Although it is a little while before it is available to the general public, the beta for developers of iOS 16. Of course: if last year Apple put the cut on iPhones that are six years old, this year the bar has been raised, and only iPhones less than five years old will be able to install iOS 16.
In other words, while iOS 15 was compatible with all iPhones starting with iPhone 6s, iOS 16 will leave out iPhone 6s, iPhone 7, and the first-generation iPhone SE.
These are the devices that will not be able to update:
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone SE (1st generation)
- iPod Touch (7th generation)
- Any previous model
And these, the ones that do:
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- Phone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or higher)
Keep in mind that the iPhone 8 and iPhone X introduced the Apple A11 Bionic chip, which was a significant leap from its predecessor and included Apple’s first Neural Engine, essential for many of the software features it has been introducing. the company in recent years. Still, there are iOS 16 features that will only be available on the latest iPhone models, like Visual Search and Live Text.
If you have a developer profile, you can install the iOS 16 developer beta on a compatible device starting today. The public beta will arrive at Apple Beta Software Program in July. Sure, there are unofficial ways to install a developer profile to get into the beta sooner, but trust me, you don’t want unstable software on your phone.