iOS 16 system requirements – can Apple’s latest software run on your iPhone?

Apple’s current iPhone software is iOS 16 and it’s out now. The new version of the venerable mobile software launched with the iPhone 14 series, which is one of our picks for the best smartphones on sale today – but a whole host of older iPhones support it too.

iOS 16 isn’t quite compatible with everything that could run iOS 15 (or iOS 13 or 14 for that matter). That’s because it doesn’t include compatibility for the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus from 2015 or the iPhone 7 from 2016. The original iPhone SE is also no longer included, while the 7th generation iPod touch has also dropped off the list since last year – it is now discontinued, of course, too, the last of the iPods to go the way of the Dodo.

The earliest iPhone on the list for iOS 16 compatibility is 2017’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which is fairly impressive considering a lot of Android devices only offer three years of security updates.

iOS 16 iPhone compatibility: full list

• iPhone 13 mini
• iPhone 13
• iPhone 13 Pro
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• iPhone 12 mini
• iPhone 12 Pro
• iPhone 12 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 11 Pro
• iPhone 11
• iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XS
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 8
• iPhone SE (2020, 2nd generation)
• iPhone SE (2022, 3rd generation)

If you have an Apple Watch, you’ll need to install iOS 16 on it before you can install watchOS 9.

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