iOS 17 will abandon support for iPhone X, and the 1st generation iPad Pro

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As WWDC 2023 approaches, discussions flourish regarding which devices will support iOS 17 and iPadOS 17.

Apple typically offers extended support cycles for iPhones and iPads. With iOS 16, support was relinquished for the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, released in 2015. The final update, iOS 15.x, was introduced in 2021, providing six years of feature updates and ongoing security support.

Rumors suggest that iOS 17 may abandon support for the iPhone X and the original iPad Pro, possibly due to vulnerability issues.

iOS 17 support

This year, however, circumstances seem different. Rumors indicate that iOS 17 will no longer support the iPhone X and earlier models. The iPhone X was introduced in 2018, and if unsupported by iOS 17, it would only have a four-year feature support cycle with the final version being 2022’s iOS 16.x.

A user with a history of accurate iOS device support predictions, @Fame_G_Monster, announced that iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 will abandon the following models:

  • iPhone 8
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone X
  • 9.7-inch iPad Pro (1st generation)
  • 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st generation)

Apple’s early termination of feature update support for these devices may likely be due to a bootrom vulnerability affecting Apple A5 to A11 chip-powered devices, with no permanent fix available as the bootrom operates in read-only mode.

Exploiting this vulnerability allows devices with A5 to A11 chips to achieve permanent jailbreaking and file system modifications on various iOS versions, potentially being the reason Apple will no longer provide feature support for these devices.

However, it should be noted that this information is speculative, as @Fame_G_Monster deleted the tweet, leaving the accuracy of the prediction uncertain.

Furthermore, even without feature updates, Apple will continue providing security updates for older devices. For instance, the iPhone 5s still receives occasional security updates from Apple to address vulnerabilities.

Via: 9to5mac

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