Meta is quietly tightening WhatsApp's iOS requirements, and a handful of older iPhones will need a software update to stay on the app.
From November 30, 2026, WhatsApp will require iOS 15.5 or later, up from iOS 15.1. The affected models are the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, first-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus. None of these phones are being cut off outright — iOS 15.8.8 is the highest version any of them can run, and all of them can reach 15.5. A visit to Settings > General > Software Update is all it takes. The deadline is five months out, so there's no emergency.
The distinction from last year matters: in June 2025, WhatsApp dropped the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus entirely, because those models were hard-capped below iOS 15.1 and had no upgrade path. That left users stranded on the web client. This round is softer — it's a version bump within what the hardware already supports, not an eviction notice.
Still, it signals the direction. Meta is incrementally raising the floor on a messaging app used by over two billion people, and each step quietly pressures holdouts on aging hardware to either update or upgrade. The gap between "a free software update" and "buy a new phone" will eventually close.