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iPhone Q&A
Update Published September 17, 2024
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Which iPhone models support iOS 18? Do some models "partially" support iOS 18? Which ones?
Apple first previewed iOS 18 on June 10, 2024. A public beta was released on July 15, 2024 and the "final" consumer version shipped on September 16, 2024.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (iOS 18)
Apple provides basic iOS 18 compatibility info in the corporate press release, but specific feature support is tucked away in fine print elsewhere. Accordingly, independent documentation can be especially worthwhile to cover all the details.
New iOS 18 Features
In the formal press release, Apple explains that iOS 18 offers "all-new customization options, the biggest-ever redesign of Photos, powerful updates for staying connecting, and Apple Intelligence, the personal intelligence system."
More specifically, Apple chose to highlight these additions to iOS 18:
- Greater Customization: Largely borrowed from Android, new ways to customize the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Control Center to change the layout and appearance of icons, controls, and other interface elements.
- Improved Photos: The photos app makes it easier to find and organize photos of specific people, places, and more; with a heavy emphasis on automated or semi-automated functionality.
- Improved Messages: Some welcomed improvements, perhaps most notably Messages via satellite (in the US and for iPhone 14 and newer). It also finally provides expanded "tapbacks" to include any emoji or sticker rather than just a default few and additional annoying text effects for your uncle to send you accidentially and not be able to turn off.
- Improved Mail: Better categorization of incoming messages based on type and priority. It also includes a helpful new "digest view" to pull together all of the emails from a single entity so you can more easily find the QR code to check in at a conference from the dozens of other irrelevant emails that the organization also sent.
- Improved Safari: Automatic summarization of websites and articles for those too lazy to read details and helpful extraction of actionable details for businesses like a phone number or address.
- Passwords App: A standalone applicable to manage your collection of passwords to sites and apps.
- Apple Intelligence: Based on ChatGPT, this integrates text and image generation into the operating system. In its initial release, it will be limited to only the latest iPhone models and with Siri and device language set to US English.
There are numerous other more modest additions and tweaks that you also may find worthwhile, but these are the ones that Apple considered most notable. However, not all features are supported on all compatible devices, though.
iOS 18 supports the exact same devices as its predecessor -- iOS 17.
A full list of iPhone devices supported is below. However, there are some substantial differences in terms of feature support documented further below, as well.
Identification Help (Skip)
If you are not certain which iPhone you have, a relatively convenient way to identify your device precisely is by Model Number.
Regardless of the age of your device, you can find this Model Number in the iOS "Settings" app on your iPhone under General > Regulatory > or General > Legal & Regulatory, depending on the version of the iOS. You also can find a general "Model Name" under General > About that is precise enough for this purpose.
These specific iPhone models support iOS 18:
iPhone Model |
Model No |
If your iPhone isn't listed above -- and it wasn't released after the final version of iOS 18 shipped but before the next major version of the iOS (iOS 19) -- it isn't compatible with iOS 18.
Although it is much more complicated (and precise), you might also consider using the Order Number for identification, which is specified as "Model" within the iOS "Settings" app under General > About.
For example, in the United States, this "Model" within the iOS looks like MU073LL/A, which specifically refers to an iPhone 15 Plus (US/A2847) in light green with 512 GB of storage.
Everyi.com's Ultimate iLookup feature can identify these devices by order numbers from around the world and by other identifiers, too.
All of the above iPhone models support iOS 18, but in fine print, Apple specifies that some models only support certain features -- Apple Intelligence, Messages via Satellite, Live audio transcripts, Enhance Dialogue, Hands-free Unlock, Eye Tracking, and Muisc Haptics.
Only the newest iPhone 16/Plus/Pro/Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max support all of these new features. The iPhone 15/Plus and iPhone 14/Plus/Pro/Pro Max support all of these features except for Apple Intelligence. On the other hand, the oldest iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR models do not support any of these new features.
The iPhone models in between the oldest and newest ones support some of these features, but not others.
This, perhaps, can be most easily summarized accordingly:
| XR | XS* | 11* | 12* | |
| Apple Intelligence | No | No | No | No |
| Messages via Satellite | No | No | No | No |
| Live Audio Transcriptions | No | No | No | Yes |
| Enhance Dialogue | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hands-Free Unlock | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Eye Tracking | No | No | No | Yes |
| Music Haptics | No | No | No | Yes |
| 13* | 14* | 15† | 15P† | |
| Apple Intelligence | No | No | No | Yes |
| Messages via Satellite | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live Audio Transcriptions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Enhance Dialogue | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hands-Free Unlock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Eye Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Music Haptics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 16 | 16P | SE 2 | SE 3 | |
| Apple Intelligence | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Messages via Satellite | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Live Audio Transcriptions | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Enhance Dialogue | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hands-Free Unlock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Eye Tracking | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Music Haptics | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
* Support is the same for the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. It also is the same for the entire iPhone 11 line (iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max); and across all the models in each subsequent numbered line before the iPhone 15 series.
† The entry-level iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus do not support Apple Intelligence; the higher-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max do support Apple Intelligence.
It is hoped that this chart makes specific feature support for iPhone models that partially support iOS 18 straightforward.
iOS 18 Summary
Ultimately, iOS 18 provides a number of useful and potentially fun enhancements to the iPhone, although the most major addition -- Apple Intelligence -- is restricted to only the fastest and latest iPhone models (and US English).
As always, Everyi.com recommends that for those who use their iPhone for important tasks, it is wise to skip any public beta version entirely. It even is a good idea to resist the temptation to immediately upgrade to the "final" release to allow for a couple of "bug fix" updates, as well.
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