Apple is gearing up to launch its new iOS 17 in September, which will be packed with new features for the iPhone, but the update will leave some iPhone owners with older devices.
The iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and even the 2017 iPhone X won’t support the upcoming operating system, and tech experts have warned users that the news will likely cut the trade-in value of their models in half.
Owners of these devices will need to prepare for rapidly declining compatibility with newer versions of their favorite third-party apps.
But there’s no immediate cause for alarm if you can’t afford to upgrade to a newer iPhone or are just still very happy with the one you have.
Apple will continue to provide security updates and patches for all iPhones running operating systems back to their iOS 12 operating system or newer – for at least two years.
When they were new, these were the shiny latest iPhone models in 2017: the iPhone X (center), the iPhone 8 (right), and iPhone 8 Plus (left)
A new iOS 17 feature that aims to make life easier is ‘NameDrop’ which allows users to easily share contact information by tapping their device with someone else’s. But as with many iOS 17 features, the benefit is only available for devices with the A12 Bionic chip or newer hardware
Today, the trade-in value for a new-condition iPhone X (pictured) is about $190. Much more cash counted above at an Apple store in Hong Kong, as a customer buys back two iPhone Xs on Nov. 3, 2017, when the brand-new phone received a starting price of a whopping $999
Last January, Apple even released a security update to iOS 12 that helped protect the decade-old iPhone 5s and the 6th-generation iPod touch, which debuted in 2015.
But that doesn’t mean living with an older iPhone will be a cinch or completely safe.
Here’s what to look out for even more if you plan on sparingly extending the life of your Apple device well into its golden years.
Members of the Reddit community dedicated to the iPhone X advise that users will likely get at least one to two more years of mileage out of their devices before app upgrades begin to lose functionality and security.
“IPhone X owners usually get support for apps until 2025/6, and then some things won’t work,” one user notes. “Struggle for a few more years.”
The problem is, as Apple transitions from iOS 17 to the inevitable iOS 18 and beyond, many app makers plan to roll out software updates they’ve designed themselves to take advantage of the hardware capabilities of the latest iPhone models. .
And there are a handful of features that just won’t work unless you have an iPhone 12 or later, including 3D FaceTime responses, improved autocorrect, and text predictions.
For all these new features to work, the iPhone must have an A12 Bionic chip or later, which is the iPhone XS and above.
Even some accessibility features, such as the new dictation feature that highlights as you speak, or Live Captions, which add captions to live content like video calls, require the A12 or newer.
Another big feature Apple has promised for iOS 16 is the ability to easily grab an object or person from an image in your camera roll and paste it elsewhere, essentially turning them into stickers.
Over time, many social media apps will want to better integrate these features into their own user experience – benefits that only benefit owners of the latest Apple devices.
For example, WhatsApp users will want to pick their friends’ faces for stickers. Or Instagram users may want to add captions to their video stories.
Relying on older and older versions of third-party apps can lead to some security issues for iPhone X and iPhone 8 users over time, but for the truly security-obsessed, there are many more reasons to upgrade.
The new updates with iOS 17 promise a range of new security features, including improvements to Safari Private Browsing and Apple’s parental controls.
And, as Apple announced at its WWDC 2023 conference in June, the new iOS 17 will help automate notifications to friends and loved ones that you’ve arrived safely home or at your chosen destination.
According to an Apple representative, the feature will be in the Messages app.
“After a user initiates a check-in, their friend or family member is automatically notified as soon as the user arrives.”
“If they are not making progress toward their destination, useful information will be temporarily shared with the selected contact, such as device location, battery level and cell service status,” the company said.
For even more security, Apple has confirmed that all information shared by Check In is end-to-end encrypted, so only you and your trusted contacts can see when you’ve reached your destination.
With all of these security benefits, someone who is concerned about personal safety over price can consider upgrading well before their old iPhone starts experiencing compatibility and upgrade issues.
If you want to split the difference and upgrade to something cheaper, here’s the full rundown of iOS 17 supported devices from old to new:
- iPhone XS and XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max
- iPhone 12 and 12mini
- iPhone 12 Pro and Pro Max
- iPhone 13 and 13mini
- iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max
- iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation)