INDIANA – YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform owned by Google, is discontinuing support for several older Apple devices, requiring a minimum of iOS 16 for iPhones and iPadOS 16 for iPads to run its app. This update renders specific older models incompatible with the latest version of the YouTube application.
The change means that seven Apple devices, including the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus (released in 2016), are now too old to run the necessary operating systems and, thus, cannot use the updated YouTube app.
The full list of affected devices includes:
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPad Air 2
- iPad mini 4
Most of these devices are already on Apple’s “vintage” list, with the iPad Air 2 now considered “obsolete.” Apple classifies products as “vintage” when sales ceased more than five years ago but less than seven years ago. After seven years, a product becomes “obsolete,” meaning it receives no hardware service.
This move by YouTube follows a trend, as other popular apps like WhatsApp have also recently ended support for older iPhone models, indicating that dated technology can no longer handle modern software advancements.
However, users of affected devices still have a workaround: they can continue to access the YouTube website through their iPhone or iPad web browser.
For reference, Apple’s current “vintage” iPhone list includes:
- iPhone 4 (8GB)
- iPhone 5
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone SE
- iPhone 8 (64GB, 256GB)
- iPhone 8 Red
- iPhone 8 Plus Red
- iPhone X
And the “obsolete” iPhone list currently includes:
- iPhone
- iPhone 3G (China mainland) 8GB
- iPhone 3G 8GB, 16GB
- iPhone 3GS (China mainland) 16GB, 32GB
- iPhone 3GS (8GB)
- iPhone 3GS 16GB, 32GB
- iPhone 4 CDMA
- iPhone 4 CDMA (8GB)
- iPhone 4 16GB, 32GB
- iPhone 4 GSM (8GB), Black
- iPhone 4S
- iPhone 4S (8GB)
- iPhone 5C
- iPhone 5S
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 6s (32GB)
- iPhone 6s Plus (32GB)
