iPhone 7/Plus Apple had the "courage" to end support for the iPhone 7 (iOS 16)

[oofio2461]

For some reason, despite iPhone 7 Plus being perfectly able to run iOS 16, Apple had decided to end support for the 7. Doesn't really make sense when the iPhone 6s got one more update and the 7+ has 3GB of Ram and Most A10 (and A9 for crying out loud) iPad's are still supported on iPadOS16. Any reason why they ended support for the 7 early?

 

[Shirasaki]

Because of some feature related to A10 being unable to run it? And apple think iPhone 7 would miss so many that it’s not worth it? Idk. 🤷‍♂️

 

[JPack]

iPadOS 16 supports A9/2GB.

If the GM version of it continues to support A9, then I think it's pretty clear lack of A9 support in iOS 16 was a marketing decision.

 

[Andeddu]

Perhaps there aren’t many 7’s in the wild anymore. Shame though for the people who still own them. Looks like the 8 will be unsupported after iOS 16 then… a year earlier than most anticipated.

 

[eyoungren]

The iPhone 4s got iOS 9 when it should not have.

It balances out.

 

[arfbsantoso]

My i7 still works fine. I don't care if I can't run 16 on it. It still my daily driver.

 

[rui no onna]

As long as they continue with security updates in the meantime, I think it's fine.

It seems to me most of the features on iOS 16 require A11 Bionic or newer anyway.

 

[jav6454]

Because of some feature related to A10 being unable to run it? And apple think iPhone 7 would miss so many that it’s not worth it? Idk. 🤷‍♂️

No. There is one iPad model in the A9 that support full iOS 16. More likely Apple is trying to push few hold outs on the 7 to upgrade as I see no reason why to get rid of 2 generations at once. I can understand and see the 6S, but the 7?

 

[jaduff46]

A shame because mine works fine and have had no issues. I do understand the desire to get everyone on a common chip set or architecture. Wonder whether my Air 3, which is still under AppleCare, will be supported.

 

[now i see it]

Older iPhones will get culled whether they can actually run the latest version of iOS or not. It’s the Apple way.

 

[ian87w]

Yeah, big sad day to know the days of my iPhone 7+ has ended....
Apple literally cut off 2 generations all at once (6s and 7). And RAM is not an issue as the iPhone 8 is still being supported. So literally a ploy to get that juicy upgrades when the no-update iPhone 13.5 14 is released. Really annoyed with Apple today.

 

[ian87w]

As long as they continue with security updates in the meantime, I think it's fine.

It seems to me most of the features on iOS 16 require A11 Bionic or newer anyway.

It would be great if Apple employs the same 1 and -2 versions support (or at least 1 and -1 version) on iOS like they do on macOS. But that is not the case, with the fake promise of iOS14 support together with iOS15 being redacted.

 

[supergt]

When Apple leads (highlights) the iOS 16 unveiling with simple customizations to the Lock Screen, it’s clear that this is a mature platform.

Some of the iMessage “features” are nice but unnecessary. Incremental updates but no game changers.

Thus I don’t think iPhone 7 users are missing much (should Apple provide security updates and app support continues).

 

[ian87w]

Thus I don’t think iPhone 7 users are missing much (should Apple provide security updates and app support continues).

That's the problem. Unlike macOS, when Apple dropped iOs support, they just dropped it. They even redacted their promise of keeping iOS14 alongside iOS15. The only lucky version was iOS12. The rest, Apple immediately drop any sort of support.

 

[that be me]

...despite iPhone 7 Plus being perfectly able to run iOS 16

What are you basing this on?

 

[rui no onna]

That's the problem. Unlike macOS, when Apple dropped iOs support, they just dropped it. They even redacted their promise of keeping iOS14 alongside iOS15. The only lucky version was iOS12. The rest, Apple immediately drop any sort of support.

iOS 12 received security-only updates because it was the last supported version on a number of devices including the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPad Air, etc.

