iOS 12 Device Support Predictions

[bodonnell202]

My predictions :

IOS 12: Iphone 5s and newer, Ipad Air and newer,Ipad Mini 2 and newer, Ipod touch 6
IOS 13: Iphone 6 and newer, Ipad Air 2 and newer, Ipad Mini 4, Ipod touch 6
IOS 14: Iphone 6s and newer, Ipad Air 2 and newer, Ipad Mini 4
IOS 15: Iphone 6s and newer, Ipad Pro 1 gen and newer
IOS 16: Iphone 7 and newer, Ipad Pro 2 gen and newer

Since IOS 12 wont have many feautres , it will focus on stability and perfomance. A7 can handle that. A8 and A7 is too close .

I'm hopeful that the iPad Air 2 & Mini 4 will get at least iOS 13 as well, but based on what Apple has historically done I can also see iOS 12 being the end of the line for all A8/A8x based devices. Mine are still running great and I'm not in any hurry to replace them.

 

[jtara]

I think really the controlling factor here is 64-bit CPU. So, same list as iOS11, and not likely anything will drop off of that list for some time. They would have to make the decision that some model's CPU is just too slow for modern apps, or aged-out for support.

 

[mlody]

Since there are rumors that apple will be focusing on polishing and performance improvements for iOS12, I would expect them to offer the upcoming update to all iOS11 devices.

 

[Math889]

I'm hopeful that the iPad Air 2 & Mini 4 will get at least iOS 13 as well, but based on what Apple has historically done I can also see iOS 12 being the end of the line for all A8/A8x based devices. Mine are still running great and I'm not in any hurry to replace them.

Air 2 and Mini 4 has 2gb of RAM . While A8 in Iphone 6 only has 1gb. So, Air 2 will have a extra year. They will drop Iph6 before Air 2 . Not all A8 devices will be excluded at once.

 

[gobikerider]

Air 2 and Mini 4 has 2gb of RAM . While A8 in Iphone 6 only has 1gb. So, Air 2 will have a extra year. They will drop Iph6 before Air 2 . Not all A8 devices will be excluded at once.

I agree the iPhone 6 will lose support while the Air 2 and Mini 4 will probably retain support an extra year. Apple did the same thing with the iPod Touch 4th gen and iPhone 4, ram made the difference.

 

[longpath]

I'd say iPhone 6 and newer

Agreed. Since the LTE Apple Watch 3 requires the 6 or newer, I think the 6 will be the bottom end of the survivors of the cut.

 

[Vivian125]

What does everyone think Apple will do with device support with iOS 12? With iOS 11 dropping support for 32 bit devices was obvious, however this time I'm not sure whether Apple will continue dropping the oldest generation of devices (i.e. anything with an A7 chip), or keep supporting them for another year since there isn't a huge difference in performance between the A7 and the A8 (compared to what there has been other years). Dropping devices with only 1 GB of RAM seems like the next obvious move, but I suspect that iOS 12 is too early to drop support for the iPhone 6/6+.

I am pretty sure just like my Pretty face, iOS 12 will only Support iPhone 6S and above, iPad Mini 4 and above, and iPad Air 2 and above. So meaning all devices below 2gb ram just like the iPhone 5S/6 and iPad Air wont get iOS 12.. Besides they are no longer selling A7 Devices for more than 3 years
[doublepost=1519742131][/doublepost]

I don't think so. I think iPhone 5s will be phased out with iOS 13.

But iPhone 5S is already slow in iOS 10.3.3 while iOS 11 made it worst.. unless your asking for killing your 5S the go update it to iOS 12 the overheating itself by straining its ancient hardware same 1.3 Gigahertz just like the iPhone 5 wont make it get iOS 12
[doublepost=1519742684][/doublepost]

That's more similar to a 5s though, the higher resolution iPads seem to struggle more, I assume because more of the RAM is used up as VRAM leaving less for system and app use. It goes without saying hey won't cut off something thats still being sold, and I don't suppose the 6 and 6+ will go yet, so I guess some 1gb support will remain. I think the last time they differentiated on RAM was between the iPhone 4 and iPad (1) so there is some precedent, but they haven't done it for quite a while.

