Apple reportedly won’t bring iPadOS 18 to three iPads, but there’s better news for iPhones

The iPad 9.7 (above) is among the models that reportedly won't get iPadOS 18

If you’ve been holding onto an older iPad then this might be the year to upgrade, as not only are we expecting to see the iPad Pro 2024, the iPad Air 6, the iPad 11, and the iPad mini 7, but Apple apparently won’t bring iPadOS 18 to three existing models that currently have iPadOS 17.

This is according to a post “on social media by a private account with a strong track record” seen by 9to5Mac, and they claim specifically that the iPad (6th generation), the iPad Pro 12.9 (2nd generation), and the iPad Pro 10.5 won’t get iPadOS 18.

The other iPads currently running iPadOS 17 should though, meaning that if you have an iPad, iPad Air or iPad mini from 2019 or later, or an iPad Pro from 2018 or later, you should get at least one more major software update, according to this leak.

We would however take this with a pinch of salt, especially since, as 9to5Mac notes, the two Pro models that apparently aren’t getting iPadOS 18 have an A10X Fusion chipset, while the oldest standard iPad that’s said to be in line for the update has a less powerful A10 Fusion chipset, which seems odd.

Updates for every iPhone

The bottom half of an iPhone XR, from the back

The iPhone XR (above) onwards will reportedly get iOS 18

This leak also included information about the phones that will apparently get iOS 18, and it’s better news there, as apparently all the iPhones that can get iOS 17 will also get iOS 18. That means the iPhone XR and iPhone XS onwards, as well as the iPhone SE (2020) onwards.

We’ve heard the same claims about iOS 18 compatibility before, and hearing them again from another source adds credibility to it. That older leak also mentioned iPadOS 18 compatibility, and similarly said that iPads with the A10X Fusion chipset wouldn’t get it.

We should learn a lot more about iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 soon, as Apple will almost certainly announce both at WWDC 2024, which starts on June 10. We’d expect betas to land soon after that, but the finished software probably won’t launch until September, so we’ve got a while to wait yet for what could be the biggest software update in iOS history, packed full of new AI features for your iPhone.

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James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.