Performance, Efficiency, and Stability

Considering everything we’ve already heard, it’s not a huge surprise that iOS 17 will be mostly about polishing things up. It’s expected to be one of those releases that come out every few years where Apple takes a beat and focuses on doing a spring cleaning. It last did this in iOS 12, so we’re about due for another one.

Despite rumors that iOS 17 would drop support for the 2017 iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X, analyst941 says that won’t happen; iOS 17 will support all the same devices as iOS 16 does now, and Apple will be focusing on “long-term support for older devices.” The leaker notes that some of these may have a rough ride over the start of the iOS 17 beta cycle due to limited RAM, but that should be resolved by the final release.

That said, iPadOS 17 may end up dropping support for the A9 and A10 Fusion-powered iPads, which would include the fifth, sixth, and seventh-generation iPads, released between 2017 and 2019. However, Apple has yet to make a final decision on this.