iOS 26 has 5 killer upgrades I can't wait to use — but only these iPhones will get them

Tom's Guide

a day ago

Like any iOS update, iOS 26 promises some exciting additions for your current iPhone. But before you get carried away about the new capabilities that are just an upgrade away, be sure to check out the fine print — because not every iOS addition works on every supported iPhone.
Even if you've got an iPhone capable of running iOS 26, not all of those features are going to work on your device. Some require specific hardware, either because of processor demands or their reliance on on-device artificial intelligence.
To be fair, the more significant changes ushered in by iOS 26 will work just fine no matter how hold your iPhone is. The Liquid Glass interface introduced with this update will be visible on every iPhone that upgrades to iOS 26, and changes like the new Games app, Messages enhancements and improvements to Maps work on all compatible phones.
But there are some notable iOS 26 additions that have a more limited reach. And in most cases, it's because they rely on Apple Intelligence, Apple's take on AI, which means you'll need an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max or any iPhone 16 model to reap the full benefits. (You can also pick up a iPhone 17 model in the fall, as those will support Apple Intelligence, too.)
That doesn't mean you have to rush out and upgrade your iPhone now — there will be time enough to do that once the new models arrive this fall and you weigh the merits of getting a new device.
But if you are planning on trying out iOS 26 — either as part of the public beta that arrives in July or the full release in the fall — you should be aware of what features your phone can and can't take advantage of. These are the iOS 26 additions that grabbed my attention, which will only work on select devices.
Every iPhone will continue to offer low-power mode, which cuts back on refreshes for apps running in the background and dims display brightness, all in the name of preserving power. But if you have an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, iOS 26 introduces an adaptive power mode feature that's meant to improve battery life further.
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Apple has said adaptive power mode will make performance adjustments on your phone — adjusting screen brightness, slowing down more background activities, and generally allowing your iPhone to last longer in between charges. It's a setting you'll enable, and it apparently kicks in when you're using your phone for power-hungry tasks.
On-device AI is responsible for making these adjustments to power consumption — hence the need for an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone to reap the benefits of adaptive power mode.
It should't be a shock that any new addition to Visual Intelligence requires an iPhone 15 Pro or later. After all, Visual Intelligence already only worked on select devices — first with iPhone 16 models exclusively and later with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max after the iOS 18.4 update.
Still, it's worth calling out iOS 26's Visual Intelligence improvements as they're rather significant.
Previously, Visual Intelligence relied on your iPhone's camera to look up information or create calendar entries when you photographed posters and fliers with dates and times.
In iOS 26, those same tools will be available for screenshots, essentially allowing you to search visually interesting items you come across with just a tap. You'll also be able to auto-create calendar events from emails, websites and text messages through Visual Intelligence in iOS 26 — but again, only if you have a more recent iPhone.
Other than Liquid Glass, support for real-time translations feels like the most sweeping addition to iOS 26. That's because it touches on a number of apps and activities on the phone, from phone calls to video chats to text messages.
Live Translations also happens to rely on on-device AI, so you'll once again need an iPhone 15 Pro or later to make it work.
Phones aren't the only restriction to this iOS 26 feature. Live Translations will only offer support for select languages initially. Messages will work with simplified Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. French, Portuguese and Spanish support will reflect the languages spoken in France, Brazil and Spain, respectively.
As for the Phone and FaceTime apps, they'll support Live Translation for English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish out of the gate.
At last — an iOS 26 app that isn't just limited to devices that support Apple Intelligence. However, you will need at least an iPhone 12 if you want to take advantage of the Spatial Scenes feature to give your Lock Screen photo a 3D effect.
That doesn't leave too many iPhones out in the cold. The iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max won't be able to feature that 3D effect. I'd assume the iPhone SE (2020) won't be able to, either, since it has the same A13 Bionic chip as those phones.
Spatial Scenes is built on the same technology used to create 3D effects in Apple's visionOS, and you'll also be able to apply it to images in the Photos app. Presumably, the same device restrictions apply there, too.
I use the Reminders task every day to stay on top of tasks and to buzz me with notifications when I've got to take care of a to-do at a specific time. So naturally, any new feature coming to that app will pique my interest.
Reminders isn't getting a big makeover with iOS 26, but it will gain one significant capability — at least if you've got a phone that can run Apple Intelligence. Apple's on-device AI will be able to use emails, texts and other things stored on your device to suggest tasks, follow-ups and grocery list items.
Say my wife messages me to pick up some bread at the store. iOS 26 Reminders will be able to recognize that request and suggesting adding it to the grocery list I keep in the app — provided I'm using an iPhone 15 Pro or later by then.
Some iOS 26 features aren't limited to newer devices, but they do have other restrictions that may affect your ability to use them. The most common restriction involves supported languages.
Screening tools are a big marquee addition in iOS 26 that aim to cut down on the number of robocalls you answer and spam texts that find their way into Messages. In the Phone app, call screening will answer the phone for you and find out why that person is calling, while Messages will filter out texts from unknown senders into their own separate tab.
But both of those features are only supporting English, Cantonese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish initially.
Hold Assist, another Phone addition that pings you when it detects you're about to be taken off of hold, has language restrictions, too. It will work with English, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portugues and Spanish.
The Music app is getting a Lyrics Translation feature for select songs. That will work with English to Chinese, English to Japanese, Korean to Chinese, Korean to English, Korean to Japanese and Spanish to English. Meanwhile, a Live Captions accessibility tool works with Cantonese, English, French, Germa, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. Notably, the French and Spanish support in Live Captions includes the versions spoken in Canada and Mexico, respectively.
Other iOS 26 features are limited to specific countries. It's probably not surprising that the ability to create a digital ID with your U.S. passport in Wallet will only be offered in the U.S., for example, but the Visited Places feature in Maps that logs where you go is launching in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S., initially.