Apple's latest iPhone operating system, iOS 18, brings a host of new features and improvements to iPhones new and old. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and the company is expected to release it sometime on Monday, September 16, likely at around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time/1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the official release day, based on past releases. Keep reading to learn if Apple's upcoming mobile operating system will run on your particular iPhone model.
iOS 18 is compatible with the iPhone XR, and therefore also the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max models with the same A12 Bionic chip.
In other words, iOS 18 is compatible with the same iPhone models as iOS 17:
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone SE (3rd generation)
iPadOS 18 drops support for iPad models with the A10X Fusion chip, therefore iPadOS 18 is compatible with the following iPad models:
- iPad mini: 2019 and later
- iPad: 2020 and later
Note that iOS 18 will come pre-installed on new iPhone 16 models when they launch on Friday, September 20. If you're unsure which iPhone or iPad model you have, go to Settings -> General -> About, and you'll find the Model Name listed there.
For a detailed rundown of everything we expect in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, be sure to check out our dedicated roundup by clicking the tag at the bottom of this article.
Apple Intelligence Features
While iOS 18 brings numerous improvements at launch, Apple has also announced several AI-powered features under the banner of Apple Intelligence, which will be released in future updates.
Among these upcoming additions is an AI-powered writing assistant that can help you rewrite text in different styles, proofread your writing, and generate summaries of longer content. A new Image Playground app will allow you to create and edit AI-generated images based on text descriptions or existing photos.
Siri is set to receive a significant upgrade, gaining the ability to understand personal context from your emails, messages, and photos, providing more accurate and personalized responses. Additionally, Apple plans to introduce AI-powered features in the Photos app, including a "Clean Up" tool to remove unwanted elements from your pictures.
The first set of these Apple Intelligence features, while not available in the initial version of iOS 18, should arrive when iOS 18.1 is released in October, with a roll out continuing in iOS 18.2 in December, and beyond.
It's important to note that Apple Intelligence features require different device compatibility requirements compared to the initial version of iOS 18. For all the devices that support Apple Intelligence, check out our dedicated article on the topic.
