Apple's New iOS Update Excludes Many iPhones

Apple has officially launched its iOS 26 operating system, but a significant number of older iPhone models will not be eligible for this update. The requirement for the A13 Bionic chip means that popular devices such as the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR have reached their hardware limit for this new software. Users of these older phones will not experience the latest design changes, such as the Liquid Glass redesign, or advanced functionalities like spam call blocking.

While Apple is not completely abandoning users of older devices, their support is limited to critical security patches for previous versions like iOS 18 and iOS 16. This ensures a baseline level of safety but prevents access to the innovative features introduced in iOS 26. For those eager to explore the full suite of new capabilities, including enhanced privacy settings and improved call management, an upgrade to a newer iPhone model is recommended.

Furthermore, specific advanced features powered by Apple Intelligence, such as Genmoji and Image Playground, have even higher hardware demands. These cutting-edge functionalities will only be available on iPhones equipped with the A13 Bionic chip or newer. Users with older hardware will receive the general design updates of iOS 26 but will miss out on these intelligence-driven enhancements. Checking iPhone settings under General > About is advised to confirm model name and compatibility.