Apple iOS 26 New Update Has Just Gone Live: Will It Work On Your iPhone?

by · Forbes

The latest iPhone software, iOS 26, has just gone live. It brings with it a new, snazzy design called Liquid Glass, and many new features — read full details here. But it doesn’t work with every iPhone. Read on to see if your iPhone is covered.

First of all, don’t worry: even if you can’t run iOS 26, there’s an alternative which has gone live today as well, iOS 18.7. Full details of that here. It’s also the choice for people who can get iOS 26, and want it, but just not yet. Even if you don’t upgrade to either of these, your iPhone will keep working. It may not have the latest features or, more concerningly, the latest security protections, but it will carry on exactly as it did yesterday.

Which iPhones Are Dropping Off The List?

As of today, there are three iPhones which run iOS 18 that won’t manage iOS 26. These are the oldest three compatible with iOS 18, that is, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR. In other words, the three phones released in 2018.

So, Is My iPhone Compatible?

All iPhones from 2019 onwards will work with iOS 26, which starts rolling out now and will be the iPhone software for the next year, that is, until September 2026. Basically, if you have the iPhone 11 or later, you’re covered.

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For the avoidance of doubt, that means your iPhone needs to be one of these, starting with the oldest and building to the four which go on sale on Friday, Sept. 19:

  • iPhone SE (second generation or later)
  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro
  • iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12
  • iPhone 12 mini
  • iPhone 12 Pro
  • iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 13
  • iPhone 13 mini
  • iPhone 13 Pro
  • iPhone 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 14
  • iPhone 14 Plus
  • iPhone 14 Pro
  • iPhone 14 Pro Max
  • iPhone 15
  • iPhone 15 Plus
  • iPhone 15 Pro
  • iPhone 15 Pro Max
  • iPhone 16
  • iPhone 16 Plus
  • iPhone 16 Pro
  • iPhone 16 Pro Max
  • iPhone 16e
  • iPhone 17
  • iPhone 17 Pro
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max
  • iPhone Air

Is your iPhone on the list? Then you can upgrade. It’s available as a free download now, though it’s quite a big one — 14GB on my iPhone 16 Pro Max — and although the first suggestion is that despite the rush, that it’s availableas soon as people are looking for it, some users on Reddit are reporting that the downloads are slow, taking hours. So, you may prefer to wait until later in the week.