iOS 15 Might Finally Drop iPhone 6s, iPhone SE (2016)

Apple is known and highly-praised for its commitment to support years-old smartphones, tablets, and computers, something that, unfortunately, hasn't caught on in the Android world. Even Apple, however, sometimes has to eventually cut off some older devices, though still not as fast or as often as even Google. Soon, that culling period might be happening again this year with the release of iOS 15 which may no longer support devices that are more than five years old by the time it rolls out.

iOS 15 won't be released until later this year, of course, so there's no reason yet to panic. Even if does end support for some iPhones and iPads, those devices will continue working anyway, though with no guarantees of security fixes for even the most critical exploits. By then, owners who don't want to upgrade will be doing so at their own risk.

According to French site iPhone Soft, iOS 15 will spell the end for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, both launched in late 2015, as well as the first-ever iPhone SE from 2016. The common element between these phones is the use of the Apple A9 chip which probably serves as the marker for the end of support. The iPhone 7 from 2016 launched with an A10 processor.

If that's the case, iPads running on chips older than the Apple A10 will also be cut off this year. In fact, the report says that iPadOS 15 will no longer be compatible with the iPad Mini 4, iPad Air 2, and iPad 5, which used the A8, A8X, and A9 silicon, respectively. In this regard, there will be no changes for the iPod Touch as the last mode, the iPod Touch 7 from 2019, already ran on an A10 Fusion chip.

These changes are still not set in stone and could still change before the June announcement for iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. That said, this isn't the first time this rumor has come up and each new tip raises the likelihood of that being the case.