iPhone 17 won’t get iOS 27’s top-tier features, here’s why

Apple's iOS 27 will exclude the iPhone 17 from certain AI features due to its 8GB RAM, while iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air with 12GB RAM will support them. This repeats the pattern from iOS 18, where the base iPhone 15 lacked Apple Intelligence features. The move highlights Apple's increasing reliance on hardware requirements for on-device AI capabilities.

iOS 27 has some exciting new Apple Intelligence upgrades coming, but you’ll need the most powerful iPhones to access some of them—and in a repeat of recent history, iPhone 17 won’t even make the cut. Here’s why. With iOS 27, the latest base iPhone gets excluded from select features—just like in 2024 Back in June 2024, Apple Intelligence was unveiled https://9to5mac.com/2024/06/10/apple-ai-apple-intelligence-iphone-ipad-mac/ with very limited hardware support in iOS 18. Apple said it would be available on iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max—that’s it. At the time, that meant cutting off two of the company’s four latest and greatest iPhone models. The base iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus were not supported. For a company that typically extends new software features to old devices for many years, it was a surprising move. But it was also expected to be a one-off. The understanding was that AI, especially on-device AI, comes with stricter hardware requirements. And when Apple Intelligence launched, it needed 8GB RAM minimum—thus, the more affordable iPhone 15 models missed out. With iOS 27 though, history is repeating itself. Apple has once again introduced new AI features that its latest base model iPhone doesn’t support. Why iPhone 17 doesn’t support certain AI features in iOS 27 There are two AI upgrades this year that won’t be coming to iPhone 17: - iOS 27’s most powerful on-device AI model requires https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/08/ios-27s-most-powerful-on-device-ai-requires-iphone-17-pro-iphone-air/ iPhone 17 Pro or Pro Max, or iPhone Air - The same is true https://9to5mac.com/2026/06/08/youll-need-the-latest-apple-devices-to-customize-the-new-siris-voice/ for a new Siri AI voice customization feature, which iPhone 17 won’t support These more restrictive hardware requirements are again tied to RAM. iPhone 17 only has 8GB, while iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air have 12GB. Apple confirmed this is the cutoff by limiting these features on iPad and Mac to the following: - iPad with M4 and later with 12GB or more in memory - Mac with M3 and later with 12GB or more in memory Hopefully this is the last time we see such a stark cutoff of recent devices. iOS 27 in many respects is a reset for Apple Intelligence, with brand new, more powerful models being used. In any case, it was disappointing when the first Apple Intelligence features weren’t available on iPhone 15. And now after iOS 27’s unveiling, though iPhone 17 users won’t miss out on nearly as much, it’s still unfortunate they don’t get the same support as Apple’s Pro and Air models. Best iPhone accessories AirPods Pro 3 https://amzn.to/3Peq3Ge now only $179 , down from $249 MagSafe Car Mount for iPhone https://amzn.to/4tSJYde 10-year AirTag battery case https://amzn.to/4e6O6R2 AirTag 2 https://amzn.to/48BACtL 1-pack https://amzn.to/48BACtL / 4-pack https://amzn.to/3OFX4Lv 100W USB-C fast charging power adapter https://amzn.to/48EbPVU FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. https://9to5mac.com/about/ affiliate our homepage http://9to5mac.com/ for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on exclusive stories https://9to5mac.com/feature/exclusive/ , reviews https://9to5mac.com/guides/review/ , how-tos https://9to5mac.com/guides/how-to/ , and subscribe to our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/9to5mac