We will only find out which devices will no longer receive the next major version of iOS at Apple’s developer conference WWDC on 10 June.
This is where the company will show new iOS 18 features for the first time and start the beta phase before the update is rolled out, likely alongside the iPhone 16 range later this year.
These iPhones will receive the iOS 18 update
The following iPhone models are expected to be compatible:
- iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max
- iPhone SE 3
- iPhone 13, 13 Mini, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max
- iPhone SE 2
- iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone XS and XS Max
Apple has provided most iPhones with updates for around five or six years. The iPhone XR and iPhone XS/XS Max are at the limit this year. However, there is a good chance that these models will also receive the update to iOS 18, as the Neural Engine of the built-in A12 chip is powerful enough for most features of the current iOS versions.
There are now rumours about the increasingly likely AI functions of iOS 18: Apple wants to run most of the basic tasks for the revised Siri on the iPhone. This poses new challenges for the hardware in the device.
Apparently, only the new A17 Pro chip is powerful enough to cope with such tasks. Even the current iPhone 15 and 15 Plus with the A16 Bionic will probably fall by the wayside and only receive the regular iOS functions and nothing that can be described as generative AI.
However, it is encouraging that Apple is unlikely to remove any iPhones from the compatibility list this year. The oldest ones, the iPhone XR and iPhone XS from 2018, will probably be supplied with iOS 18 in September. However, it is possible that these and other older smartphones, such as the iPhone 11, will lack most of the new features due to hardware restrictions.
In 2023, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X were removed from the support list. Both devices were released in 2017, meaning Apple had updated these models for a full six years, just like the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus before it.
Only the iPhone 6S, 6S Plus and the first iPhone SE have benefitted from a full seven years of software updates.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and adapted from German.