IOS version history


The version history of the iOS mobile operating system, developed by Apple Inc., began with the release of iPhone OS 1 for the original iPhone on June 29, 2007. Since its initial release, it has been used as the operating system for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and HomePod, seeing continuous development since then, resulting in new major releases of the software typically being announced at the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference and later released in September, coinciding with the release of new iPhone models. The latest stable version, iOS 13.6, was released on July 15, 2020. The operating system also regularly sees new beta releases, with the latest beta being iOS 14.0 beta 3, which was released on July 22, 2020. Updates can be done over-the-air, or via the iTunes or Finder applications.

Overview

June 2007 saw the official release of what eventually became iOS – concurrently with the first iPhone. iOS did not have an official name until the official release of the iPhone software development kit on March 6, 2008. Before then, Apple marketing simply stated that iPhone ran a version of Mac OS X made specifically for the iPhone. When iOS was introduced, it was named iPhone OS. It was officially renamed iOS on June 7, 2010, with the announcement and introduction of the first-generation iPad. The introduction of what would later become the iPad line, and the existence of iPod Touch, meant the iPhone was no longer the only device to run the mobile operating system. iOS 4 was the first major iOS release that reflected the name change. Apple licensed the "iOS" trademark from Cisco Systems.
Apple concurrently provides the same version of iOS for the comparable model of iPhone and iPod Touch, usually devices released in the same calendar year. iPhone users receive all software updates for free, while iPod Touch users paid for the 2.0 and 3.0 major software updates. As of iOS 4, Apple no longer charges money for iPod Touch updates.
four versions of iOS were never released. iPhone OS 1.2, which after the first beta was replaced by a 2.0 version number; the second beta was named 2.0 beta 2 instead of 1.2 beta 2. The second was iOS 4.2, replaced with 4.2.1 due to a Wi-Fi bug in 4.2 beta 3, causing Apple to release 2 golden masters. The third was iOS 13.4.5, which was renamed to iOS 13.5 when Beta 3 was released, due to the fact that it has a slightly different SDK compared to iOS 13.4. Similarly, iOS 13.5.5, the most recently cancelled iOS version, was renamed to iOS 13.6 in Beta 2, due to the fact that Beta 2 added some new Health features. One version of iOS was pulled back by Apple after being released. iOS 8.0.1 was pulled back by Apple because cellular service and Touch ID were disabled on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

Version history

iPhone OS 1

Apple announced iPhone OS 1 at the iPhone keynote on January 9, 2007, and it was released to the public alongside the original iPhone on June 29, 2007. No official name was given on its initial release; Apple marketing literature simply stated the iPhone runs a version of Apple's desktop operating system, OS X. The release of iPhone OS 1.1 brought support for the iPod Touch. iPhone OS 1.1.5 was the final version of iPhone OS 1. It became unsupported on May 18, 2010. What Apple did not announce was the prototype code name "Acorn OS" which looked like the iPod Classic.

iPhone OS 2

Apple announced iPhone OS 2 at the iPhone software roadmap keynote in March 2008, and it was released to the public on July 11, 2008, alongside the iPhone 3G. Apple did not drop support for any devices with this release. iPhone OS 2 was compatible with all devices released up to that time. The release of iPhone OS 2.1.1 brought support for the iPod Touch. iPhone OS 2.2.1 was the final version of iPhone OS 2. It became unsupported on December 3, 2011.

iPhone OS 3

Apple announced iPhone OS 3 on March 17, 2009, and it was released to the public on June 17, 2009, alongside the iPhone 3GS. Apple did not drop support for any devices with this release. iPhone OS 3 was compatible with all devices released up to that time, but not all features were available on the original iPhone. The final release supported on the original iPhone and iPod Touch was iPhone OS 3.1.3. The first iPad was introduced along with iPhone OS 3.2. It became unsupported on December 9, 2012.

iOS 4

Apple announced iOS 4 in March 2010 and it was released to the public on June 21, 2010, alongside the iPhone 4. With this release, Apple dropped support for the original iPhone and iPod Touch, which is the first time Apple had dropped support for any device in an iOS release. The iPhone 3G and the iPod Touch were capable of running iOS 4, but had limited features. For example, both devices lack multitasking capabilities and the ability to set a home screen wallpaper. However, iOS 4 was the first major release that iPod Touch users did not have to pay any money for. The release of iOS 4.2.1 brought compatibility to the original iPad and was the final release supported on the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch due to major performance issues. The release of iOS 4.3 brought iPad 2 compatibility. It became unsupported on December 18, 2013.

