Apple restricts iOS 10 to iPhone 5, 4th-gen iPad or newer [u]
AppleInsider Staff
Following a debut onstage at WWDC 2016, Apple seeded the first beta version of iOS 10 to developers on Monday with support limited to iPhones, iPads and iPod touch models powered by the company's A6 system-on-chip and better.
As noted at the bottom of Apple's iOS 10 preview website, the upcoming mobile operating system is compatible only with newer devices, leaving legacy models like the iPhone 4S and original iPad stuck with older iOS versions. Specifically, hardware powered by A6 chips the new minimum requirement set by iOS 10.
According to Apple, iOS 10 will run on:
iPhone
- iPhone 6s & 6s Plus
- iPhone 6 & 6 Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone 5c
- iPhone 5
iPad
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch
- iPad Pro 9.7-inch
- iPad Air 2
- iPad Air
- iPad 4th generation
- iPad mini 4
- iPad mini 3
- iPad mini 2
iPod
- iPod touch 6th generation
Unlike other platforms, Apple's iOS offers reasonably deep compatibility with older hardware. However, as the mobile OS bakes in advanced features its performance standard rises, meaning legacy devices will inevitably fall short. For iOS 10, Apple has set the cutoff at the A6 SoC.
The first iOS 10 beta was issued today, months ahead of public release this fall.
Update: Apple on Tuesday modified the iOS 10 compatibility list, raising hardware requirements to A6 SoCs and higher.
Andrew Orr
Wesley Hilliard
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Malcolm Owen
