People still using iPhones released before 2018, including the SE and the 8 Plus model, will not be able to use iOS 18 as their chips will not be capable of handling the heavy workload of the AI features
Apple’s newest operating system update will relegate several iPhone models as being unable to use its AI-powered features.
People still using iPhones released before 2018, including the SE and the 8 Plus model, will not be able to use iOS 18. The older models won’t be compatible because their hardware chips will be outdated and have slower processors and less memory, meaning they’ll be unable to support the power-draining features.
iOS 18 will be Apple’s “biggest” update yet. The tech giant may partner with Google’s AI Gemini to create images and write copy based on simple prompts.
The firm will unveil the operating system at the World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) set for June 10 until 14, kicking off with a keynote speech that usually details the new operating systems for iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and TV. There could even be an update for the owners of the newly released Vision Pro 3D camera.
In order to be compatible with iOS 18, the smartphone will need Apple’s A12 Bionic chip, which wasn’t introduced until the iPhone XR and XS models were released in 2018. The models with Apple’s A11 Bionic chip, the iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus, or the A10 Fusion chips, iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, will be unable to handle the update.
Usually, Apple will discontinue the models that are unable to hold up with the newest operating systems. However, for this year, it will be keeping the seventh and eighth series.
For those without the more modern models, they will lose access to all future software updates. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman explained that the AI features will improve Siri and allow it to give more accurate responses. The Message app will “field questions and auto-complete sentences”.
“I’m told that the new operating system is seen within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates — if not the biggest — in the company’s history,” Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter. With that knowledge, Apple’s developers conference in June should be pretty exciting.”
Apple’s iOS 18 update will be designed to help the company compete with artificial intelligence apps like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard chatbot.
List of iPhones that will not be compatible:
- iPhone 5s
- iPhone 6
- iPhone 6 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone SE 1st Gen
