Apple announced on Tuesday the dates for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, commonly known as WWDC, with a new iPhone, iPad, and Mac OS likely in store. If you're an iPhone 11 user, it may also signal the beginning of the end.
That's because the news out of WWDC that arguably affects most people is the debut of a new operating system for iPhone. This year it will be iOS 19.
The beta version of any new iPhone OS begins to roll out in the summer, and the new features of which seep out via TikTok videos, reddit forums, and news sites like Laptop Mag.
The subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle menu, technology, and design changes that arrive with every new version of iOS change billions of finger swipes across the planet.
As these nuggets of information offer a taste of what new features or design changes are in store for the world’s 1.4 billion iPhone users — the new iOS is officially released to the public in September each year — there's another population that has reason for slight annoyance.
The introduction of the new iOS means that users with those iPhones could be forced to upgrade — or be left running an older OS that will slowly turn their phone into a paper weight.
Running an old OS is fine for a few years, but soon enough, the apps we love — especially those of the streaming variety — will require an updated iOS. (It's a cold feeling not being able to run Netflix on a years-old iPhone and not being able to update to the latest iOS because there's not enough storage.)
For example, the iPhone XR (released in 2018) is the oldest phone to still support iOS 18, the most up-to-date iOS, which debuted in a year ago. That's six years.
A few years ago, the oldest phones that could support iOS 15 (which debuted in 2021) were the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus (which debuted in 2015). That was also six years.
That means iPhone 11 users out there, who have been steadily updating to a new OS each year, may see their phones no longer be supported with the new iOS19 that will be unveiled on June 9.
Made for Apple Intelligence
"Made for Apple Intelligence" is the tagline on some new iPhone 16 and some 15 models (the 15 Pro and the 15 Pro Max), and another WWDC could further relegate phones not made for Apple Intelligence — the company's AI software — to the junk drawer.
This year’s WWDC will begin on June 9, 2025, with in-person keynotes from Apple executives before the week of presentations and workshops is held via streaming methods.
Bloomberg reports that iPadOS 19 and macOS 16 may also be introduced at WWDC.
WWDC 2024 notably featured the debut of Apple Intelligence, and the months since that June 2024 presentation, the AI components of Apple’s future faltered out of the gate, with leaks and executive shakeups coming to define the current state of Apple’s AI development as just about anything.
In 2023, WWDC debuted the Apple Vision Pro.
For iPhone 11 owners years frustrated by the impending fate of their phone, take comfort in the fact the iPhone deals abound in an increasingly competitive market for smart phones.
