Highlights:
Old iPhone users were in for a treat last year when Apple announced that the iOS 12 would support all the phones through iPhone 5s. It now seems that the company won’t be releasing any major OS updates for a series of old iPhones. Israeli media outlet The Verifier has claimed that the iOS 13 will be unavailable on the iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, and iPhone 6s Plus.
When it comes to iPads, the news platform claims that Apple will allegedly drop support for the iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, and the iPad mini 4. The sixth-generation iPod touch is also said to be incompatible with iOS 13. The website does not mention about the fifth generation of iPad, which uses the same A9 chip as the iPhone 6s. If Apple drops iOS 13 support from iPhone 6s, it means that the fifth generation iPad will also not be supported.
Further, the website claims that along with a drop in support for iOS 13 on an array of devices, Apple will also drop support for some iOS 13 features to newer models to force user to upgrade to the latest iPhone models. It is true for a fact that Apple limits some features of the new iOS on some older devices due to hardware limitations. This could be taken as a fair argument, given that Apple has been supporting older devices for years after launch. The iOS 12 support on iPhone 5s is an example.
Last year, Counterpoint Research attributed the lengthening replacement cycle as one of the reasons for the iPhones’ sales decline in the US and Europe. Analysts also said that the high cost of iPhones and the intense competition from Chinese smartphone makers were the reasons for Apple’s worst performance since 2014 in India, which is among the fastest-growing smartphone markets in the world.
Famous analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted a rocky start of 2019 for the Cupertino-based company, claiming that the iPhone sales will continue to be weak in the first half of 2019. For this, IDC says, Apple needs “to tell a strong iPhone and, more importantly, ecosystem story to succeed.” Counterpoint Research said that people are opting for Chinese phones because “it doesn’t make sense to pay sky-high prices for a product [iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR] that doesn’t have new features.
Related Read:
Overall iPhone sales down 20% YoY in November: Counterpoint Research