Apple is no stranger to accusations of planned obsolescence, but the company may have to gear up for another round of controversy. French site iPhoneSoft has published a rumor claiming the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone SE won’t be getting iOS 13.
While these devices won’t suddenly stop working, it does mean they’ll be missing out on new features and general security fixes. The lack of updates would be particularly disappointing for SE owners, as that model is only three years old.
It is possible that Apple wants to stop supporting 4-inch iPhone screen sizes with iOS 13; ending compatibility for 5s and SE would make strides towards that. The iPod touch remains a thorn in Apple’s side, as the company only sells one model of iPod touch … and that model features a 4-inch display. On the iPad side, iPhonesoft reports that only the iPad mini 2 and the iPad Air will not be able to install iOS 13. The iPad Air was launched in 2013, the same year as iPhone 5s.