You mean the iPod touch 6th gen is similar to iPhone 5S? Its not.
iPhone 5S uses 1.3Ghz just like the iPhone 5. Though its A7 is not power efficient unlike later chips.
iPod touch uses A8 Chip more power efficient
[doublepost=1519743137][/doublepost]

Drop support for a device they are still selling as new?

Ohhh myy goooosh The 6S is not that bad in performance of iOS 11 and Its slightly better on 6 on iOS 11 im sure iOS 13 will be supported of 6S so its still 2 years more.

 

[gobikerider]

I am pretty sure just like my Pretty face, iOS 12 will only Support iPhone 6S and above, iPad Mini 4 and above, and iPad Air 2 and above. So meaning all devices below 2gb ram just like the iPhone 5S/6 and iPad Air wont get iOS 12.. Besides they are no longer selling A7 Devices for more than 3 years
[doublepost=1519742131][/doublepost]
But iPhone 5S is already slow in iOS 10.3.3 while iOS 11 made it worst.. unless your asking for killing your 5S the go update it to iOS 12 the overheating itself by straining its ancient hardware same 1.3 Gigahertz just like the iPhone 5 wont make it get iOS 12
[doublepost=1519742684][/doublepost]
You mean the iPod touch 6th gen is similar to iPhone 5S? Its not.
iPhone 5S uses 1.3Ghz just like the iPhone 5. Though its A7 is not power efficient unlike later chips.
iPod touch uses A8 Chip more power efficient
[doublepost=1519743137][/doublepost]
Ohhh myy goooosh The 6S is not that bad in performance of iOS 11 and Its slightly better on 6 on iOS 11 im sure iOS 13 will be supported of 6S so its still 2 years more.

The iPad Air hasn’t even been off the market for two years yet, it’ll be on March 21. iOS 11 has been a poor release in general across the lineup and with iOS 12 focusing on performance the entire lineup of support will be kept. It wont be until iOS 13 that A7 devices are dropped.

 

[Jordan246]

hey guys i know we are a couple of months away from WWDC18 but what do you think what is going to supported this year with ios 12. My predictions are that everything that runs ios 11 will support ios 12 but thats up in the air. Please write back. I would appreciate it. Thanks

 

[concept32]

What are the chances the Mini, iPhone 6s/+, and SE get a spec bump such as an A9 or A10?

 

[TheSkywalker77]

I'm pretty sure the 6 / 6 Plus and above will be getting it. The one device I'm debating on is the 5s. It can't just be left on the mess iOS 11 was. So they should either release one last version of iOS 11.x that'll polish everything off for the 5s, or just give the 5s iOS 12 - not sure if they will tho since it's already slow enough on iOS 11.

 

[JPack]

hey guys i know we are a couple of months away from WWDC18 but what do you think what is going to supported this year with ios 12. My predictions are that everything that runs ios 11 will support ios 12 but thats up in the air. Please write back. I would appreciate it. Thanks

Apple advertises the application processor and not the RAM. Apple ties iOS functions with the application processor. Examples include A9 supporting ARKit, A10 supporting HEVC, A11 supporting Portrait Lighting.

iOS 12 will drop support for A7.

Apple will not use RAM to define iOS support. If RAM is associated with iOS support, they lose the "Designed by Apple in California" appeal of Apple CPUs. RAM is made by Hynix, Toshiba, Samsung ("the other guys"). Apple application processors are made in-house.
[doublepost=1523176046][/doublepost]

I think really the controlling factor here is 64-bit CPU. So, same list as iOS11, and not likely anything will drop off of that list for some time. They would have to make the decision that some model's CPU is just too slow for modern apps, or aged-out for support.

The controlling factor is marketing.

Apple didn't need to cut off 32-bit processors from iOS 11. Not a single iOS product has more than 4GB of RAM.

Instead, the A6 had reached its 4-years of planned major iOS updates in 2017. The A6 was the last 32-bit processor and Apple took the opportunity to drop 32-bit iOS support.

Most people are making the assumption Apple needed to cut off 32-bit in 2017 for some special reason.

 

[MandiMac]

Apple will not use RAM to define iOS support. If RAM is associated with iOS support, they lose the "Designed by Apple in California" appeal of Apple CPUs. RAM is made by Hynix, Toshiba, Samsung ("the other guys"). Apple application processors are made in-house.
[doublepost=1523176046][/doublepost]
Apple didn't need to cut off 32-bit processors from iOS 11. Not a single iOS product has more than 4GB of RAM.

