The last few iPhone updates have brought a lot of changes with them. Just take a look at iOS 18.2: it introduced a ton of AI-powered features that had never before been available. If you have an older phone, it’s easy to worry that its hardware won’t be up to snuff for the next round of updates. For now, you can breathe easy: if your iPhone can handle iOS 18, then it should also work with iOS 19, according to a new leak.
The news comes from the French site iPhoneSoft. Although Apple guarantees five years of support for its devices, some devices get supported for longer periods of time, but this tip suggests that any phone currently capable of downloading and installing iOS 18 will also work with iOS 19, although some features could be limited.
Restricting features to expand update compatibility is nothing new. It’s already a part of the iPhone update cycle; this last update introduced Apple Intelligence features that only the most recent iPhones can use. Even an iPhone 14 is too outdated to handle it.
The leak says that any device from the iPhone XR or newer will be compatible. This includes iPhone XS, XS Max, and the 2020 iPhone SE. It also includes the iPhone 11 and forward. However, some iPads will be left behind with the launch of iPadOS 19.
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The iPad Mini 5th gen, iPad 8th gen, iPad Air 3rd gen, and iPad Pro 2018 or later will all be compatible with the next update. Any devices that predate these will lack the power needed to run iOS 19.
The continued compatibility, even with phones as far back as 2018, suggests that iOS 19 might not be a major shift from what the current version can do. It’s likely that Apple will steer more towards Apple Intelligence features, utilizing the existing platform.
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