Updates beyond 16.4.1 (a)
Have an iPad Pro 12.9” 4th gen. My questions is: if this cannot be updated any more,
is this iPad vulnerable to hackers and generally not as secure while online?
iPad Pro, iPadOS 16
Question marked as
All models of iPad Pro are capable of update to the most recent version of iPadOS - currently iPadOS 16.5.
Your fourth generation iPad Pro 12.9 currently has full hardware and update support by Apple.
While not relevant to your iPad, any device that is too old to receive system secure updates will become increasingly vulnerable to malware and other exploits - this being true for any computer.
Whether or not you are able to update any iPad to a newer version of iOS/iPadOS will be dictated by the iPad model - and the currently installed version of iOS. You can find this information here:
Settings > General > About
Not sure which iPad you have? Identify your iPad model.
Here is a list of the highest version of iOS supported by the older models of iPad (for simplicity - “generations” are shortened to a number) that are restricted in their ability to be updated:
32-bit devices (obsolete)
iPad1 - iOS 5.1.1
iPad2, iPad3 and iPad mini1 - iOS 9.3.5 (WiFi Only models), iOS 9.3.6 (WiFi+Cellular)
iPad4 - iOS 10.3.3 (WiFi Only), iOS 10.3.4 (WiFi+Cellular)
64-bit devices
iPad Air1, iPad mini2 and iPad mini3 - iOS 12.5.7
iPad Air2, iPad mini4 - iPadOS 15.7.6
Newer models are all able to be updated to the current version, iPadOS 16.5
- iPad Pro (all models)
- iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
- iPad (5th generation and later)
- iPad mini (5th generation and later)