You do know that the argument of RAM defining iOS support was about the amount of RAM? It makes no difference who manufactured said RAM.

And you do know that there are more benefits to 64-bit besides supporting more than 3,xx GB RAM? More instructions available, better encryption support and better performance with integers are just some that come to mind. Don‘t reduce 64-bit to a RAM-only issue.

 

[JPack]

You do know that the argument of RAM defining iOS support was about the amount of RAM? It makes no difference who manufactured said RAM.

Apple doesn’t want the consumer to talk about RAM. Period.

RAM is not an Apple innovation. The A11 is. Apple’s message is A11 and iOS are what makes the iPhone experience possible. Not RAM.

If Apple says, “to run a modern OS, you need a phone with more RAM” consumers will compare RAM on other phones on the market. The Samsung phone with 6GB may look superior. The whole idea behind not mentioning RAM on iPhone is to avoid comparisons. It’s the same reason why Apple doesn’t advertise GHz and instead calls it A11 Bionic.

And you do know that there are more benefits to 64-bit besides supporting more than 3,xx GB RAM? More instructions available, better encryption support and better performance with integers are just some that come to mind. Don‘t reduce 64-bit to a RAM-only issue.

Sure there are plenty of performance reasons. Each generation of Ax Processors are faster than the previous generation.

Even macOS hasn’t gone 64-bit only. Yet iOS needed to be 64-bit?

 

[MandiMac]

If Apple says, “to run a modern OS, you need a phone with more RAM” consumers will compare RAM on other phones on the market.

Even macOS hasn’t gone 64-bit only. Yet iOS needed to be 64-bit?

They won‘t single out the RAM here. Just like they did before with iPod and iPhone, one device will be supported, the other one won‘t. But for iOS 12 every device that got iOS 11 will get iOS 12 as well as it‘s a refining process.

And iOS got the new APFS file system first too. Does that mean APFS wasn‘t something for the Mac? And with 10.14 32-bit apps will be phased out as well. Don‘t worry

 

[pika2000]

If Apple stopped at iOS 11.3, then I think all current iOS 11 devices will get iOS 12 since Apple said iOS 12 will focus on refinement instead of new features.

However, there is 11.4 coming out of the blue. Now I think the A7 will be dropped in iOS 12, keeping the trend.

I’m sure Apple wanted to drop the iPhone 6 as well, but fact is the 6/6 plus were one of the best selling iPhones ever, so Apple is kinda stuck knowing there are a lot of people on these phones and dropping them off support prematurely might not bode well (despite the performance issues, especially on the 6 plus even on launch).

 

[nviz22]

Anything with 2gb RAM or more will be supported. Apple better offer split-screen multi-tasking and PIP mode. I'll move back over from Android if they do that because those are the only features I want in iOS 12. Notifications will be cleaned up because it's a cluster bleep to say the least.

 

[LovingTeddy]

If Apple stopped at iOS 11.3, then I think all current iOS 11 devices will get iOS 12 since Apple said iOS 12 will focus on refinement instead of new features.

However, there is 11.4 coming out of the blue. Now I think the A7 will be dropped in iOS 12, keeping the trend.

I’m sure Apple wanted to drop the iPhone 6 as well, but fact is the 6/6 plus were one of the best selling iPhones ever, so Apple is kinda stuck knowing there are a lot of people on these phones and dropping them off support prematurely might not bode well (despite the performance issues, especially on the 6 plus even on launch).

Believe or not, Apple is still selling iPhone 6 through carrier channel in multiple countries around the world. There is zero chance for any A8 devices gets dropped. iOS 13 maybe, but certainly not iOS 12.

With regarding of A7. If iOS 12 is really about improvement in performance, then A7 should really get the update. Since iOS 11 sucks big time with A7 devices, it would be nice for Apple to put a good version on A7 devices then stop supporting it. If iOS 12 is about new features, then i think A7 won’t get at all
[doublepost=1523410228][/doublepost]

Anything with 2gb RAM or more will be supported. Apple better offer split-screen multi-tasking and PIP mode. I'll move back over from Android if they do that because those are the only features I want in iOS 12. Notifications will be cleaned up because it's a cluster bleep to say the least.

