We may have just learned which unlucky iPhones may not be getting iOS 19 support, according to a new claim from a private, anonymous X account seen by 9to5Mac.
It's apparently going to be the end of the road for the iPhone Xs, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR, which will be retiring after six years of updates. Apple could still issue security updates to keep these phones safe from newly discovered risks down the line, but they will no longer get new features outside of any added to apps directly.
This follows from 2017's iPhone X not being supported by iOS 18, the current version of iOS. While the iPhone 8 series, launched at the same time, stopped being supported after iOS 16, the iPhone X follows Apple's current pattern of six years of full software support.
While six years of updates is likely plenty for most users, this is still a year behind Samsung and Google's latest software support offers.
New flagship phones from these companies, like the Galaxy S25 series or Pixel 9 series, get seven generations of Android updates, plus a few lucky budget models such as the new Pixel 9a.
However, this is inconsistent with a previous rumor that iOS 19 would work with all iPhones capable of running iOS 18. So either something's changed at Apple in the months since that rumor was published, or at least one of these leakers is incorrect.
Taking the latest rumor as true, this would mean that the iPhone 11 series and later models, including the iPhone SE 2 and iPhone SE 3 from 2020 and 2022, will all get the iOS 19 update.
That said, not all iOS 19 features may be available on all of these phones, as we saw last year with iOS 18's Apple Intelligence features only offered on the iPhone 16 series and the iPhone 15 Pro.
The mystery leaker also made support claims for iPadOS 19, iOS 19's equivalent for Apple's tablets. Apparently only the 7th-gen iPad from 2019 will be dropped from the current slate of supported iPads, leaving most other currently supported models on Apple's update list.
That again differs from the earlier rumor, which said the iPad Pro 2017, which uses the same A10 Bionic chipset, would also lose support.
A milestone iOS update — for the phones that get it
iOS 19 is tipped to be making big changes to the look of the iPhone's software, supposedly being iOS' largest redesign in a decade.
It's currently believed this will involve a new look for the Camera app and other apps that will bring all of Apple's OSes closer together, live translation for AirPods, an AI health advice tool, and the addition of promised Apple Intelligence features that haven't made it to iPhones yet, plus a few new applications for existing AI tools.
We've even seen some possible mock-ups of iOS 19's design, although the jury's still out on their accuracy.
We should find out all the iOS 19 details officially at WWDC 2025, which has been announced as starting on June 9. You can expect info on Apple's other big software products too, such as macOS 16.
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