As one of the most popular messengers in the world, WhatsApp is quite exemplary when it comes to device support. After all, it doesn’t want to alienate customers with strict support guidelines and send them to competitors. Previously, WhatsApp supported iPhones from iOS 12 onwards.
However, WA Beta Info now reports that WhatsApp will stop supporting certain iPhones from May 5, 2025. In concrete terms, this concerns devices that run on the aforementioned iOS 12, which was released in 2018.
The affected models are the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 5S was released in 2013 and is therefore 11 years old, while the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are a year younger. If you own one of these devices, you only have five months left to upgrade to a newer device to continue using WhatsApp. For newer iPhones, an iOS update is sufficient for the time being.
Apple released the last security update for iOS 12 in January 2023: iOS 12.5.7. That was the end of the line. For this reason alone, you should update to the latest iOS version to ensure your phone is protected and running smoothly.
According to WA Beta Info, the new minimum requirement for WhatsApp will be iOS 15.1 from May 2025. This version runs on all devices from the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus from 2015, which will be ten years old in the fall of 2025.
If you’re looking to upgrade, here are the best prices for the iPhone 16 at the time of writing:
$799
$829.99
This article originally appeared in our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and adapted from German.