Meh... I will give up on Android IF Apple include real file browser, ability to hook up external storage devices without special apps, ability to set default applications and clean up notification.

The reason is that Android is operate more like Windows or Mac, which i am familiar with. I am tired of bot able to save files into a location that I want and not able to browse file. I really want real file browser and ability to put files wherever I want.

Split-screen multitasking is one thing that i do not care about. It is nice to have, but never use them. Just not good experience, heck I don’t even do that with my iPad and 14 inch Windows laptop.
[doublepost=1523410476][/doublepost]

I'm hopeful that the iPad Air 2 & Mini 4 will get at least iOS 13 as well, but based on what Apple has historically done I can also see iOS 12 being the end of the line for all A8/A8x based devices. Mine are still running great and I'm not in any hurry to replace them.

It probably will. Consider how Apple is still selling iPad mini and iPhone 6 right now. I don’t think that going to changed until 2018 iPhone comes out. Until then iPhone 6 is still the lowest priced iPhone you can pick up right now. Consider that iPhone 6 will be off market about one year after iOS 12, there is pretty good chance for iOS 13 still available on iPhone 6.

 

[nviz22]

Believe or not, Apple is still selling iPhone 6 through carrier channel in multiple countries around the world. There is zero chance for any A8 devices gets dropped. iOS 13 maybe, but certainly not iOS 12.

With regarding of A7. If iOS 12 is really about improvement in performance, then A7 should really get the update. Since iOS 11 sucks big time with A7 devices, it would be nice for Apple to put a good version on A7 devices then stop supporting it. If iOS 12 is about new features, then i think A7 won’t get at all
[doublepost=1523410228][/doublepost]

Meh... I will give up on Android IF Apple include real file browser, ability to hook up external storage devices without special apps, ability to set default applications and clean up notification.

The reason is that Android is operate more like Windows or Mac, which i am familiar with. I am tired of bot able to save files into a location that I want and not able to browse file. I really want real file browser and ability to put files wherever I want.

Split-screen multitasking is one thing that i do not care about. It is nice to have, but never use them. Just not good experience, heck I don’t even do that with my iPad and 14 inch Windows laptop.
[doublepost=1523410476][/doublepost]

It probably will. Consider how Apple is still selling iPad mini and iPhone 6 right now. I don’t think that going to changed until 2018 iPhone comes out. Until then iPhone 6 is still the lowest priced iPhone you can pick up right now. Consider that iPhone 6 will be off market about one year after iOS 12, there is pretty good chance for iOS 13 still available on iPhone 6.

I use it on my Mac for school so often. Great for web research and typing documents simultaneously.

 

[Henk Poley]

Most likely they’re either dropping A7 or dropping nothing. They’re still selling the A8 in more than one product.

Hmm, given that the HomePod contains the A8, we at least 'know' that iOS 13 will still support the A8. It would pretty odd to drop it after 1.5 years, in september 2019. Though of course they could branch iOS and keep backporting their HomePod speaker and Siri software to iOS 12 on the HomePod.

 

[ediks]

https://9to5mac.com/2018/04/20/webk...nce-ios-12-running-on-an-iphone-5s-simulator/

I hope that the 5s wont be killed like the 4S which got the ios9 "stability update" but i think that it will

 

[Falhófnir]

https://9to5mac.com/2018/04/20/webk...nce-ios-12-running-on-an-iphone-5s-simulator/

I hope that the 5s wont be killed like the 4S which got the ios9 "stability update" but i think that it will

The 5s and 4s are worlds apart in terms of the power they have available - the A6 was closer to 3x faster (than to 2x) than the A5, while the A7 was twice as fast again. So going by Apple’s numbers the A7 is almost 6x as capable as the A5. In reality geekbench shows the A7 being a good 5x (single core) and 4.5x (multi core) faster than the A5, while in terms of graphics performance the jump between 5 and 5s was as big as the cumulative jump between the 2g and 5! I know a couple of people still using the 5s and it runs iOS 11 perfectly compared to what iOS 9 (the 4s’ 5th OS) was like on the 4s. There are a few minor lags, hiccups and delays, but it doesn’t try your patience in the same way 9 on the 4s did. What really matters is optimisation though - iOS animations lag on an 8 or X by some accounts. That shouldn’t be confused with the phone struggling to actually run the OS.

