iOS 26 supported devices: These iPhones likely won’t make the cut
We are waiting with bated breath for Apple’s WWDC 2025 event next week, especially the preview of this year’s iPhone software, likely to renamed as iOS 26.
As exciting as it may be to find out what new features are coming to your iPhone — and the new interface Apple is expected to introduce — not every device will be able to run the new update. With the iOS 26 preview, we’ll also learn which iPhones will no longer be supported by Apple come the fall.
True, you can keep using an iPhone that isn’t running the latest software, though you will miss out on new features. And with some time between next week’s iOS 26 preview and the full release later in the fall, you have enough time to figure out if you want to upgrade to one of the best iPhones and reap the benefits of iOS 26.
So which phones are at risk of losing support when iOS 26 arrives? For the most part, devices that can run the current iOS 18 should be able to upgrade to the new version, though there are some notable exceptions.
Based on reports that have circulated back when we thought this coming update was going to be called iOS 19, here’s the list of current iPhones likely to be supported.
- iPhone 16e
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
Unfortunately, it looks like Apple won’t continue to support for the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max with iOS 26. That’s based on posts from an anonymous account on X that has a strong track record of correctly listing supported iPhones for iOS updates.
It would certainly make sense to see those three models dropped from the iOS 26 update, as the iPhone XR and both iPhone XS models debuted in 2018. That means they’ll have been out seven years by the time the full iOS 26 release arrives in the fall.
For the most part, Apple offers at least five years of iOS support for iPhones, though sometimes that stretches to six years.
Even devices that can update to iOS 26 may not be able to run every feature, as some upgraded capabilities are tied to more modern hardware. In the case of Apple Intelligence, you need an iPhone 15 Pro or later to run Apple’s suite of AI tools — something that’s certain to not change with iOS 26.
As for the update, we’re expecting iOS 26 to deliver significant interface changes, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman stating that the update will be “one of the most dramatic software overhauls in [Apple’s] history.”
WWDC 2025 gets underway next Monday (June 9), with a keynote that starts at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
