Apple announced its upcoming lineup of operating systems – iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 Sequoia recently. These innovative features will offer enhanced performance on a broad range of not-so-new devices. The company has released a comprehensive list of compatible devices for these operating systems.
Compatibility with Mobile Devices
There’s barely any change in the smartphone and tablet segment since last year: the newly announced iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will support the same devices as the previous versions (iOS 17 and iPadOS 17), with one exception. iOS 18 will be compatible with iPhones starting from models XR/XS and including iPhone SE. Meanwhile, iPadOS 18 will cover all mainstream iPads from the seventh generation onwards, iPad Air from the third generation and later models, iPad mini fifth-generation onward, all 11-inch iPad Pro models, and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models and later.
However, the sixth generation iPad, which received the update last year, will not be eligible for the new release. Powered by the same Apple A10 chip as its seventh-generation counterpart, it has only 2 GB of RAM, unlike the latter’s 3 GB. The same 3 GB of RAM are available in the third-gen iPad Air and the fifth-gen iPad mini, suggesting this GB of memory could be the crucial factor for iPadOS 18 compatibility.
Apple’s AI System Compatibility
The compatibility for Apple’s artificial intelligence system, Apple Intelligence, is a bit more intricate. Only iPhone 15 Pro models operating on an A17 Pro processor will support it—not the standard iPhone 15 or any prior versions. Among tablets, only iPad Air or Pro models with M1 chips or later will be capable. Other functions will also require new devices. For instance, the Smart Script handwriting improvement feature will need an iPad with an Apple A14 or M1 chip or later versions. Regarding iOS, real-time transcription, Eye Tracking, and Vocal Shortcuts functions will be applicable only on iPhone 12 and later models.
Compatibility with Mac Devices
Lastly, devices eligible for the macOS 15 Sequoia update include the iMac 2019, Mac Studio 2022, Mac mini 2018, Mac Pro 2019, iMac Pro 2017, MacBook Air 2020, MacBook Pro 2018 models, and all subsequent versions of these series.