Iirc, iOS 6, 9 and 10 all received critical security updates as well after they were no longer actively developed.

All devices supported on iOS 13 and 14 were still supported on 15.
That’s why they didn’t really get security-only updates after 15 was released (well, 14 did get that one update).

With iOS 15 being the last firmware available for the 6s, 7, SE1, Air 2 and mini 4, I expect it will receive updates for critical security issues. It just won’t get any regular updates.

 

[Mark Stone]

My i7 still works fine. I don't care if I can't run 16 on it. It still my daily driver.

I like this. Even if the Eye Phone 7 does not update to 16, it’ll still work fine. Heck, I have friends that still use their 5s and love them.

 

[JCsHands2]

What are you basing this on?

Because the iPad 6 has the exact same CPU, GPU, and RAM as the iPhone 7.
The 8 has the same form factor. So dropping the iPhone 7 appears to have had nothing to do with hardware or form factor.

 

[ian87w]

iOS 12 received security-only updates because it was the last supported version on a number of devices including the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPad Air, etc.

Iirc, iOS 6, 9 and 10 all received critical security updates as well after they were no longer actively developed.

All devices supported on iOS 13 and 14 were still supported on 15.
That’s why they didn’t really get security-only updates after 15 was released (well, 14 did get that one update).

With iOS 15 being the last firmware available for the 6s, 7, SE1, Air 2 and mini 4, I expect it will receive updates for critical security issues. It just won’t get any regular updates.

Hopefully. We'll see.
Have a feeling that Apple's attitude will just be "go buy the iPhone SE."

 

[ian87w]

Because the iPad 6 has the exact same CPU, GPU, and RAM as the iPhone 7.
The 8 has the same form factor. So dropping the iPhone 7 appears to have had nothing to do with hardware or form factor.

Yup. RAM is also not an issue as the iPhone 8 and the 9.7" iPad Pro only have 2GB of RAM. This is literally marketing move. This action made me believe that the iPhone 14 reusing the same A15 chip to be true. So Apple expected a bit of backlash form that, thus they are nudging as many old iPhone users as possible to upgrade.

 

[winxmac]

Iirc, iOS 6, 9 and 10 all received critical security updates as well after they were no longer actively developed.

As of November 3, 2019, some iPhone and iPad models introduced in 2012 and earlier require an iOS update to resume accurate GPS location. This is due to the GPS time rollover issue that began affecting GPS-enabled products from other manufacturers on April 6, 2019. Affected Apple devices were not impacted until just before 12:00 a.m. UTC on November 3, 2019.

iOS 9.3.6 and iOS 10.3.4 were only released to fix the GPS-related issue... They were not in the same boat as post iOS 13/14/15 iOS 12 releases...

Update your iPhone or iPad software if you're experiencing issues with location, date, and time

 

[Crow_Servo]

iPadOS 16 doesn't get the new Lock Screen like in iOS 16. The new Lock Screen requires a Neural Engine, which means it requires a minimum of A11.

There, I just BS'd a reason for the A9 and A10 iPhones being dropped, while the A9 and A10 iPads did not.

Of course, that means Apple will drop those A9 and A10 iPads next year for iPadOS 17, now with the new (by then a year old) Lock Screen feature.

 

[Saladin12]

No. There is one iPad model in the A9 that support full iOS 16. More likely Apple is trying to push few hold outs on the 7 to upgrade as I see no reason why to get rid of 2 generations at once. I can understand and see the 6S, but the 7?

iPadOS and iOS are two different operating systems. There may be something to do with the Lock Screen notifications (or something else) that isn't quite optimisable for the 7.

 

[Shanghaichica]

It’s interesting. On its own I wouldn’t say much but they’ve also prematurity ended support for a lot of 2016/2017 MacBooks.

 

[Magnusson]

Apple cannot sustain a business model without planned obsolence.