It has often happened before that with every new iOS version, Apple has eliminated its iPhone models that launched five years ago (or maybe older) from the compatibility list. And with iOS 15, the next big OS version expected to arrive next year, the same could happen. As per a report by The Verifier, three iPhone models might get eliminated from the list – iPhone SE (first gen), iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The trio are there in the iOS 14 eligibility list and have received the OS updates. However, this could be the last major update for them.
But this will also mean that the iOS 15 compatibility line up will have four new iPhone 13 models as well. So, the possible iOS 15 eligibility list may look something like this:
-2021 iPhone line up (iPhone 13)
-iPhone 12 Pro Max
-iPhone 12 Pro
-iPhone-12 mini
-iPhone 12
-iPhone 11
-iPhone-11 Pro
-iPhone 11 Pro Max
-iPhone XS
-iPhone-XS Max
-iPhone XR
-iPhone X
-iPhone 8
-iPhone 8 Plus
-iPhone 7
-iPhone 7 Plus
-iPhone SE (2nd generation)
-iPod touch (7th generation)
Of course, there is no official announcement and we’ll only get to know the compatibility when iOS 15 is announced later next year. So, we will take this with a pinch of salt for now.
It might also be the case that the list stays untouched while including the new iPhones. In case you haven’t noticed, both iOS 13 and iOS 14 have support for iPhone SE, iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus – meaning there was no iPhone eliminated from both the lists.
However, we do expect Apple to remove these three since the firm is slowly moving towards bezel-less iPhone design and the latest iOS versions are designed primarily for a bigger, corner-to-corner screens instead of those coming with massive bezels like seen in iPhone SE, 6s, 7 and 8 series.