Apple To Discontinue Services On Old Software

Big changes in iOS support could come to users this year. As reported, a list of all those devices that should not receive iOS 17 support has surfaced. Now there are more details – some services will also make support changes.

That’s what MacRumors says. According to the online magazine, two independent sources emerged with the indication that Apple services will probably stop supporting older operating system versions later this year.

Specifically, it said that devices running iOS 11 could soon lose access to Apple services. One of the sources is the Twitter leaker “StellaFudge”. According to him, practically all Apple online services, with the exception of iCloud, are supported on devices running iOS 11, macOS High Sierra, watchOS 4, and tvOS 11 and earlier will no longer work. Users using this software should be appropriately notified of the impending restriction and update their devices where possible.

App Store, Siri, and Maps

According to MacRumors, there’s also a hint at Apple’s end of support itself. The company released a new support article last month, explaining that “older versions of the software will no longer support Apple services like the App Store, Siri, and Maps will support.” The reasons for this decision are unclear.

Currently, even with an old iPhone 3GS, services like iMessage can still be used. Likewise, iPhone 4 users can still make FaceTime calls. All functions released at that time have remained so far, but now Apple supposedly wants to introduce changes for security reasons. 

The question is how many users this will actually affect. According to (already somewhat older) information from Apple, only 8 percent of iOS devices still run software prior to iOS 15. The effects of the restriction on services would therefore not be very great.