Got an older iPhone? Soon you may need to check whether WhatsApp will still work

WhatsApp / ShutterStock If you use a relatively old iPhone, it is worth noting Meta’s new announcement. The company said that starting November 30, 2026, WhatsApp will raise the minimum requirements for running the app on Apple devices and will require iOS 15.5 or later on iPhone and iPadOS 15.5 or later on iPad.

This is a routine move the company makes periodically. According to Meta, supported devices and operating systems are reviewed every year, mainly because some older devices no longer receive current security updates or struggle to support new features added to the app.

This time, the good news is that the change is expected to go through with almost no drama. Unlike the previous update, when support for the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus ended after the minimum requirement was raised to iOS 15.1, now any device that currently runs iOS 15.1 or iPadOS 15.1 can also update to the required version 15.5.

Nevertheless, users of several older models still need to make sure their device is updated to the latest available version. The list includes the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, first-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, along with the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 4. These devices can run iOS 15.8.8 and iPadOS 15.8.8, so a software update will allow them to keep using WhatsApp even after the change takes effect.

As in similar cases in the past, Meta is announcing the change many months in advance to give users time to prepare. For most iPhone owners, this is only a technical update, but for anyone still holding on to an older device, it is another reminder that even popular apps like WhatsApp continue to gradually raise their hardware and software requirements.