The iPhone list
Apple Intelligence requires an A17 Pro or later. That means the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, every iPhone 16 model including the 16e, and the entire iPhone 17 family including the iPhone Air.
It excludes the standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus, which run the A16 — a distinction that catches out a great many owners, because those phones are otherwise fully supported by the current release. Everything from the iPhone 14 downwards is excluded on the same grounds.
The iPad list
On iPad the requirement is an M-series chip or the A17 Pro. That covers every M1 iPad Pro and later, the iPad Air from the M1 generation onwards, and the iPad mini with the A17 Pro.
It excludes the standard iPad line entirely, along with the A14-based iPad Air (4th generation) and the iPad mini (6th generation). Our device pages state the verdict for each model individually.
The Mac list
Every Apple silicon Mac supports Apple Intelligence — M1 and later, across MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio and Mac Pro. No Intel Mac does, and none ever will.
Memory matters for how well it performs rather than whether it runs. An 8 GB M1 machine will do everything a 32 GB M4 machine does, more slowly and with more memory pressure while it works.
Why the cut-off sits where it does
Apple Intelligence runs its models on the device rather than in a data centre, which is what allows it to work on personal data without that data leaving your hardware. That design imposes hard requirements: neural engine throughput and, more restrictively, memory.
The 8 GB floor is the real boundary. The models have to be resident in memory to respond quickly, and on a device with 6 GB shared between the entire system and every running app there is simply nowhere to put them. That is a physical limit, not a marketing one.
It will not be extended later
No future update will bring Apple Intelligence to unsupported hardware. The requirement is not a policy that can be relaxed; the models do not fit. Sites suggesting a workaround, a profile or a region trick are describing something that does not exist.
If your device is on the wrong side of the line, everything else in the current release still works normally — the interface, the system apps, the security updates. Our per-model pages set out exactly what each device does and does not get.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which iPhones support Apple Intelligence?
iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models including the 16e, and the entire iPhone 17 family including iPhone Air. The standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus do not.
Why doesn't the iPhone 15 support Apple Intelligence?
It uses the A16 with 6 GB of memory. Apple Intelligence needs an A17 Pro or later with 8 GB, because the models run on the device and must stay resident in memory.
Do all Apple silicon Macs support Apple Intelligence?
Yes, M1 and later, across every Mac model. No Intel Mac supports it.
Will Apple add Apple Intelligence to older devices later?
No. The requirement is a hardware memory limit rather than a policy, so no software update can extend it.