A plausible leak claims to have the complete list of iPhones that will support the forthcoming iOS 27, and which ones will forever remain on iOS 26.
Apple does work to make its newest releases of iOS work on as many generations of its iPhones as possible, but there is always a limit. With iOS 26, for instance, the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR were dropped.
Now while Apple has yet to provide a compatibility list, and won't until WWDC 2026, a leaker claims to have all of the details. According to leaker Instant Digital on the Weibo Chinese social media site, iOS 27 will be supported on these iPhones:
- iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16e, iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 17, iPhone 17e, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max
- iPhone Air
- iPhone SE 3
Plus of course the forthcoming iPhone 18 range, and the expected iPhone Fold.
That means the iPhone SE (2nd Generation) will not be able to run iOS 27. Nor will the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max, which will now all stay on iOS 26.
If the list is correct, Apple is discontinuing support for iPhones that are around seven years old. The iPhone 11 range came out in 2019, though the second generation iPhone SE was released in 2020.
This is about the same amount of time that determined which phones would not get iOS 26. The iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, were all launched in 2018.
It's not a guarantee that seven-year-old iPhones will always be the ones to be dropped, although it is likely. Apple will determine which models can physically run the new iOS, and also which ones can run it adequately.
In that respect, it's surprising that only those three models were dropped in 2025, given that iOS 26 introduced the more processor-intensive Liquid Glass redesign.
