New leak says if your iPhone can run iOS 18, it should be able to run iOS 19 too

• The same iPhones on iOS 18 may also get iOS 19
• One iPad model set to be dropped with iPadOS 19
• Expect official news sometime in June 2025

This year’s launch of iOS 18 has brought a host of new features and functions to millions of iPhones, and a new leak suggests the same handsets that can run iOS 18 are going to be eligible for an upgrade to iOS 19 as well.

According to the usually reliable iPhoneSoft (via 9to5Mac), handsets as far back as the iPhone XS and iPhone XR, launched in 2018, are going to be able to get next year’s software update. iOS 18, meanwhile, dropped support for the iPhone X and the iPhone 8, which both launched in 2017.

There is a caveat though: not all the new iOS 19 features will be available on all iPhones. This is something we’re already used to of course, because recent handsets have the necessary processing power to handle Apple Intelligence, while others don’t.

So far we’ve not heard too much about the upgrades iOS 19 is going to bring along with it, though apparently Apple is planning a ChatGPT-style update for Siri. At the moment of course, you can use ChatGPT inside Siri for more advanced AI conversations.

iPads and launch schedule

However, the same report says one iPad model will be left behind when iPadOS 19 rolls out. Apparently the 7th-gen entry-level iPad, which launched in 2019 and runs on an Apple A10 chip, won’t be compatible.

The new minimum requirement for iPadOS 19 is said to be an A12 chip, which means every other iPad should get the software update. We can expect a similar set of new features to iOS 19, with a few tweaks and extras to account for the tablet form factor.

If Apple sticks to its usual schedule, then the first we’ll officially hear about iOS 19 and iPadOS 19 will be at the WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) 2025, most likely happening sometime in June. After that, we should get a beta testing period, before a full public release in September 2025.

The new software updates will of course run on the iPhone 17 series, plus whatever new iPads Apple decides to bring out this year. We could well get the 11-generation iPad before 2025 is out, as well as a new 8th-generation iPad Pro.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.