With the upcoming iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, Apple may drop support for several older iPhones and iPads, including the iPhone X and the first-generation iPad Pro. According to sources that predict upcoming software updates, these devices may become incompatible with the latest versions of iOS.
Devices that may no longer be supported include:
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone X
- First-generation 9.7-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro
- Fifth-generation iPad.
These devices were released between November 2015 and November 2017 and are equipped with an A11 Bionic chip or older.
If these rumors are accurate, the latest iOS and iPadOS will only be compatible with devices equipped with the A10 Fusion chip or later. The exceptions are the 6th and 7th generation iPad models with the A10 Fusion chip and the 2nd generation 10.5-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models with the A10X Fusion chip.
One of the reasons for this support change is likely due to a security vulnerability in the bootrom system that affects devices with chips from A5 to A11. Apple could not fix this vulnerability because the bootrom is read-only, making it impossible to change the firmware.
This vulnerability allowed users to jailbreak their devices on a wide range of iOS versions, allowing them to change the iOS file system. However, with the release of iOS 17, it looks like Apple is trying to end this practice by ending support for affected devices entirely.
Last year, iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 ended support for several devices, including the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, the original iPhone SE, the latest iPod touch, second-generation iPad Air, and fourth-generation iPad mini.
It is not yet clear if Apple will drop support for the devices above with the release of iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. However, suppose these rumors turn out to be accurate. In that case, it will mean that millions of users will be forced to update their devices to continue receiving the latest software updates and security patches.
Source: Macrumors
