iOS 16 system requirements - can Apple's latest software run on your iPhone?

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Apple’s recently replaced iPhone software is iOS 16. Here are the iOS 16 system requirements. It 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.

NOTE iOS 17 is now officially available. It’s available for all recent Apple smartphones. Check out: iOS 17 system requirements – can Apple’s latest software run on your iPhone?

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. Check out Apple’s iOS 16 guidance.

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Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.