Apple testing the last iOS update some iPhones and iPads will get | ZDNet

Almost three weeks ago, Apple rolled out Beta 1 for iOS 14.7 and iPadOS 14.7, with Beta 2 following a couple of weeks later.

This is quite a significant milestone as it will likely be the end of the line for quite a few older devices, as iOS 15 approaches and support is dropped for some iPhones and iPads.

After this point, any battery bugs or performance issues that remain aren’t going to be fixed.

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While we don’t yet have the official list of devices supported by iOS 15, the word is that it will drop support for devices running the A9 chip. If this is accurate — and it is what I’m hearing from multiple sources — then support for the following devices will be dropped in iOS 15:

• iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus (first released 2015)
• iPhone SE (first released 2016)
• 5th-gen iPad (first released 2017)
• iPad mini 4 (first released 2015)
• iPad Air 2 (first released 2014)

What this means is that iOS 14.7 and iPad OS 14.7 will be the last update that these devices receive. There may be bugfixes in the form of 14.7.x releases, but this will be for showstopping bugs or security vulnerabilities.

I’ve looked at the recent betas for iOS 14.7, and I’m not seeing much beyond some HomePod enhancements. There’s reference made to bug fixes, but I couldn’t tell you what they are.

Those thinking of giving iOS 14.7 Beta 2 a go should probably be aware that there seems to be an issue causing a “SIM Failure” message to be displayed for some iPhones using an eSIM, and it’s so bad that some users say the handset is effectively bricked, not working when rolled back to iOS 14.6 and a physical SIM installed.

So, be smart and take care if you want to play with the new release.