iOS 15 may be the end of the road for these iPhones

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus
(Image credit: Future)

While Apple rightly gets a lot of credit for keeping its old devices up to date, particularly when compared to non-Pixel Android devices, the fun must come to an end, even for iPhones.

This rumor comes courtesy of The Verifier, an Israeli tech publication, and its sources say when iOS 15 arrives next year, it will leave behind the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and the original iPhone SE (via TechRadar).

The Verifier has something of a hit or miss record when it comes to Apple rumors, but last year it was correct in saying that iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 would support all devices that were capable of running iOS 13, so perhaps this is an area where its sources are more reliable.

There's also an element of common sense to this one as no devices decoupled from the update train this year, so it stands to reason that something will go next year and the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and the iPhone SE (2016) are the cabooses at the moment.

It's assumed iOS 15 will be announced at WWDC and roll out next fall with the release of the iPhone 13, following the traditional pattern. This will have made for a great run for all of these devices with the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus celebrating their 6th birthday next fall and the iPhone SE will be 5.5 years old. 

Compare this to the state of things on Android where the Pixel is the gold standard with just three years of software support, half what Apple gives iPhone owners, and you've got to tip your hat to the Cupertino gaint. 

Sean Riley

Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more.  Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.