Apple’s iOS 26 Now Available: Full Feature List, Compatible iPhones, and More!

Apple’s iOS 26 brings a fresh new look and several AI-powered features—but not all users will get the full experience. While every supported iPhone receives the new Liquid Glass interface, the most exciting innovations under the Apple Intelligence umbrella are exclusive to newer hardware.

These cutting-edge features are available only on the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 16 series, and upcoming iPhone 17 models. Here's a breakdown of seven iOS 26 features that older iPhones won’t support.

1. Smarter Order Tracking in Wallet

The Wallet app now uses AI to scan your emails and extract order details automatically—no need to rely on merchant tracking support. This upgrade makes order tracking far more reliable, but it’s only available on newer iPhones with Apple Intelligence.

2. AI-Powered Reminders App

With iOS 26, the Reminders app gets a major productivity boost. It can now:

• Suggest tasks based on your messages and emails
• Auto-organise your task list into logical sections

These smart features require advanced on-device processing and won’t function on older models.

3. Creative Upgrades in Genmoji and Image Playground

Apple is enhancing creativity with improvements to:

• Genmoji: Merge emojis or describe one in detail (e.g., hairstyle, clothing)
• Image Playground: Generate images in styles like anime, vector art, and oil painting

These features leverage on-device generative AI and are available only on iPhone 15 Pro and later.

4. Smarter Messaging with AI Support

The Messages app introduces:

• Polls (available to all users)
• AI-generated poll suggestions (newer iPhones only)
• Custom chat backgrounds (available to all)
• AI-designed backgrounds (exclusive to supported models)

5. Visual Intelligence Beyond the Camera

Originally launched on iPhone 16, Visual Intelligence now extends to your screenshots.
Snap a picture of an event poster or a product, and your phone can:

• Offer purchase links
• Add dates to your calendar

This context-aware ability is limited to devices with Apple Intelligence.

6. AI in Shortcuts App

The Shortcuts app now supports advanced AI actions like:

• Creating custom images
• Summarising long texts
• Generating contextual replies

These features demand high-performance hardware, available only on iPhone 15 Pro and newer.

7. Live Translation Across Calls and Chats

• One of the most powerful upgrades in iOS 26 is Live Translation, which enables:
• Real-time text translation in Messages as you type
• Live captions during FaceTime calls
• Spoken translations on regular phone calls

These features break language barriers—but require Apple Intelligence, and thus, won’t work on older iPhones.

"In Messages, Live Translation can automatically translate messages... On FaceTime calls, a user can follow along with translated live captions... And on a phone call, the translation is spoken aloud throughout the conversation," Apple explained.