iOS 18: These iPhones Likely Won’t Support Some AI Features

Apple’s iOS 18 will introduce significant AI enhancements. However, some AI features may not be supported on older iPhones, even if they are compatible with the new operating system.

Two-Part AI Roadmap

The AI roadmap for iOS 18 includes two parts: basic AI features processed on-device and advanced capabilities requiring server communication. At the core is a revamped Siri, reengineered using large language models (LLMs).

Enhanced Siri Capabilities

According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, this new Siri will perform tasks like opening specific documents, organizing notes, deleting emails, summarizing articles, and emailing links. Apple aims to use AI to understand user activities and enable these features automatically.

On-Device AI Tasks

Basic AI tasks will be managed by Apple’s LLM on the device, powered by the iPhone’s processor. It’s unclear what qualifies as a basic task, but the LLM includes code to determine if a request can be handled on-device or needs server support.

iPhones AI Support: Hardware Requirements

Gurman suggests that on-device AI capabilities will mostly require an iPhone 15 Pro or later. While iOS 18 is expected to support the same models as iOS 17, these iPhones may miss out on some AI features:

• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 14
• iPhone 14 Plus
• iPhone 14 Pro
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• 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
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone SE (2nd generation)
• iPhone SE (3rd generation)

iPadOS and macOS Compatibility

iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 are expected to share many AI features. Macs and iPads will need at least an M1 chip for on-device AI, ruling out Intel Macs and anything older than the fifth-generation iPad Pro.

iPhones AI Support: Memory Requirements

The hardware requirement for Apple’s on-device AI might hinge on RAM. Non-supported standard iPhone 15 models have 6GB of RAM, while Pro models have 8GB. All Apple Silicon iPads and Macs come with a minimum of 8GB. LLMs need substantial memory due to their numerous parameters, likely causing hardware limitations for some devices.