With the next version of iOS for the iPad, iPadOS 17, Apple will end support for several older iPads.

When Apple kicks an older device to the curb, people complain. And why not? Everyone else gets all the cool new features for free, so why not me? It’s clearly a conspiracy to get me to buy a new iPad, they say. But even the most cursory investigation shows that this isn’t true. Apple has supported products for ages, usually much longer than its competitors. And sometimes it supports older devices for too long.

"When it comes to supporting older hardware, Apple actually has a pretty good reputation for providing longer support than many other computer manufacturers. Apple often supports their devices with software updates for several years after their release, which can be extremely beneficial for users who want to keep their devices up to date with the latest features and security patches," Kyle MacDonald, VP at mobile device deployment company Mojio, told Lifewire via email. "However, their decision to stop supporting some older iPads running iOS 17 is not surprising. Generally speaking, most computer manufacturers eventually stop supporting their older hardware with software updates as the devices become less capable of handling newer software."

French Apple news site iPhoneSoft reports that iOS 17 will not run on iPads with the A9 or A9X chipsets. Those are the fifth-generation iPad and the first iPad Pro, which originally went on sale in 2015. If you have an iPad that already runs iPadOS 16, and it’s not one of those, it will also run iPadOS 17, which — if it follows the established pattern — is set to be announced at WWDC in June and launch this fall.