iOS 16.7.8, iOS 16.7.9 & More: What’s Next for iOS 16

If you own an iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus, you might be wondering what’s next in terms of iOS 16 software updates. Well, we’ve got you covered as today we’ll take a look at what owners of these devices can expect in 2024 and beyond.

While much of Apple’s focus has been on iOS 17 (and iOS 18), the company continues to push new software to iPhone users stuck on iOS 16.

The iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus didn’t make the move to iOS 17 and they won’t make the move to iOS 18 later this year. However, they will continue to get updates for the foreseeable future.

Apple recently pushed iOS 16.7.7 with security patches to these devices and there will be more down the road. In fact, we expect Apple to continue to support these devices with new software into 2025.

Here’s a look at what iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus users can expect the rest of the way.

iOS 16.7.8

Apple hasn’t confirmed an iOS 16.7.8 update, but it should be next in line for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 8 Plus.

We don’t know when the company will release the software, but the most likely scenario right now is sometime in May alongside iOS 17.5.

If Apple releases iOS 17.4.2 in April, iOS 16.7.8 may roll out alongside that version of iOS 17, but there’s no guarantee we see a point release ahead of iOS 17.5.

iOS 16.7.9 & iOS 16.8

Assuming Apple sticks to protocol, we should see the company release iOS 16.7.9 alongside iOS 17.6. We expect iOS 17.6 to arrive in July.

After that, we suspect we’ll probably see iOS 16.8 (a milestone upgrade in name only) roll out to iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus users.

Keep in mind, most, if not all of these versions of iOS 16, will be limited to security patches and the occasional bug fix. That goes for iOS 16.8 as well.

We could potentially see Apple push Rapid Security Response updates to iOS 16 users as well, but given how infrequent they’ve been, there’s no guarantee this happens.

iOS 16 in 2025

Unless Apple changes how it handles software updates for older devices, iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus users should expect support to carry over into late 2024 and 2025.

Of course, if Apple’s approach to iOS 15 is any indication, the releases will become more sporadic than they were in 2024.

Since September of last year, Apple’s only released three versions of iOS 15: iOS 15.8 in October, iOS 15.8.1 in January, and iOS 15.8.2 in March.

iOS 16’s path may not mirror this exactly, but owners of these aging iPhone models should expect to see development slow down once Apple releases iOS 18 in September.

In the fall of 2025, Apple may drop support for the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X forcing owners of these devices to upgrade in order to get the latest security patches.