Have you updated your iPhone to the new iOS 26 yet or are you holding off? It's been available to download since September 15 — here's how to install it if you haven't yet. The new OS was released alongside iPadOS 26 and Apple's other operating system updates. Since then, the first beta of iOS 26.1 has already been released with some newer features.
If your phone is compatible with the latest OS, you'll notice substantial changes when you install the new update. You may have already heard about "Liquid Glass," which (intentional or not) is sort of like Apple's take on the old Windows Vista design language. That's the most notable change, but we spent two weeks test-driving many of the other features included in the update — you can check out our hands-on iOS 26 preview for more impressions.
Not sure if you have an eligible smartphone or tablet but also don't want to upgrade? No worries, we'll help you find out if your devices will be able to run iOS 26.
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While Apple didn't nix any iPhones from its eligibility list last year, that's not the case for 2025, as a few models got axed this time around. All iPhone 8 models and the iPhone X were the last to receive the boot in 2023, and this year, iPhones released in 2018 will be left behind.
You can find a full list of iPhones and iPads that support iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 below. To see everything you get with the latest OS updates, you can check out our big rundown of what to expect from iOS 26. Additionally, here's everything Apple revealed at the iPhone 17 launch event, including the all-new iPhone Air. (Check out Engadget's liveblog of the event for full details.)
These three iOS 18 iPhones aren't compatible with iOS 26
Unlike last year, a trio of iPhones won't be eligible to download the newest iOS. These three models that were first released in 2018 won't be coming to the iOS 26 party:
iPhone XR
iPhone XS
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