Come October 24th, some iPhone users may find that WhatsApp is not supported on their phone and uninstalling and reinstalling will not solve that problem. This is going to be because Apple is withdrawing support for WhatsApp from iPhones running iOS 10 and iOS 11.
Not only Apple but WhatsApp has also started notifying iPhone users that WhatsApp will not support devices using iOS 10 or iOS 11. If the person wants to continue using WhatsApp, they will need to update their iOS. According to the WhatsApp website, the instant messaging app will now run on iPhones running iOS 12 or newer. While Apple users update their iOS constantly, it is estimated that the number of iPhones with iOS 10 and iOS 11 will be less.
Most likely, the iPhone 5, iPhone 5S or iPhone 5C will have iOS 10 or iOS 11, and iPhone 5S users can update their iOS to continue using WhatsApp. However, those having an iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C will have to get a newer iPhone as the device will no longer support WhatsApp as these are not compatible with iOS 12.
An iPhone user can go to Settings in the device to get the latest compatible version of iOS via a software update.
According to WABetaInfo, a website that tracks WhatsApp development closely, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S users can update their iOS version to iOS 12 and continue using WhatsApp.
It may be recalled that WhatsApp not only withdraws software update/spare parts support for older devices but also puts them in the old list. Recently, Apple has added the iPhone 6 to its vintage product list. According to the Apple website, it considers products to be vintage when Apple stopped distributing them for sale more than 5 and less than 7 years ago. However, Apple will continue to provide services such as spare parts for devices for seven years, as mandated by law.