Shocking news has emerged of a way Apple might soon be driving up sales of its next generation of iPhones.
iPhonesoft.fr, a specialist in these matters, has released a disturbing report saying that with iOS 13, Apple plans to drop support for the iPhone 5E, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6 and also the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2.
Considering that, with 220 million sold, the iPhone 6 is the company’s all-time best seller and, together with the iPhone SE, is still being sold right now, such a decision would leave hundreds of millions of iPhone users stranded.
Without iOS support, they will miss out on crucial security updates and new features, and their devices will lose a big chunk of their market value.
iOS 12 currently still supports the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 – so in one move the company would, for the first time ever, be killing two iPhone generations. While iPhone 5S owners might realise they are skating on thin ice, iPhone 5E, iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 6 owners will very likely view this as a betrayal.
To be fair, Apple gives support for its older phones for much longer than any of its Android competitors. Google, for example, only gives support for three generations of its Pixel flagships, while iPhone 6 owners have already benefited from five iOS generations.
Losing iOS support will nevertheless be a bitter pill for iPhone owners to swallow, particularly because they will know why: they are being pushed to upgrade at a time when iPhone sales are dropping and leaked designs of upcoming iPhones show very little to be excited about.
Add to the fact that, if they upgrade, they will be buying a phone that doesn’t support 5G and Apple might be taking the biggest gamble in its existence.