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The redesigned iPad Air and new iPad Pro with Apple silicon are now available. Learn more >
I have an iPad Air which I’ve had since 2014. It’s always performed software auto updates without issue. It’s currently operating on iOS12.5.5 which is outdated for most of my apps. When I try to update it manually it doesn’t offer me any further updates. Is my iPad no longer supporting software updates? I am not in a financial position to replace my current iPad and it is still in perfect working order. TIA.
iPad Air, iOS 12
The first generation iPad Air, iPad mini2 and mini3 can only be updated to iOS 12.5.5.
Apple ended major update support for these models of iPad in September 2019 - although they since continue to receive “point” security updates - the most recent being released just recently. These devices cannot be updated to iPadOS 13 (or any later major versions of iPadOS) as the internal hardware does not meet the minimum technical requirements (CPU and RAM) for newer versions of iOS/iPadOS.
Some App developers have dropped support for iOS versions preceding iOS 13.x for technical reasons (often because APIs or software libraries upon which they rely have been updated in the new version of iPadOS, making their App incompatible with earlier versions).
Whilst many App titles remain compatible with your iPad, if you want or need to access to Apps requiring the most recent versions of iOS, you’ll need to consider replacement of your iPad with a newer or current model that supports iPadOS15.
Sorry, I appreciate that this may not be what you were hoping to learn.
I hope this information provides clarity as to your available options - and the fundamental limitations of your iPad.
The first generation iPad Air, iPad mini2 and mini3 can only be updated to iOS 12.5.5.
Apple ended major update support for these models of iPad in September 2019 - although they since continue to receive “point” security updates - the most recent being released just recently. These devices cannot be updated to iPadOS 13 (or any later major versions of iPadOS) as the internal hardware does not meet the minimum technical requirements (CPU and RAM) for newer versions of iOS/iPadOS.
Some App developers have dropped support for iOS versions preceding iOS 13.x for technical reasons (often because APIs or software libraries upon which they rely have been updated in the new version of iPadOS, making their App incompatible with earlier versions).
Whilst many App titles remain compatible with your iPad, if you want or need to access to Apps requiring the most recent versions of iOS, you’ll need to consider replacement of your iPad with a newer or current model that supports iPadOS15.
Sorry, I appreciate that this may not be what you were hoping to learn.
I hope this information provides clarity as to your available options - and the fundamental limitations of your iPad.
Yes, it’s obsolete now. It doesn’t have enough RAM to support iPadOS 13 and later. (iPad Air 2 has 2gb of RAM, hence it is able to support further updates (at this point in time, anyways).)
Why can’t I update my iPad to the latest software
