Science

iOS 12 Features and Compatibility: Your Old iPhone Is About To Get Better

Get ready for apps to launch a lot faster.

by Jake Kleinman

Updating your old iOS device to the latest version of Apple’s software is usually a recipe for disaster. Apps start to crash and everything slows down as your aging hardware struggles to deal with the latest updates. But with iOS 12, Apple claims things will finally be different. Your old iPhone might even run faster when the upgrade hits later this year.

iOS 12 Compatibility

Over the past few years, Apple’s done a pretty good job of keeping old devices from becoming obsolete, and that trend continues with iOS 12. The new software will work on iPhones dating back to the iPhone 5s and the original iPhone SE. It also covers a bunch of old iPads, including the iPad Mini 2 and the 5th gen full-sized iPad.

Here’s a full list of devices compatible with iOS 12 (via CNET):

  • Phone X
  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 8 ($499.99 at Cricket Wireless)
  • iPhone 7 Plus ($740.00 at Amazon.com)
  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 6S
  • iPhone 6S Plus
  • iPhone 6 ($258.00 at Amazon.com)
  • iPhone 6 Plus ($399.00 at Amazon.com)
  • iPhone SE
  • iPhone 5S
  • 12.9-inch iPad Pro ($649.99 at Best Buy)
  • 10.5-inch iPad Pro
  • 9.7-inch iPad Pro
  • iPad (fifth-gen)
  • iPad Air 2 ($448.29 at Amazon Marketplace)
  • iPad Air
  • iPad Mini 4
  • iPad Mini 3
  • iPad Mini 2

iOS 12 Features

Of course, just because iOS 12 can run on your old iPhone doesn’t mean you should install it, but in this case, it’s probably a good idea. Apple says the latest software is designed to speed up old devices. During WWDC, the company claimed that an iPhone 6s would be able to launch apps 40 percent faster with the upcoming upgrade. You’ll also be able to load up the camera 70 percent faster, which is great if you need to quickly snap a photo before the opportunity is gone.

Beyond promising a smoother experience, iOS 12 also comes with some new features that anyone with an iPhone can enjoy. Siri is getting a lot smarter (not that she was a perfect A.I. to begin with) thanks to a new tool called Shortcuts.

Apple is rolling out a new version of its Books app called Apple Books too, and just added third-party maps support for CarPlay (in case you’re sick of using Apple Maps), but that’s about it. All of the really exciting features like Memoji and augmented reality won’t work unless you have a newer phone with the necessary hardware.

Still, it’s nice to know that Apple still cares about all the cheapskates out there who refuse to buy new iPhones and iPads.

Read Our Complete WWDC 2018 Coverage Below

Related Tags