Apple prone to axe 2017-2019 iPads from iPadOS 18 compatibility listing

WWDC 2024 remains to be greater than three months away, whereas the brand new working techniques set to be unveiled at that occasion received’t arrive on our units till the autumn. However we’re already listening to loads of rumors about Apple’s bulletins.

Whereas iOS 18 is predicted to help the entire identical telephones as iOS 17, the newest report signifies iPadOS 18, the massive upcoming software program replace for the iPad, will drop help for iPads that run Apple’s A10X Fusion chip. Meaning such units–particularly the 2017 iPad Professional fashions simply earlier than the massive redesign–received’t have the ability to set up the brand new working system and shall be caught forevermore on level updates of iPadOS 17 or earlier.

The knowledge comes from a personal account on Twitter/X which MacRumors credit with “a confirmed monitor file of sharing construct numbers for upcoming iOS and iPadOS updates.” The put up has since been deleted, which could sound dangerous, however is probably merely a method for the account to keep away from the highlight. As MacRumors observes, the account has prior to now deleted leaks which turned out to be correct.

The next iPads are licensed as suitable with iPadOS 17:

• iPad Professional 12.9-inch (2nd era and later)
• iPad Professional 10.5-inch
• iPad Professional 11-inch (1st era and later)
• iPad Air (third era and later)
• iPad (Sixth era and later)
• iPad mini (fifth era and later)

If we take away the fashions with an A10X processor, it appears like this:

• iPad Professional 12.9-inch (third era and later)
• iPad Professional 11-inch (1st era and later)
• iPad Air (third era and later)
• iPad (Sixth era and later)
• iPad mini (fifth era and later)

However we shouldn’t cease there. As MacRumors notes, there are two units on the iPadOS 17 listing (the Sixth- and Seventh-gen iPads from 2018 and 2019 respectively) that don’t have A10X chips, however have the slower A10 as an alternative. If the A10X isn’t as much as the job, the A10 absolutely received’t be both. So right here’s our closing compatibility listing:

• iPad Professional 12.9-inch (third era and later)
• iPad Professional 11-inch (1st era and later)
• iPad Air (third era and later)
• iPad (eighth era and later)
• iPad mini (fifth era and later)
• No matter iPads are launched between now and the autumn

In fact, this isn’t concrete info simply but, but it surely is sensible: final 12 months Apple dropped help for 3 A9 iPads from 2015-2017, so we are able to’t be stunned to see some 2017 and 2018 fashions disappear this time round. For all the newest details about Apple’s summer time occasion this 12 months, try our WWDC 2024 superguide.