Apple’s iPhone 7, alongside the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 6s range, will not be getting the company’s latest iOS 16 update this fall…
If you’re still rocking an iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus, it is now time to start thinking about upgrading to a newer model. Apple has confirmed that its iPhone 7 range, as well as the iPhone 6s, will not be getting iOS 16 when it gets a release later this year.
The iPhone 7 got a release date in 2016, so the phone has had a pretty good run. It has received every single iOS update since iOS 10. But with iOS 16, Apple will introduce a load of new features, many of which will be extremely CPU-intensive, and its engineers have decided that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will not be able to run the update optimally.
Plenty of current iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 users, of course, are NOT happy about being excluded from the update. Most sources tend to agree that the main reason the iPhone 7 was removed was to do with iOS 16’s new lockscreen features – apparently, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 do not have the computing grunt to run them properly.
Twitter is now awash with angry iPhone 7 users, lamenting Apple’s decision to nix the iPhone 7 from its iOS 16 update schedule. But what you have to keep in mind is that the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are now five years old. For a phone, that is incredibly old. Most people don’t even run PCs for that long before upgrading them. Hell, some people don’t even run cars for that long.
Can The iPhone 7 Run iOS 16?
The thing that seems to be annoying people the most is that the iPhone 7 is perfectly capable of running iOS 16. How do we know? Simple: Apple’s sixth and seventh-generation iPads run pretty much the same spec as the iPhone 7 and both of those devices are getting iOS 16.
Apple has not commented officially on why the iPhone 7 was nixed, but I’d expect a statement at some point given how unpopular this decision has been. Apple is now stuck between a rock and hard place because we all know the phone could run iOS 16. Could it backtrack and add in support? Not likely. Apple seldom admits its wrong.
But the point that everybody seems to be missing is that Apple’s iPhone support is unparalleled in the mobile space. No one offers the same level of support. If the iPhone 7 were a human, it’d be approaching advanced old age. The fact that it got iOS 15 when most Android phones don’t even get three major software updates demonstrates this point profoundly.
Add in the fact that most people tend to run their phones for two to three years max, and it is fair to say that those who bought the iPhone 7 when it came out have definitely gotten their money’s worth. If you bought an iPhone 7 this year via a refurbished channel, sure, not getting iOS 16 is going to be annoying. But that’s always going to be the case when you buy a five-year-old phone.
That’s why it ALWAYS pays to buy newer refurbished iPhones, like the iPhone 11 or iPhone 12 – they’ll get support for much longer. Yes, you’ll pay more. But you’ll be able to use the phone for much longer. And that’s what really matters when it comes to usability and overall bang for your buck. Or, just get a new iPhone. Either way, Apple’s support – despite all of the above – is still the industry benchmark by a considerable margin.
And check out Which macOS Ventura Features Are Missing On Intel Macs? And How To Schedule iPhone Emails To Send At A Later Time In iOS 16.
