These iOS 15 features will not work on the iPhone X or older

95% reliable

3 mins

22.35K views

Some devices are lacking full feature compatibility with iOS 15.
According to Apple, these features require an A12 Bionic or a newer chip to function.
The iPhone X and older will not support some features in iOS 15.

Apple recently released iOS 15, following three months of beta testing, but not all the features will be available for older iPhones. According to Apple’s iOS 15 features page, the following features will require an iPhone with an A12 Bionic chip or newer.

Here’s a simple list of everything that's not supported.

Portrait mode in FaceTime.
Spatial audio in FaceTime.
Voice Isolation mode in FaceTime.
Wide Spectrum mode in FaceTime.
An interactive 3D globe of Earth in the Maps app.
Immersive walking directions with step-by-step directions shown in augmented reality in the Maps app.
Live Text for copying and pasting, looking up, or translating text within photos.
On-device speech processing of Siri requests.
The ability to make Siri requests offline without an internet connection for timers, alarms, phone calls, ETC
The ability to swipe up or down while taking a QuickTake video to zoom in or out.
The ability to add home, hotel, and car keys to the Wallet app.
On-device keyboard dictation that performs all processing completely offline.
Continuous keyboard dictation, rather than a limit of 60 seconds per instance.
New animated backgrounds in the Weather app that more accurately represent the sun position, clouds, and precipitation.

Apple has not given a reason to why these features will require an iPhone with an A12 Bionic chip or newer. It is speculated that some of these features likely rely on Apple’s second generation neural engine for better optimization and performance. iOS 15 will still work perfectly fine on your device, however you will be missing quite a few features.

iOS 15 is compatible with every device that is currently supported with iOS 14, including devices such as the first generation iPhone SE and the iPhone 6s.

Recommended by the editors:

More From Apple Scoop — America's Favorite Source For Apple News, Rumors & More

Thank you for visiting Apple Scoop! As a dedicated independent news organization, we strive to deliver the latest updates and in-depth journalism on everything Apple. Have insights or thoughts to share? Drop a comment below—our team actively engages with and responds to our community. Return to the home page.

Published to Apple Scoop on 21st September, 2021.