iOS 5

Apple announced iOS 5 on June 6, 2011, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on October 12, 2011, alongside the iPhone 4S. Apple did not drop support for any devices with this release; support for the iPhone 3G and the iPod Touch had already been dropped with the release of iOS 4.3 seven months earlier due to major performance issues. Therefore, iOS 5 was released for the iPhone 3GS onwards, iPod Touch onwards, and the iPad and iPad 2. The release of iOS 5.1 brought support for the iPad. iOS 5.1.1 was the final release supported for the original iPad and iPod Touch. It became unsupported on August 12, 2015.

iOS 6

Apple announced iOS 6 on June 11, 2012, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on September 19, 2012, alongside the iPhone 5, iPod Touch, and iPad. With this release, Apple dropped support for the iPod Touch and the iPad due to performance issues, and offered only limited support on the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch. The iPhone 4 onwards, the iPod Touch, the iPad 2 onwards and the iPad Mini were fully supported. iOS 6.1.6 was the final release supported for the iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch. It became unsupported on November 23, 2016.

iOS 7

Apple announced iOS 7 on June 10, 2013, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on September 18, 2013, alongside the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S. With this release, Apple dropped support for the iPhone 3GS due to hardware limitations and the iPod Touch due to performance issues. iOS 7 has limited support on the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4 since they do not support Siri. However, other devices from the iPhone 4S onwards, iPod Touch onwards, the iPad onwards, and the iPad Mini onwards were fully supported. The release of iOS 7.0.3 brought support for the iPad Air and iPad Mini 2. iOS 7.1.2 was the final release on the iPhone 4. It became unsupported on November 23, 2018.

iOS 8

Apple announced iOS 8 on June 2, 2014, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on September 17, 2014, alongside the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. With this release, Apple dropped support for one device, the iPhone 4. iOS 8 has limited support on the iPad 2, iPhone 4S, iPad, and the iPod Touch, as Apple received widespread complaints of extremely poor/slow performance from owners of these devices. All other devices from the iPhone 5 onwards, iPod Touch onwards, the iPad onwards, and the iPad Mini onwards were fully supported. The release of iOS 8.1 brought support for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, and the release of iOS 8.4 brought support for the iPod Touch. iOS 8.3 was the first version of iOS to have public beta testing available, where users could test the beta for upcoming releases of iOS and send feedback to Apple about bugs or issues. The final version of iOS 8 was iOS 8.4.1.

iOS 9

Apple announced iOS 9 on June 8, 2015, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on September 16, 2015, alongside the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and iPad Mini 4. With this release, Apple did not drop support for any iOS devices. Therefore, iOS 9 was supported on the iPhone 4S onwards, iPod Touch onwards, the iPad 2 onwards, and the iPad Mini onwards. However, iOS 9 has limited support on devices with an Apple A5 or A5X processor: the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad, iPad Mini, and iPod Touch. This release made the iPad 2 the first device to support six major releases of iOS, supporting iOS 4 thru iOS 9. Despite Apple's promise of better performance on these devices, there were still widespread complaints that the issue had not been fixed. iOS 9.3.5 is the final release on the iPod Touch, the Wi-Fi-only iPad 2, the Wi-Fi-only iPad, and the Wi-Fi-only iPad Mini ; iOS 9.3.6 is the final release on the iPhone 4S, the Wi-Fi + cellular iPad 2, the Wi-Fi + cellular iPad, and the Wi-Fi + cellular iPad Mini.

