Apple iPad Lifecycle: End Of Life And Support Status
Last updated on January 13, 2025
The iPad is Apple’s tablet that uses the iPadOS mobile operating system. First launched in 2010, the iPad now has different variants, including the iPad (basic), iPad Mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.
Support status guide
End of life (EOL) is the end of a product’s useful life. When a product reaches the end of its life cycle, the manufacturer no longer supports it. The following table explains the different phases of a product’s lifecycle. Testing status is when the product is initially released and EOL is when product support is no longer offered. The time between these two points is the support timeframe.
Testing
The software is not yet publicly available. It is in testing phase i.e., alpha, beta, release preview etc.
Active
The software is actively supported by the vendor.
Phasing Out
The software will soon reach its end of life. You need to look for upgrade or migration options. The software will automatically go into phasing out status 2 months before end of life.
End Of Life
The software is no longer supported by the vendor. You need to make sure your system and environment are safe.
Version
Released
Active Support
Discontinued
Up until 2023, Apple refreshed the iPad series every year since its launch – sometimes multiple models every year. However, in 2023, since the products were not ready ahead of the holiday shopping season, Apple failed to launch a newer model of iPads.
Each iPad model supports a limited version of iPadOS. Therefore, an iPad is only supported for as long as its supported iPadOS is supported. The table below shows which iPads support which iPadOS versions:
| iPad | Supported iPadOS Version |
| iPad (10th Gen) | 16-17 |
| iPad Pro (6th Gen) | 16-17 |
| iPad Air (5th Gen) | 15-17 |
| iPad (9th Gen) | 15-17 |
| iPad Mini (6th Gen) | 15-17 |
| iPad Pro (5th Gen) | 14-17 |
| iPad Air (4th Gen) | 14-17 |
| iPad (8th Gen) | 14-17 |
| iPad Pro (4th Gen) | 13-17 |
| iPad (7th Gen) | 13-17 |
| iPad Mini (5th Gen) | 12-17 |
| iPad Air (3rd Gen) | 12-17 |
| iPad Pro (3rd Gen) | 12-17 |
| iPad (6th Gen) | 11-17 |
| iPad Pro (2nd Gen) | 10-17 |
| iPad (5th Gen) | 10-16 |
| iPad Pro (1st Gen) | 9-16 |
| iPad Mini 4 | 9-15 |
| iPad Mini 3 | 8-12 |
| iPad Air 2 | 8-15 |
| iPad Mini 2 | 7-12 |
| iPad Air (1st Gen) | 7-12 |
| iPad Mini (1st Gen) | 6-9 |
| iPad (4th Gen) | 6-10 |
| iPad (3rd Gen) | 5-9 |
| iPad 2 | 4-9 |
| iPad (1st Gen) | 3-5 |
EOLs