Apple updates 12-year-old devices with surprise iOS 12.5.8 update
Apple seems keen to prove that they won’t be beaten when it comes to the sheer longevity of a device pertaining to software updates. Sure, you can say that the iOS 12.5.8 is more of a security patch rather than a major update, but it’s still surprising to see a 12-year-old device like the iPhone 5s is still getting any updates at all. Android devices today may be catching up with the 7-year of updates, but we have yet to see a 12-year-old Android get updated.
iOS 12.5.8 and iPadOS 12.5.8 released for decade-old devices
Together with iOS 26.2.1 that was released for more recent iPhones to add support for the new and improved AirTag 2 and bug fixes, iOS 12.5.8 was released to ensure that iMessage and FaceTime as well as device activation continue to work. The current security certificate expires in January 2027, but evidently Apple doesn’t play around when it involves key services on Apple devices.
The new 12.5.8 update for iOS and iPadOS will be available on the following devices:
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPad Air
- iPad mini 2
- iPad mini 3
- iPod touch (6th generation)
Along with this update, iOS 18.7.4, iPadOS 18.7.4, iOS 16.7.13, iPadOS 16.7.13, iOS 15.8.6 and iPadOS 15.8.6 were released to support the older devices that will not receive iOS 26. It’s also worth noting that with today’s update, iPhone 11 series and newer will no longer receive any updates for iOS 18 and will have to move on to iOS 26 for continued support. Similarly, iPads that can update to iPadOS 26 will no longer be getting iPadOS 18 updates.
