With iOS 18 coming up for the iPhone and iPadOS 18 for the iPad, Netflix appears to be making plans to have its app stop working on devices with an older operating system. Here’s what you need to know.
Netflix is preparing to make its app for iPhone and iPad stop working on certain devices. With iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 on the horizon, devices running iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 appear to soon be unable to access the app.
The news is not officially confirmed yet, but comes from MacRumors. There they speak of lines of code that point to the cessation of support.
Netflix will soon no longer work on these Apple devices
People with iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 on their devices may soon want to make the switch to iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 or even iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 anyway. Certainly people who regularly enjoy Netflix content on their iPhones and iPads will want to do so, given that the app is likely to stop working.
Unfortunately, updating is not always the solution, as there are certain devices that no longer support iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, the software that was rolled out last year. These include the following models:
iPhone 8 and 8 Plus
iPhone X
iPad Pro (first generation)
iPad (fifth generation)
Those who have managed to put up with the above devices until now may really want to think about upgrading. Soon the new iPhone 16 devices will be available and we were already provided with new iPad models in May this year. Plenty of Apple devices to choose from, in other words.
Netflix’s screw-up?
Stopping support may come a little raw to you as a user, but it can’t necessarily be called a stitch-up from Netflix. In fact, from the company’s perspective, it’s meant as a good measure to keep your Apple devices safe.
Developers typically don’t leave their applications running on old systems for long periods of time to improve the security of those apps. Especially for versions on newer models, it is important that enough attention is given to updating the app.
In the meantime, it is still possible to use Netflix once support ends. To do so, you have to open the website through the browser and watch via this way.
Your newer Apple devices are safe
While the concerns are understandable, by the way, this does not immediately mean that your devices from last year, running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, will also be in immediate danger next year. On the iPad Pro (second-generation) and iPad (sixth-generation), all devices capable of running the two operating systems can also run iOS 18 or iPadOS 18.
So once Netflix drops support for iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 next year, you and your current devices will still be just fine because they are updateable this year.
Of course, we encourage you to do the same.
