From www.macworld.com
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While Google and Samsung and other Android phone makers make big proclamations about how long their handsets will receive OS updates, Apple doesn’t offer the same guarantees. No matter—a new report claims that iOS 19 will support the same phones as iOS 18—extending the shelf life of the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max for an incredible seven years.
When iOS 17 dropped support for the iPhone X, it seemed that succeeding models would follow suit. However, iOS 18 kept support for the same phones (XR/XS and later) despite launching the spec-demanding Apple Intelligence. Now a new report claims that iOS 19 will have the same compatibility list, a remarkable two years since the last iPhone model was dropped.
The rumor comes from the French-language site iPhoneSoft, which has a solid track record for compatibility predictions. If accurate, it means the iPhone XS/XS/XS Max will gain OS updates until at least August 2025, nearly eight years after it launched in September 2018. Add an extra year of security updates once full support is dropped and you’re looking at nearly a decade of updates for a $749 phone.
iPhoneSoft also reports that Apple will drop support for the 7th-gen iPad, which was released in 2019. That model runs an A10 Fusion processor, which is two generations older than the A12 Bionic in the iPhone XR. We don’t expect Apple Intelligence requirements to change with iOS 19.
Apple is expected to preview iOS 19 at WWDC 2025 in June before releasing the update to the public in September.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.
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