Now that Apple has officially released iOS 26, you might be wondering why you haven’t seen the latest update show up on your iPhone yet. While most iPhone owners received update notifications Monday, some people with older models won’t be able to try the new features like the “Liquid Glass” redesign or blocking spam calls.
Because iOS 26 requires the power of the A13 Bionic chip or newer, some popular older models have unfortunately been left out of iOS 26, although they will continue to get security updates for iOS 18 (or iOS 16). Find out below if your iPhone supports the iOS 26 update.
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Every iPhone that supports iOS 26
The phones left off this year’s list are the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR.
The iPhone 17 will come loaded with iOS 26.
Heads-up: Apple Intelligence isn’t on all iPhone models
While all of the models above can install iOS 26, Apple Intelligence requires beefier hardware. Features such as Genmoji, Image Playground and the new Visual Intelligence search only work on:
- iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 models
- iPhone 17 models
If you’re on an older device, you’ll still get all the design changes and everyday updates, but nothing involving Apple Intelligence.
Watch this: 26 More Things Hidden in iOS 26
Not sure which iPhone model you own?
On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > About and look at Model Name. If your phone isn’t on the compatibility list, it will keep receiving iOS 18 security patches for a while, but you won’t see any of iOS 26’s new features.
