Questionable Rumor Says iOS 13 Will Drop Support for iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, and iPhone SE

Friday May 10, 2019 6:30 am PDT by MacRumors Staff
iOS 13 will not be compatible with the iPhone 5s, ‌iPhone‌ 6, ‌iPhone‌ 6 Plus, or ‌iPhone‌ SE, and support for the original iPad Air and ‌iPad‌ mini 2 will also be dropped, according to a questionable rumor tipped to us by French blog iPhoneSoft.fr.


This is at least the second time we've heard this rumor this year, but it remains questionable for a few reasons. For one, the ‌iPhone‌ SE uses the same A9 chip as the ‌iPhone‌ 6s and the fifth-generation ‌iPad‌, so it would seem inconsistent if the ‌iPhone‌ SE was dropped but the latter two devices remained supported.

It could be theorized that Apple wants to drop support for iOS devices with 4-inch displays, including the ‌iPhone‌ 5s and ‌iPhone‌ SE, but there is again some inconsistency there, as the sixth-generation iPod touch will allegedly run ‌iOS 13‌.

This rumor would be significant if accurate, however, as the ‌iPhone‌ 6 and ‌iPhone‌ 6 Plus in particular were tremendously popular devices that are likely still in the hands of many millions of customers. Meanwhile, the fan-favorite ‌iPhone‌ SE was only released just over three years ago, in March 2016.

‌iOS 13‌ is expected to be unveiled at Apple's annual WWDC keynote on June 3, so we'll find out for sure in less than a month.

Related Roundups: iPhone SE 2, iOS 13, iPadOS
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oneMadRssn
9 months ago
When has Apple ever dropped OS support for a device that it was selling as new just a year ago? Never.
Rating: 35 Votes
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Dented
9 months ago

Seems that the cut off is based on ram as the SE and the 6S plus have the same chip.

They also have the same ram, 2gb in both, so it's not that.

Dropping the SE at this point would be unforgivable IMHO. It's identical internally to a 6S and younger too.
Rating: 32 Votes
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DoctorTech
9 months ago
I could see them dropping the 5s but I really doubt they would drop the 6 or 6s. I have 2 daughters who are going to be upset if they drop support for the SE. They love the size of their SEs and have held onto them rather than upgrading to newer, larger phones.
Rating: 29 Votes
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DanGoh
9 months ago
I can see the 6 and 6 Plus being dropped as they have 1GB of RAM and is almost 5 years old, but having the SE being dropped would suck.
Rating: 25 Votes
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1050792
9 months ago
Very possible to happen. They need a way to make users upgrade to their newer $2000 64GB iPhone's.
Rating: 20 Votes
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Pafoofnik
9 months ago
Apple just sold their remaining inventory of brand new SE's online a few months ago, of which I bought one. They had three of these SE dumps over a few week's time. If the rumor is true and my two SE's will no longer be upgradable, I will begin a campaign of forced obsolescence for corporate CEO's, too.
Rating: 15 Votes
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Grey Area
9 months ago

Meanwhile, the fan-favorite iPhone SE was only released just over three years ago, in March 2016.


The 32 and 128 GB versions are even just 2 years old. If this turns out to be true, then my SE will have had the same poor upgrade support that my previous Androids had, and which made me switch to the iPhone. So I really hope this is a false rumor. I'd probably switch to annual Android burners.
Rating: 14 Votes
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jagolden
9 months ago

I hope this is true.
iOS13 would slow dows that phones.
And Apple needs to sell new phones!


I think it should be left up to the phone owner to decide if they want to upgrade and take a supposed speed hit.
Rating: 13 Votes
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Bin Cook
9 months ago

As an SE user, I agree that it’s a bit disappointing to hear that a relatively modern (chipset-wise) device may not be receive the IOS 13, however the SE will continue working just fine on 12.x long after 13 is released. I don’t see this as a big deal. IOS 12 does run very smoothly on the SE, but the current IOS experience on the cramped, tiny screen is less than ideal. I would love to see Apple modernize the UI, and that may very well mean dropping 4 inch support if they want to do it right.

It will be quite some time before the apps we use now are no longer compatible with 12.x. No where in the purchasing agreement for my SE did I see a promise that new features would be forthcoming.

The SE will continue to do what it does now for quite some time, and if 12.x is the end, it will continue to do it well.


You won't be getting security patches, either. It's not just features that is the problem.
Rating: 11 Votes
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HacKage
9 months ago

When has Apple ever dropped OS support for a device that it was selling as new just a year ago? Never.

They were still selling iPhone SE a month ago according to multiple reports on this website!
Rating: 10 Votes

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