If you're currently using an older iPhone or iPad, the upcoming iOS 12 might bring with it bad news and a trip to the Apple Store to buy new stuff.

Currently, iOS 11 supports the following devices.

iPhone:

iPhone X

iPhone 8/8 Plus

iPhone 7/7 Plus

iPhone 6s/6s Plus

iPhone 6/6 Plus

iPhone SE

iPhone 5s

iPad:

12.9‑inch iPad Pro 2nd generation

12.9‑inch iPad Pro 1st generation

10.5‑inch iPad Pro

9.7‑inch iPad Pro

iPad Air 2

iPad Air

iPad 6th generation

iPad 5th generation

iPad mini 4

iPad mini 3

iPad mini 2

iPod touch

iPod touch 6th generation

I fully expect the oldest iPhone and iPad devices to face the chop come iOS 12, which means compatibility being dropped for the iPhone 5s, iPad Air, and iPad mini 2. All three devices were released in 2013 and all three devices are pretty long in the tooth now.

I expect the 6th generation iPod touch to survive this time around. While pretty old -- first released 2015 -- Apple is still selling this device, so I expect it to have a few years of life in it yet.

Also: iPhone battery life bad after installing iOS11.3? Here's what you can do

What about tvOS 12 and watchOS 5? Looking at the timeline, I expect all 4th generation Apple TV devices and later -- which run tvOS 11 -- will be all be upgradeable to tvOS 12, with no older devices being made obsolete this time around.

On the watchOS front, given how much of a performance hit watchOS 4 had on the 1st generation Apple Watch, I think that support for it will be dropped this year. So if you're one of those people still using the original Apple Watch -- and it's not in a drawer somewhere gathering dust -- then time is almost up for it.

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