All iPhone Models That Can Update to iOS 26
Apple has finally released iOS 26, and the good news: quite a few iPhones can enjoy this update!
iOS 26 supports all iPhones still based on the A13 chip or newer. So, if you use an iPhone 11 or later, you can update immediately.
iPhone Models That Do Not Support iOS 26
Conversely, three older models using the A12 Bionic chip—namely the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR—will not get iOS 26. This means Apple is really dropping support for devices based on A12 and below.
Strong indication from Apple that official support starts from iPhone 11 and above: on Apple's official page it says "New software features will be available this fall as a free software update for iPhone 11 and later."
Apple announced that iOS 26 requires support for Liquid Glass UI and various Apple Intelligence features that demand higher performance than the A12 chip. Therefore, it's reasonable that the XS/XR must "retire" because their chips are considered insufficient for these new features.