iOS 26 Introduces AI-Powered Features, but Many Require Latest iPhone Models

Many iOS 26 features can't be used without Apple Intelligence -- what you need to know

iOS 26 is going to bring all kinds of fun and useful new abilities to compatible iPhones when it launches this fall, or earlier if you decide to download a beta version. However, be aware that even if your phone can run iOS 26, it may not be able to run all of its features. This is all because of Apple Intelligence's requirements. Several of the headline features of iOS 26 tap into Apple's AI systems to work, meaning you need an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16 model to use them. After going through Apple's iOS 26 info, here's the list of all the features that will not work, either in part or at all, on the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus and all previous iPhone models. The iPhone 16's signature AI feature can now tell users about what's on-screen, rather than just through the camera lens. Visual Intelligence was recently updated to work on the iPhone 15 Pro as well, but it requires a different command to activate it since these phones don't have a Camera Control key. You can still add backgrounds and make polls on any iPhone compatible with iOS 26. But if you want AI-generated backgrounds or some artificial intelligence help with poll options, that will require Apple Intelligence. Audio and text translation for messages and calls, or FaceTime captions, is another Apple Intelligence-powered feature. Users on older iPhones will have to rely on third-party apps to communicate in different languages, or just have to learn enough Spanish to get by on your European vacation. You still can't try out the iPhone's emoji and image-generating tools without Apple Intelligence. That includes the new changes that enable emoji blending, new ChatGPT-style options and more. Perhaps unsurprisingly, using AI features like text summaries, image creation or other Apple Intelligence actions via the Shortcuts app is locked to the iPhone 15 Pro or an iPhone 16. The standard Shortcuts app is available on all iPhones, though, so you can still automate things in the old-fashioned way. Don't forget that if you're a keen user of the iPhone's built-in task manager app, iOS 26's auto-suggested tasks or sub-tasks, and the app's ability to categorize them itself, rely on Apple Intelligence. Perhaps the most surprising member of this list, the built-in order tracker for Apple Wallet needs Apple Intelligence. This is because this system works by taking information from your emails, rather than a formal tracking link. It's a shame that so many of the upgrades Apple highlighted on stage for iOS 26 are locked away from users with older iPhones. But on the bright side, even if you can't use these particular features, you can still try out iOS 26 changes like the new Liquid Glass design, Spatial Scene photos (if you have an iPhone 12 or later), upgraded CarPlay, call screening or the resurrected Games app. Like we mentioned earlier, iOS 26 is in beta at the time of writing, and we can tell you how to download the iOS 26 beta here. A public beta should be available in a few weeks' time, while the stable public version will arrive in fall.

Your Older iPhone Might Not Run These New iOS 26 Features

Apple announced a ton of new features and changes across its products during the company's big WWDC 2025 event. iOS 26, in particular, is chock full of updates, with a long list of iPhones that support the newest update. However, some of these new features will only run on newer iPhones. Even if your iPhone can update to iOS 26, you might be missing out on the full experience. Most of the features on this list are powered by Apple Intelligence, Apple's suite of generative AI features. As it happens, Apple Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer to work. That includes, of course, iPhone 15 Pro Max, but also iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max. If you don't have one of those six phones, you can't use any Apple Intelligence features -- both the existing ones released throughout the iOS 18 era, as well as any of the new features in iOS 26. It's a little confusing, since there are a lot of iPhones that can run iOS 26 that aren't these iPhones -- basically iPhone 11 and newer -- but that's the way Apple wants it, unfortunately. Here's what you're missing out on if you don't have a newer iPhone: Apple's Live Translation features for iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe seem great. Live Translation uses AI to translate both text and audio in real time across various apps and services. So, you might see translations appear next to messages sent in a language you can't read, or hear translations when on a call with someone who speaks a language you don't understand. Visual Intelligence itself isn't new this year. The Apple Intelligence feature debuted with iOS 18.2, and lets Apple's AI analyze anything in your camera feed. The feature started as an iPhone 16 exclusive, but Apple did bring it to 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models as well. With iOS 26, Visual Intelligence is now able to analyze the contents of your iPhone's screen as well, via screenshots. In addition to pointing your camera at something for Visual Intelligence to analyze, you can take a screenshot, and the AI will be able to process its contents. It's always a bummer when you spend the day taking photos on your phone, only to notice when you're home that those photos came out smudgy -- all because your camera was dirty. iOS 26 has a (presumably AI-powered) feature to fix that. Apple didn't announce this one, but beta testers discovered that when the camera is dirty, the new Camera app now warns you to clean the lens before taking a photo. Genmoji and Image Playground are getting updates with iOS 26 -- the AI features rolled out last year, allowing you to generate emojis and images with text-based prompts. This year, Apple is adding the ability to mix together different Genmoji and emoji to create brand new icons, which introduces an Emoji Kitchen-like feature to the iPhone. In addition, Image Playground now lets you add ChatGPT styles, like anime, oil painting, and watercolor, to your generations. Shortcuts has been available on all iPhones since iOS 12, but with iOS 26, Apple is integrating AI features to the automation tool. These shortcuts will let you summarize text, generate images, or utilize Apple Intelligence models to power your shortcuts. If your iPhone can't access AI tools at all, you probably won't feel the absence of these upgrades much anyway. Messages is getting some useful new features this year. Two key features are polls and backgrounds: You'll be able to make polls for your friends and family to answer, and choose from a set selection of backgrounds for your chats. Other chat apps have had these features for years, of course, but it's cool they're finally in the Messages app -- and both are compatible with all iPhones running iOS 26. That said, each feature has AI integrations that will only work on iPhone 15 Pro and newer. First, polls: In addition to choosing your own poll questions, newer iPhone owners will also see AI-generated poll suggestions. (I'm not entirely sure why you'd want this, but it's there.) In my opinion, Backgrounds' AI feature is more useful, since you can use Apple Intelligence to generate a background for your chats. I'd prefer to choose my own image to set as a background, but this at least opens up the background possibilities. If you have one of these iPhones compatible with Apple Intelligence, you'll notice iOS 26 suggests new reminders based on the contents of your messages and emails. If you're chatting with your roommate about needing to buy more coffee, for example, you might see a suggested reminder to add it to your grocery list. Plus, iOS 26 will categorize task lists for you using Apple Intelligence. There's a new "Auto-Categorize" setting, complete with an Apple Intelligence logo, if you want to outsource that task to Apple's AI. On iPhone 15 Pro and newer, iOS 26 will use AI to automatically pull data from your emails to show you up-to-date order tracking in Wallet. The app already has non-AI support for order tracking, but it's not particularly used by stores and merchants. iOS 26 has exactly one non-AI feature that isn't supported on all compatible devices: The Lock Screen has a new 3D effect that automatically adjusts the size and position of the time depending on the the photo you choose, prioritizing the subject of the photo. It's neat, and only works on iPhone 12 or newer. If you have an iPhone 11, you're out of luck.