Apple iOS 26: Supported Devices, Expected Release Window, and More

Apple iOS 26 has received a couple of betas, with a smooth development cycle. Here’s when the iOS 26 stable version will launch for everyone.

Picture of iOS 26's new UI — The iOS 26’s new UI (Image via Apple)

Apple revealed iOS 26 to the world at the WWDC 2025 event on June 9, 2025. It’s the next iteration of the iOS operating system, so it’s designed to impress. iOS 26 has received a brand-new UI called Liquid Glass, which is designed to mimic a glass-like transparent UI. It’s the biggest change to the user interface since iOS 7 was first introduced. Therefore, many users are very excited and wonder when it will be released or which iPhone model it will support. Read on to learn more.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

The Apple iOS 26

Apple has released a total of three iOS 26 developer betas and will soon release a public beta build. The Liquid Glass design has seen some changes to address public feedback during this beta period, and it will slowly become more mature with future beta builds. The good thing is that the development is on schedule.

List of Supported iPhones

Picture of the iPhone 16 Series — The iPhone 16 Series (Image via Apple)

Here’s the official list of iPhones that will receive the upcoming iOS 26 update:

iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max

iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd Generations)

iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max

iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max

iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max

iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, and 15 Pro Max

iPhone 16, 16e, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max

The older iPhone XS, XR, and XS Max were last supported by iOS 18, which is the predecessor of iOS 26. This year, Apple will stop supporting these devices when the iOS 26 stable version is released, which is a common Apple practice. One iPhone generation usually only gets five iOS upgrades.

However, last year, Apple delivered six iOS upgrades to the iPhone XS, XR, and XS Max, but that stops now as they are officially out of the supported list of iOS 26.

List of iPhones That Support Apple Intelligence

Picture of Apple Intelligence features — Apple Intelligence features (Image via Apple)

Apple Intelligence is a key part of the iOS operating system, and the upcoming iOS 26 has even more Apple Intelligence features. However, not every iPhone supports Apple Intelligence. Here’s a list of iPhones that support Apple Intelligence:

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max

iPhone 16, 16e, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max

Only the iPhones listed above will receive iOS 26 with all the Apple Intelligence features. Other iPhone models will receive iOS 26 without the Apple Intelligence features.

Expected Release Window

Apple usually delivers the stable version of each iOS release in September of every year, which coincides with the launch of its next-gen iPhones. There’s no reason to believe Apple will change this tradition this year. Therefore, the iOS 26 stable update is expected to be released sometime in the month of September 2025. It will be the same date when the iPhone 17 series launches, which is yet to be confirmed. We will provide an update once the iPhone 17 launch date is confirmed.

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