iOS 10

Apple announced iOS 10 on June 13, 2016, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on September 13, 2016, alongside the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. With this release, Apple dropped support for devices using an A5 or A5X processor: the iPhone 4S, the iPad 2, iPad, iPad Mini, and iPod Touch. iOS 10 has limited support on devices with 32-bit processors: the iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, and iPad. However, the iPhone 5S onwards, iPod Touch, iPad Air onwards, and the iPad Mini 2 onwards are fully supported. The release of iOS 10.2.1 brought support for the iPad, and iOS 10.3.2 brought support for the iPad Pro and the iPad Pro. iOS 10.3.3 is the final supported release for the iPhone 5C and the Wi-Fi-only iPad. iOS 10.3.4 is the final supported release for the iPhone 5 and the Wi-Fi + cellular iPad. iOS 10 is the last iOS version to run on 32-bit processors and also the last to run 32-bit apps.

iOS 11

Apple announced iOS 11 on June 5, 2017, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on September 19, 2017, alongside the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. With this release, Apple dropped support for the 32-bit iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, and iPad, making iOS a 64-bit-only OS that only runs 64-bit apps. However, all other devices from the iPhone 6S/6S Plus onwards, iPhone SE, iPad Pro, and iPad onwards are fully supported. iOS 11.0.1 brought support for the iPhone X and iOS 11.3 brought support for the iPad. The final version of iOS 11 to be released was iOS 11.4.1.

iOS 12

Apple announced iOS 12 on June 4, 2018, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on September 17, 2018, alongside the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. With this release, Apple did not drop support for any iOS devices. Therefore, iOS 12 was supported on the iPhone 5S onwards, iPod Touch, the iPad Air onwards, and the iPad Mini 2 onwards. However, iOS 12 has limited support on devices with the Apple A7 or A8 processors: the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPod Touch, iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 2, 3, and 4. All other devices from the iPhone 6S/6S Plus onwards, the iPad Air, the iPad onwards, and all iPad Pro models are fully supported. iOS 12.1 bought support to the iPad Pro and iPad Pro and iOS 12.2 bought support to the iPad Mini and iPad Air.

iOS 13 / iPadOS 13

Apple announced iOS 13 on June 3, 2019, at its annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference event, and it was released to the public on September 19, 2019 alongside the iPhone 11 series. Features include dark mode and Memoji support for A9+ devices. The NFC framework now supports reading several types of contactless smartcards and tags. The iPad gains several tablet-oriented features, and its operating system has been rebranded as iPadOS; iPadOS 13 was announced at the 2019 WWDC as well. With this release, Apple dropped support for all devices with less than 2 GB of RAM, which included the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iPod Touch, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, and iPad Air. iOS 13/iPadOS 13 has also limited support on devices with the A8/A8X or A9/A9X processors: the first-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 6S/6S Plus, iPad Mini 4, iPad Air 2, iPad, and iPad Pro. However, all other devices from the iPhone 7/7 Plus onwards, iPod Touch, iPad Pro, iPad, and iPad Mini onwards are fully supported. iOS 13 brought support for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro / Pro Max, second-generation iPhone SE, and iPadOS 13 brought support for the iPad, the iPad Pro and the iPad Pro.

iOS 14 / iPadOS 14

Apple announced iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 on June 22, 2020 at its annual WWDC 2020 event, with a developer beta released on the same day and a public beta released on July 9, 2020. With iOS 14, Apple will not drop support for devices running iOS 13, including the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus and the first generation iPhone SE, and with iPadOS 14, they will not drop support for devices running iPadOS 13, including the iPad Air 2, the iPad Mini 4, the 5th generation iPad and first generation iPad Pros. This makes the iPad Air 2 the first device to support seven versions of iOS and iPadOS, from iOS 8 to iPadOS 14. Some new features introduced in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 include the App Library, which automatically categorizes apps into one page, Picture in Picture in iPhone and iPod touch, and the CarKey technology to unlock and start a car with NFC. iOS and iPadOS 14 also allow the user to have incoming calls shown in banners rather than taking up the whole screen. iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 have limited support on devices with an A8, A8X, A9 or A9X chip: the iPhone 6S, the iPhone 6S Plus, the first generation iPhone SE, the iPad Air 2, the iPad Mini 4, the 5th generation iPad and the first generation iPad Pros. Devices from the iPhone 7/7 Plus onwards, the iPod Touch, the iPad Pro, iPad, iPad Air and iPad Mini onwards are fully supported.

Notable software bugs and issues in iOS

Device codes

;iPhone
;iPad
;iPad Mini
;iPad Pro
;iPod Touch
;HomePod