If you’re still utilizing an iPhone from the mid-2010s, you may have just lost access to one of the most widely-used mobile applications ever. According to MacRumors, YouTube has rolled out an update to its iOS application, now at version 20.22.1. While the release notes don’t provide specifics, it appears that this software update terminates support for devices operating on iOS 15 and iPadOS 15.
### iPhone and iPad models losing access to the YouTube app
For the majority of Apple device users, this won’t pose a problem; however, there exists a selection of devices that cannot upgrade beyond iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. Consequently, the following models of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch will no longer be able to access the YouTube app:
– iPhone 6s
– iPhone 6s Plus
– iPhone 7
– iPhone 7 Plus
– iPhone SE (1st generation)
– iPad Air 2
– iPad mini 4
– iPod touch (7th generation)
Even the most recent device on this list (the last iPod touch) is six years old, making it somewhat remarkable that YouTube has supported them for this extensive time. An iOS enthusiast has been tracking every update in the YouTube app for quite some time, and interestingly, it’s been nearly a full year since version 19.21.2 was released, which ended support for iOS 14.
The positive news is that these devices can still access YouTube through a web browser. If you wish to watch YouTube videos on any of these mobile devices, visit m.youtube.com in your preferred browser. The experience may not be as refined, but at least you’ll still be able to watch videos without needing to invest in a new phone or tablet.
Regarding support for older devices, Apple is set to unveil iOS 26 next week. Based on the information available, we anticipate that the upcoming version of iOS will be compatible with all the same iPhone models as iOS 18, which extends back to the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max. That being said, we’ll confirm this when Apple presents at WWDC 2025.
