Apple is releasing a substantial new iOS iteration later this year, but like always, some iPhones will be unable to run the operating system and will be functionally left behind by the Apple ecosystem.
Tim Cook and friends announced and elaborated on iOS 26 at Apple’s annual WWDC keynote livestream on Monday. The new version of iOS brings a host of new features, such as the new “Liquid Glass” design language, improved live translation, and a sorely needed reorganization of the Camera and Photos apps. As you may have noticed, we also jumped from iOS 18 to iOS 26, as Apple has adopted a new OS naming scheme that focuses on years rather than version numbers.
However, this news comes with a bit of disappointment for some iPhone owners. Each new version of iOS represents a new group of older iPhones that will be effectively cut off from major software updates, thus incentivizing their owners to spend money on a newer iPhone instead. Here is the list of iPhones that support iOS 26, for those who are curious about the status of their older iPhones.
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Every iPhone that supports iOS 26
The list of iOS 26-compatible iPhones is as follows:
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iPhone SE (second generation and beyond only)
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iPhone 11, Pro, and Pro Max
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iPhone 12, Mini, Pro, and Pro Max
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iPhone 13, Mini, Pro, and Pro Max
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iPhone 14, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max
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iPhone 15, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max
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iPhone 16, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max
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iPhone 16e
You can go ahead and pencil in the as-yet-unannounced iPhone 17, too. That means every iPhone model older than iPhone 11 is out of luck here. iPhone X line owners who got iOS 18 last year will have to upgrade at some point if they want to take advantage of the new features iOS 26 brings to the table. It’s also worth noting that any Apple Intelligence features will be limited even further to iPhone 15 and 16 models (until the 17 is inevitably announced, too).
There’s no official release date for iOS 26 yet, but expect it to drop before the end of the year.
