iOS 16 requires an iPhone 8, drops support for two generations of older phones

Enlarge (credit: Apple)

One of the selling points of iPhones and iPads is that you'll get several years of prompt software updates, released at the same time to all devices regardless of your specific model or cellular carrier. Today Apple announced iOS and iPadOS 16, and with those new versions comes a new set of minimum hardware requirements.

Apple's press release and preview page say that the OS will support "iPhone 8 and later." That means that the new update won't be compatible with phones using Apple A9 or A10 chips, including the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, the first-gen iPhone SE, and the seventh-generation iPod Touch.

Here's the official list of compatible devices: