iOS 15 features that require A12 Bionic or higher (not compatible with iPhone X & older models)

Apple took a giant leap at WWDC with the launch of iOS 15. This got all the internet flooded with discussions related to the new iteration of the OS.

This indeed was a magnificent event and Apple molded things just right to get all of us jaw-dropped.

But hold on, not everything we witnessed is real, not at least for the older iPhone models. Hard to swallow it but it’s true.

Everything we saw at WWDC about iOS 15 won’t necessarily make it to your iPhone if it is powered by anything older than A12 Bionic.

Some features are universal and will be implemented for devices as old as iPhone 7 but the fanciest ones will, sadly, remain a privilege for newer iPhones only.

Here’s a big list of features that you probably weren’t told about and won’t make it to older iPhones with the upcoming iOS 15 update.

A12 Bionic or above

Spacial Audio & Portrait Mode – Facetime

Apple has shaped Facetime into a more professional and feature-loaded video call platform and with features like Spacial Audio and Portrait Mode, Facetime becomes a delight to have.

But sadly, these features will be supported on A12 Bionic or above chipsets, says the footnote of iOS 15’s announcement webpage.

Interactive globe, Detailed new city experience, & Immersive walking directions – Maps

One of the finest feature additions visible on iOS 15 is the one added in Maps. Interactive globe and immersive walking directions add more to the splendour of Maps.

AR and 3D navigations, in particular, are the significant bits that everyone hoped to be a universal feature. But to everyone’s disappointment, this has been kept limited to only the higher-end chips.

Live Text in photos & Visual Look Up – Live Text

One feature that brought iOS close to what has been there on Android for a long time is the live text function.

Sadly, this is a far-fetched thing for any chipset lower than the A12 Bionic.

On-device speech processing, personalization, offline support, fast processing – Siri

One may settle with the non-implication of some high-end features for lesser powerful chipset but missing out on Siri’s refinement is something that is hard to digest.

Apple chose to keep older devices out of the list of receiving the above-mentioned modifications.

New animated backgrounds – Weather

Apple brought more realism to the Weather app with thousands of variations of animated backgrounds that represent clouds, thunders, precipitations, and varying sun positions throughout the day.

These animations are, however, only a thing for the top-end and latest offerings of Apple.

On-device & Continuous dictation – Keyboard Dictation

With on-device dictation, one gets the space to dictate texts for longer durations which was earlier limited to just 60 seconds.

iPhone XS or above

Home, Hotel, Office, Car – Wallet

Then there are features like these that can control electronics like home locks, car locks, and more operations remotely.

Apple will only allow iPhone XS and above devices to enjoy these features.

Zoom in QuickTake video – Camera

Swipe up or down while taking a QuickTake video to zoom in or out feature will only be available for iPhone XS, XR, and above iPhone models.

Features exclusive to U.S.

Share health data with your doctor, Lab results enhancements, & Blood glucose highlights – Health

Apple has been putting a lot of emphasis on health tracking lately and has even progressed significantly in making these features better. The only limitation is that only U.S. citizens will be able to enjoy them.

iPhone 8 or above

Walking Steadiness – Health

A first-of-its-kind health metric function that provides insights into your risk of falling by using algorithms to smartly monitor balance, strength, and gait.

This will not make it to iPhones older than the iPhone 8 series, possibly due to hardware limitations.

AR-enabled iPhone models

RealityKit 2 – Augmented Reality

All the cool stuff that can be built and designed by using the RealityKit 2 will remain limited to models with AR support for obvious reasons.

Exclusive to iPhone 12 series

Enhanced connectivity on 5G

Enhancement connectivity on 5G, as the name suggests, is only for the models that support 5G bands. And iPhone 12 series models are the only few devices from Apple that support 5G.

Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking – Music

An even more impressive experience of Dolby Atmos music with Apple’s dynamic head tracking is now enabled for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max and good thing is that this extends to all iPhone models till iPhone 7.

Available in Ireland, UK, & U.S.

Next-hour precipitation notifications – Weather

A prompt notification about upcoming rain, snow, hail, or sleet is about to start or stop is limited to a few countries.

Rest assured, the majority of the features are universal and are confirmed to make their way to all devices with iOS 15.

The point to note here is that these iOS 15 features are subject to change. So, an alteration in the compatibility always has a possibility.

Here’s our dedicated iOS 15 update tracker which may excite you. You can also track the recent developments in this tracker so be sure to check it out.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Apple Section so be sure to follow them as well.

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