeah if it had extra ram I’m sure it would’ve been fine.

 

[DownUnderDan]

Apple has an incentive to fill iOS 13 with a massive truck load of fun and useful features, which will get a lot of people on iPhone 5s - 6S to upgrade.

People who see this as a mischievous plan are inconsiderate of the difficulty that comes from maintaining support for so many devices, and having features that those devices can run without being strained by processing power / screen size. In my opinion, this is a natural next step for iOS that Apple can happen to leverage for more sales. Better software that relies on better hardware may be key to selling more new iPhones.

This is all premised around the idea of "better software". The smart phone is now a commodity. It does what most normal people want it to do, most of the time. The features that companies spend time and money developing, have an incrementally smaller impact on the end consumer, while still costing the same to develop. In the end the result of commoditisation is cheaper products and a finite market. Welcome to iPhones future. It seems Apple and some users haven't yet caught on.

 

[tintytinyme]

How else would Apple get people to pay for their overpriced garbage when their old phones are working perfectly fine and surely can handle this update no problem? Typical of today's Apple.

your comment is “funny”, first you state apple make people to pay for their overpriced garbage, then u state their old phone are working perfectly fine. I think you are just here for rating rather giving valuable comments(or garbage)like you should!?
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How else would Apple get people to pay for their overpriced garbage when their old phones are working perfectly fine and surely can handle this update no problem? Typical of today's Apple.

Second thing: this is what I know, if I pay $100,000, I still don’t think I can make a tool like iPhone for myself, so I do not think it’s over priced! And I mean it.

 

[MrUNIMOG]

I used a backup iPhone 6 on iOS 12 for a couple of months and it was horribly slow. No way it’ll be able to run iOS 13 if it’s a redesign.

But yeah if it had extra ram I’m sure it would’ve been fine.

Even the 5s really runs fine on iOS 12. Blazingly fast even, if you think how old it is.
If your iPhone 6 struggles, maybe do a clean install. Oh, and check how the battery's doing.

 

[aaronhead14]

This would be ridiculously stupid. iPhone 6S is still an incredibly powerful phone, and I can't think of a single reason why it shouldn't be capable of running the latest OS. It should still be able to run the latest OS for at least a couple more years.

 

[I7guy]

your comment is “funny”, first you state apple make people to pay for their overpriced garbage, then u state their old phone are working perfectly fine. I think you are just here for rating rather giving valuable comments(or garbage)like you should!?
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Second thing: this is what I know, if I pay $100,000, I still don’t think I can make a tool like iPhone for myself, so I do not think it’s over priced! And I mean it.

The poster quoted seems to have attracted many a critic, judging by the "likes". However, the article says "questionable rumor". And if anybody knows or has learned anything about apple, there is no "typical of apple", especially since they recently went out of their way to keep old phones operating smoothly:
- free or $29 battery replacements
- performance improvements in ios 12 even to the 5s, to which it seems apple really did some performance improvements

So there is nothing "typical of today's Apple".

I would think the 6s would be supported through ios 14 as it's still a viable phone.

 

[rednif]

Support for the 6s is "questionable"? If they pull that off, I will never buy a phone from the most recent line up again.

EDIT: I guess I got that wrong. I could swear though that there was an update to the post which said something like "iOS 13 support for the iPhone 6s is questionable"

 

[MrUNIMOG]

Support for the 6s is "questionable"? If they pull that off, I will never buy a phone from the most recent line up again.

You got that backwards. The rumor is what's questionable.

iOS 13 dropping the 6s? That's absurd. Even the questionable source itself said they're not too sure about that..

 

[kwikdeth]

And if anybody knows or has learned anything about apple, there is no "typical of apple", especially since they recently went out of their way to keep old phones operating smoothly:

You're overlooking the later part where Tim directly said in a stockholder meeting that the battery replacement program resulted in lower sales. I would not expect such generosity from them in the future in this regard.

 

[freddiebarnes]

You got that backwards. The rumor is what's questionable.

iOS 13 dropping the 6s? That's absurd. Even the questionable source itself said they're not too sure about that..

I agree. I posted somewhere in this thread when it was active in February that I wouldn’t be surprised if the iPhones with 1gb ram (5s and 6) are not supported on iOS 13 but the 6s? I expect at least another couple of years support for the 6s. Just my guess of course.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I think in the end, the only iOS devices that won't run iOS 13 are those with less than 2 GB of RAM internally. It's likely even the iPhone SE will still run iOS 13.

 

[bluecoast]

I think in the end, the only iOS devices that won't run iOS 13 are those with less than 2 GB of RAM internally. It's likely even the iPhone SE will still run iOS 13.

I think you’re likely right.

 

[MrUNIMOG]

I think in the end, the only iOS devices that won't run iOS 13 are those with less than 2 GB of RAM internally. It's likely even the iPhone SE will still run iOS 13.

Plausible scenarios, sorted by number of devices dropped:

• Same devices supported as iOS 11 and 12, the best case.
• Feature-based cutoff at A8 chip; only iPhone 5s, original iPad Air, iPad mini 2 and 3 dropped. Most likely scenario.
• Performance-based cutoff at iPhone 6 performance level; additionally dropping the 6th gen iPod touch with underclocked A8 chip. 2nd-most likely scenario, although a bit doubtful since Apple went on selling the 6th gen iPod touch despite rumors suggesting a new model this spring.
• RAM-based cutoff at 2 GB; additionally dropping iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. 3rd-most likely scenario.
• Performance-based cutoff at iPhone 6s performance level; additionally dropping iPad mini 4 (and if based on single-thread performance, also the iPad Air 2). Less likely, still imaginable.
• Feature-based cutoff at A9 chip; additionally dropping the iPad Air 2. Highly unlikely, since HomePod uses the A8 and runs a close variant of the current iOS.

In addition to any of the above, due to the rumored iOS UI redesign, there might be a cutoff based on screen size, dropping the iPhone SE (likewise 5s and 6th gen iPod touch), which would explain the recent rumors of the SE being dropped. But that seems very unlikely.

 

[Tech198]

How else would Apple get people to pay for their overpriced garbage when their old phones are working perfectly fine and surely can handle this update no problem? Typical of today's Apple.

Lets not forget you never expect for them to run as fast either.. You don't expect the same performance from an i3 you do as an i7. So regardless of the software running on whatever phone, Apple is just like any other.

They can improve battery life better, but you can't fix a hardware performance no matter what you do in software..

This chip may not be as fast, and using software, or tweaking setting won't get it any better.

Even if Apple did keep IOS 13 running on older device, people would still upgrade their iPhones anyway purley because it runs "better" with newer devices, than older ones.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I personally think you'd want to get a newer iPhone to run iOS 13.0. With good reason: iOS 13.0 will take better advantage of the hardware on newer iPhones.