Yesterday, Apple jumped headfirst into the AI race. In addition to introducing its new operating systems, including iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, the company unveiled Apple Intelligence—its implementation of artificial intelligence.
Apple Intelligence isn’t a generative AI app or just a chatbot like ChatGPT. Rather, it’s an integrated layer of artificial intelligence embedded in Apple’s upcoming operating systems.
Apple Intelligence’s AI features include a revamped Siri, lets you get summaries of web pages, can help you compose emails, and even lets you create unique emojis at will, among many other things.
Although Apple Intelligence is baked into the upcoming iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, not all the iPhones, iPads, and Macs that can run those operating systems will be able to run Apple Intelligence. The reason? Apple Intelligence is AI, and AI that, for a large part, runs directly on your Apple device. Because it can run on-device, it requires a lot of processing power—power that’s limited to Apple’s latest devices with select Apple Silicon chips.
Here’s the full list of Apple devices that can run the company’s Apple Intelligence AI:
iPhones
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 Pro
iPads
- Any iPad Pro with an M1 chip or newer
- Any iPad Air with an M1 chip or newer
MacBooks
- Any MacBook Air with an M1 chip or newer
- Any MacBook Pro with an M1 chip or newer
Macs
- Any iMac with an M1 chip or newer
- Any Mac mini with an M1 chip or newer
- Any Mac Studio with an M1 Max chip or newer
- Any Mac Pro with an M2 Ultra chip or newer
As you can see from the list above, if you have an iPad or Mac with an M1 chip or later, your device will be able to run Apple’s new AI. But if you have a Mac with an Intel chip, you’re out of luck. Also, if you have an iPad with any A-series chip, you’re out of luck, too.
What many iPhone owners will find disappointing is that to run Apple Intelligence on their iPhone, they’ll need to have Apple’s latest flagship iPhone—either the iPhone 15 Pro or the iPhone 15 Pro Max. These two models are the only ones with the A17 Pro chipset—the only iPhone chip possessing the raw processing power that Apple Intelligence requires. No, even your iPhone 15 or iPhone 15 Plus won’t cut it. (Those have a version of the A16 chip.)
But it’s not all bad news for owners of older iPhones. iOS 18 is packed with new features besides Apple Intelligence, and every iPhone that can currently run iOS 17 will be able to run iOS 18. That includes iPhones going all the way back to the iPhone XR from 2018.
And if you want Apple Intelligence on your iPhone but don’t have an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max? Well, Apple will happily sell you a new iPhone 16 this fall. As a matter of fact, it’s banking on Apple Intelligence powering what could be one of the biggest iPhone upgrade cycles in years.
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