iOS 12 Release: 5 Reasons to Get Excited & 2 Not To

iPhone 5s Could Get iOS 12

Last year, Apple left the iPhone 5 behind on iOS 10 and for good reason. The device's performance started to deteriorate on later versions of iOS 10 as its hardware started to show its age.  

Apple typically leaves devices behind after four major iOS upgrades. For instance, the iPhone 5 started on iOS 6 and got updated to iOS 7, iOS 8, iOS 9, and iOS 10 before losing support. 

This is a policy Apple's kept around for years, but it's one that might change with the release of iOS 12. 

Nothing is confirmed, but French site MacGeneration recently discovered discussions in the WebKit mailing list that included testing logs of a WebKit build running on an iPhone 5s simulator. 

Now this doesn't confirm an iPhone 5s iOS 12 update. Nothing is official until Apple takes the stage and confirms, but it does leave the door open. And that's huge news for iPhone 5s users that want to hold onto their phone for a little while longer.

It would also be big news for owners of the iPhone SE, iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X because it could mean one additional year of software support (new features, security patches, bug fixes) for those devices.

We'll find out for sure at WWDC 2018. If Apple fails to release an iOS 12 beta for the iPhone 5s, those of you who own a device should start thinking about an upgrade.