Will Ipad Air 2 get IOS 16?

Your iPad Air2 is capable of update to iPadOS 15.8; the Air2 hardware does not support iPadOS16 or later.

For information, 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 15.8

iPad5, iPad Pro (9.7"/12.9" first generation) - iPadOS 16.7.2

Newer models are all able to be updated to the current version - iPadOS 17.1

• iPad Pro 12.9" (2nd generation and later)
• iPad Pro 11" (1st generation and later)
• iPad Pro 10.5"
• iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
• iPad (6th generation and later)
• iPad mini (5th generation and later)

RileyBruno wrote:

Facts are very important to me. Why is Apple not providing a way to upgrade to iOS 16?

What is the specific reason? Is it a technical issue? Does Apple not want to spend money testing the OS on this device? I’m clearly not the only one bothered by this lack of support by Apple.

The specific technical reason is that iOS 16 takes advantage of hardware features, such as the neural engine, that are not in devices that lack these hardware features. It’s similar to the reason that my 1984 IBM PC/XT cannot run Windows 11.

alexiskibidi wrote:

Ok?? The iPhone SE was also released almost a decade ago but so many people still use it. Just because it was released 10 years ago doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be able to use the same functions as others. And not everyone has the funds that you do, like me personally I have the latest iPad and an Air 2 but I prefer using the Air 2 anyways for a multitude of reasons.

I understand that some people will want to use an underpowered and under-configured device with missing hardware features, and a device that will be overloaded by newer apps and by newer operating system versions meaning that device will run poorly at best, and that result with the added effort involved from Apple and from the third-party vendors around de-tuning the newer features and running quite possibly maintaining parallel copies of apps, and maintaining multiple copies of documentation and help files to ensure proper communications of the differing versions, and this all to avoid and to eliminate what won't work on the older gear, and I'm sure that the folks with these older devices won't then be unhappy about the missing features and about the poor performance, and all of that effort and complexity for a shrinking number of older and more limited devices, right?

The app vendor is who has decided to drop support for older iPadOS versions. Not Apple.

shivaji113 wrote:

Bro , everyone is not that rich like you that they can afford newer models of apple devices while their old ones are in good working condition.

The device no longer meets Netflix's minimum hardware requirements. That's not Apple's fault. Take it up with Netflix. Or, buy a new, inexpensive Android tablet. Or, take the money you would have spent on Netflix and start saving it for a new iPad.

I can no longer read the NYT on my iPad Air 2 as of this week. I’m very disappointed with Apple. There is nothing wrong with this tablet. It works well but now is not supported on NYT, Netflix …. This is clearly a way for Apple to force users to buy a new, expensive iPad. Shame on you Apple. Eventually this will come back to hurt your bottom line. Unhappy, angry customers will eventually find an alternative.

RileyBruno wrote:

Facts are very important to me. Why is Apple not providing a way to upgrade to iOS 16? What is the specific reason? Is it a technical issue? Does Apple not want to spend money testing the OS on this device? I’m clearly not the only one bothered by this lack of support by Apple.

NYT hasn’t documented what caused them to drop support for their app on older versions. (And I’m skeptical that, Apple forced NYT to drop older versions, as there are vendors with apps going back rather further.)

Apple hasn’t usually documented what caused them to drop older iPad models.

For app developers, expanding or extending support both adds development and testing costs, and trades off adding support for new features and newer support to keep an ever-declining number of users on older hardware.

Even apparently-static software apps require ongoing maintenance too, such as updating for ever-changing network security requirements. (“Software is ‘done’ in the same way that lawns are ‘mowed’.”)

And static software still gets bug reports, which means fixes or work-arounds (or just answering the ‘phone or taking the bug report), and those fixes then have to be retrofit into newer and diverging versions, and tested there.

When (if?) the existing app interface changes in newer versions, the help doc and related usually gets updated too, so older versions can have older UIs, and that adds more different screenshots to the doc, or more versions of the doc.

Newer iPadOS versions require hardware features, and require additional system resources including memory and storage. These features and resources don’t exist on older devices.

Apple already subsets newer features, and provides a transition, but trying to fit newer iOS or iPadOS and apps into (for instance) a device with 16 GB storage or with too little main memory just isn’t happening.

With iPadOS 16, Apple minimally requires A9 or A9X, and dropped A8 and A8X support. Performance definitely differs here, too: “Apple states that [Apple A9] has 70% more CPU performance and 90% more graphics performance compared to its predecessor, the Apple A8.”

The example of a 1984 IBM PC and windows 11 is not quite equivalent. That is a 40 gap in technology. With the iPad Air 2, you are talking about a device you could purchase from Apple 6 years ago. It’s sad they have now made it obsolete. Perhaps the neural engine features of the OS could be turned off when running on an older platform.

RileyBruno wrote:

The example of a 1984 IBM PC and windows 11 is not quite equivalent. That is a 40 gap in technology. With the iPad Air 2, you are talking about a device you could purchase from Apple 6 years ago. It’s sad they have now made it obsolete. Perhaps the neural engine features of the OS could be turned off when running on an older platform.

I’m not interested in defending the often-inexplicable statements of the New York Times.

You could contact the NYT ombudsman and ask about their decision here, of course.

alexiskibidi wrote:

Ok?? The iPhone SE was also released almost a decade ago but so many people still use it. Just because it was released 10 years ago doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be able to use the same functions as others.

You can still use it with the same functions. But you cannot use it with updated functions that require hardware features that the 10 year old device doesn’t have.

magret8 wrote:

Now unable to download newest version of American Airlines app on my iPad because it requires 16.0. I am sure other apps will follow. Not great Customer Care - just greedy of Apple, again..

App developers have the option of supporting whatever releases and devices they want, but that added effort does have added costs for a declining number of devices.

magret8 wrote:

Now unable to download newest version of American Airlines app on my iPad because it requires 16.0. I am sure other apps will follow. Not great Customer Care - just greedy of Apple, again..

How is this "greedy of Apple, again"?

It was your airline who decided to keep you from running their app on your device.

magret8 wrote:

Apps want to use the most recent versions for safety reasons. Apple consistently blocks upgrades from older products to make you buy more recent versions.

Utter nonsense! Apple develops new and better products that have improved hardware. But older hardware is not always capable of running the updated software that goes along with the updated hardware. The alternative would never to be able to have new hardware products, and we’d all still be using original IBM PCs or Apple IIs.

Ok?? The iPhone SE was also released almost a decade ago but so many people still use it. Just because it was released 10 years ago doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be able to use the same functions as others. And not everyone has the funds that you do, like me personally I have the latest iPad and an Air 2 but I prefer using the Air 2 anyways for a multitude of reasons.

alexiskibidi wrote:

Ok?? The iPhone SE was also released almost a decade ago but so many people still use it. Just because it was released 10 years ago doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be able to use the same functions as others.

It's very simple. Older hardware will not support the newer features.