Some iOS 16 Features Don’t Work on Every Compatible iPhone—What to Know

Apple’s new iOS 16 update is available for the iPhone X and newer phones, but some features have been locked down and only available to owners of updated devices — something experts don’t think Apple can avoid.

While most iOS 16 features are available on all compatible iPhones, some of them, including two accessibility features, Need a more modern iPhone fully functional. The move means that people with substandard iPhones will need to upgrade if they want the full iOS 16 experience, but experts believe it’s the right thing to do for Apple — and it probably doesn’t have much on the matter s Choice.

“I’m afraid the reality is that there are hardware limitations in some features,” carolina namans, Creative Strategies’ president and principal analyst told Lifewire via email. “Processing power or AI/machine learning capabilities are not all the same,” she added, suggesting that older chips don’t have the capabilities needed for certain functions.

lost functionality

The list of features that require a modern iPhone isn’t long, but it includes some notable ones.One missing feature was one that Apple showed off at its iOS 16 event in June — the ability to elevator objects and people Take from the image and paste it elsewhere. apple says People need an “iPhone with A12 Bionic and above” to use the feature, which means an iPhone XS or newer device will work, but older devices won’t.

It’s a similar story for both accessibility features. iOS 16 update includes All new dictation The ability to automatically punctuate text as people speak. Even emojis are supported for the first time, but the device features of the new dictation engine require an iPhone with an A12 Bionic chip or higher. Likewise, iPhone X and iPhone 8 owners are excluded.

As far as Live Captioning goes, things are a lot more complicated, this feature Add subtitles to live content, including FaceTime calls. Apple says an iPhone 11 or later — a device with the A13 Bionic — or an iPad with the A12 Bionic is required. However, Apple’s documentation isn’t clear on why the iPad could get rid of the older chip.

apple Has a history of supporting older devices For a long time, multiple iOS feature updates were released long after the iPhone was taken off the shelves. The company also recently released a security patch for a nine-year-old iPhone. The long tail of feature updates and security updates is useful to iPhone users, including those buying used phones, because it makes iPhones more relevant longer.it is better for the planet More than everyone buys a brand new iPhone every year.

If anyone thinks Apple is keeping features to encourage people to upgrade to the new iPhone, experts suggest that’s not the case at all.Using the aforementioned A12 Bionic example, the independent app developer Martin Pilkington Believe this is just one example of technological advancement. “The A12’s neural engine is more flexible and powerful, so it makes sense that all of these AI/machine learning capabilities would require it as a minimum requirement,” he told Lifewire via direct message.

but this does not mean everything Makes sense, and iOS 16’s Live Captions feature is an example. Why can’t the A12 Bionic of the iPhone XS handle the functions of the A12 Bionic of the iPad? Pilkington wasn’t sure, saying “the A12 Bionic in the iPad is the same as the one in the iPhone XS,” noting that “if anything, it’s weaker because the iPhone XS has more RAM. [than the iPad]. ”

Unfortunately, Live Captioning is the feature in question – an accessibility feature, some used people The software update has been called “amazing” and their “favorite feature.”