 

[nordique]

Agreed. Since the LTE Apple Watch 3 requires the 6 or newer, I think the 6 will be the bottom end of the survivors of the cut.

That's purely related to the LTE chip in the iPhone 6 vs 5s

The base model series 3 still supports the 5S

Very unlikely apple will base support on whether the LTE capability of its smart watch is compatible or not

The 5s should still support iOS 12 as long as apple feels it will be able to. Given how close in raw power it is to the iPhone 6, I'm expecting it to be able to run on the 5s. iOS 12 is also supposed to be an optimization centric update. Would be good to sort out the mild performance issues on the A7 and A8 devices as best as possible.

 

[Vivian125]

What does everyone think Apple will do with device support with iOS 12? With iOS 11 dropping support for 32 bit devices was obvious, however this time I'm not sure whether Apple will continue dropping the oldest generation of devices (i.e. anything with an A7 chip), or keep supporting them for another year since there isn't a huge difference in performance between the A7 and the A8 (compared to what there has been other years). Dropping devices with only 1 GB of RAM seems like the next obvious move, but I suspect that iOS 12 is too early to drop support for the iPhone 6/6+.

If iOS 12 Drops support for iPhone 6, iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 4 will also go all together with remaining A8 Devices. it does not matter if iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini 4 has 2GB Ram, because they are 3 to 4 times bigger screen more pixel to push than 6/6 Plus. Ram sometimes don't matter if the processor still the same especially on iPads vs iPhones.

Look at the iPad 3, it has the SAME 1GB ram of an iPhone 5/5S/6 and iPad 4 and iPad Air 1st generation. But Even it has A5X and 1GB Ram the ram itself on iPad 3 is useless, and did not get iOS 10 but the iPad 4 did get it because it is 1 year newer. In Apple, Apple never drops two generation at a time just like A5 and A6 Chip both are 32 bit right? same thing as A7 and A8, in Apple, Newer Generation will be supported 1 year longer no matter if there is slight difference in processor, cpu, and GPU.

So in the end, it's not about the ram, Try to look also in Battery:
Battery:
5S vs 6/6S (iPhone 6/6S or newer are more power efficient)
Performance:
5S vs 6 (THe 5S is clocked only at 1.3Ghz just like the iPhone 5 also clocked at 1.3Ghz)
20-50% Faster CPU and GPU (Yes it's minimal, but its still faster)

Design:
5S vs 6/6S (The design looks like an iPhone 5, worst is it looks like an iPhone 4 from a very far distance, while the iPhone 6/6S is a lot closer to the iPhone 8 design.

Year Released: (Also, One year newer also affects the OS update, since iPhone 6 is 1 year newer it has less strain on it's hardware, while 5S is really, really old.)
2013 vs 2014/2015

Features that isn't present on 5S:
1. 240FPS in slow mo
2. NO NFC
3. No ability to scan cards
4. Lacks Apple Pay
5. Lacks barometer
6. Lacks VOLTE

See? it's not just on Ram, it's also on the age of a specific apple device. just like the iPad 3 and 4 with 1gb of ram while iPad 2 has 512mb ram. both iPad 2 and 3 did not get the iOS 10, no matter if 3 has 1gb ram just like iPad 4. cuz it uses the Completely same processor. but if iPad 3 has A6, maybe it will get iOS 10 but unfortunately it's 1gb ram is total useless cuz of it's weak aging processor. similar thing going to remaning A7 devices and so on.
[doublepost=1527088431][/doublepost]

iOS 12 will support all the devices that iOS 11 does.
Why?
iOS 12 will be rather a patch to iOS 11 since iOS 11 was so buggy. It won't receive (many) new features.

iOS 12: All iOS 11 supported device: 5S and up, iPad Mini 3 or newer, iPad Air and newer.
iOS 13: iPhone 6 or newer, iPad Air 2 or newer, iPad MIni 4 or newer. A7 drops.
iOS 14: iPhone 6S or newer, iPad Pro 1st gen or newer, iPad 5th or newer. NO more A8/A8X device
iOS 15: iPhone 7 or newer, iPad Pro 2 or newer.
iOS 16: iPhone 8 and newer.

 

[Henk Poley]

So.. it is now known that iOS 12 supports all iOS 11 supported devices.