Most years, Apple ends support for some of its iPhones when the next iOS cycle begins, and the expectation was that this would happen this year.
The Surprise Reprieve For The iPhone 11 Series
The continued support for phones that run iOS 26 is a surprise as the general consensus of reports has been that four models, iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone SE 2nd generation would be dropped.
It’s big news for Apple iPhone 11 users that those phones will continue to have access to the latest software.
There had been the expectation that iOS 27 would require more processing power and those older phones wouldn’t be able to keep up.
The Apple Intelligence Hardware Divide
Many of the WWDC announcements related to Apple Intelligence, which has been around for several years but always required a processor with sufficient power, meaning no iPhone before the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max has been capable of these features.
Fixing The Liquid Glass Interface Controversy
One of the biggest changes in iOS 26 was the arrival of Liquid Glass design, but some users found the transparent interface was not to their taste.
With iOS 27, Apple will introduce a slider which can adjust the level of transparency from completely see-through to nearly opaque. Assuming this works as well as in Apple’s demos, this will overcome a major bugbear of iOS 26.
And since every iOS 26-capable model will run iOS 27, no Liquid Glass users are left with the less capable version.