Apple’s new iOS 26 update is packed with exciting upgrades, but many of the headline features won’t be available to everyone. The most advanced tools which are powered by Apple Intelligence, remain exclusive to iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and the iPhone 16 lineup.

These AI-based features depend on Apple’s latest A17 Pro chip and newer hardware, meaning older iPhones will miss out on some of the smarter capabilities in iOS 26.

Apple Intelligence Features Only on iPhone 15 Pro and Up

If you own a newer iPhone, here’s what you get with Apple Intelligence in iOS 26:

  1. Live Translation in Messages, FaceTime & Phone
    You’ll see real-time message translations while typing, captions during FaceTime, and spoken translations on phone calls. All of this, is on-device.
  1. AI-Powered Shortcuts
    The Shortcuts app now includes actions like summarizing text, creating AI images, or asking AI-based queries as part of your custom workflows.
  1. Smart Reminders and Grocery Suggestions
    Reminders will auto-suggest tasks or shopping list items from your Messages or emails and organize them into categories using AI.
  1. Poll Suggestions and Custom Backgrounds in Messages
    iOS 26 can now suggest polls automatically and generate personalized message backgrounds with Image Playground.
  1. Smarter Order Tracking in Apple Wallet
    Your iPhone will scan your Mail app for tracking info — even if you didn’t use Apple Pay — and add updates directly into the Wallet app.
  1. Advanced Genmoji & Image Playground
    Create Genmoji by combining emojis or using custom styles like anime or watercolor via ChatGPT-powered tools.
  1. Screenshot-Based Visual Lookup
    Take a screenshot of something, and AI will help you shop, find dates, or identify content using visual search, not just photos.

Related: Hidden iOS 26 Features Apple Didn’t Talk About at WWDC 2025
Related: iOS 26 Beta 1, iPadOS 26 Beta 1 OTA Update: How to Download and Install

Not All AI Features Are Apple Intelligence, Like Spatial Scenes

Spatial Scenes, the cool new animated photo effect, might sound like AI, and it kind of is, but it doesn’t use Apple Intelligence. It runs on the Neural Engine and works on iPhone 12 or newer.

So, while iOS 26 is full of visual upgrades and design changes for all devices, many of the next-gen AI tools are reserved for Apple’s newest phones, and it comes

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AI, Apple, iPhone, News,

Last Update: June 12, 2025

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