Not even the iPhone 17 can run Apple's newest on-device AI models: Check eligibility list

Apple has done it once again. Another WWDC keynote is done and dusted with lofty AI promises, and now we are told that even one of the latest iPhone models will not be capable of running all the features.

After the WWDC 2026 keynote, Apple quietly mentioned in a press release that some of the powerful on-device AI models powering features such as expressive voices and advanced dictation for Siri will only be available on the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max.

The biggest travesty is that even the iPhone 17, which, by the way, is still the latest base iPhone, will not be able to run these features on-device. This is because Apple now requires at least 12GB of RAM on your iPhone, up from the 8GB requirement it had for on-device AI features until last year.

Notably, Apple has partnered with Google to use a custom Gemini model behind the latest Siri AI features, which could be one of the reasons for the increased RAM requirements, but we do not have any clarity on the issue just yet.

This is also not the first time Apple has pulled off a move like this. iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus users received a shock after WWDC 2024 when the company launched Apple Intelligence, its suite of AI features, and excluded the newest base models from the list.

However, the good news for iPad and MacBook users is that these on-device models will work perfectly on devices such as the iPad M4 and Mac M3.

You can check out the full list of compatible devices for the new on-device models, along with the devices that support iOS 27.

The good news for older iPhone users is that even the phones that Apple has put in the so called ‘Vintage’ list like iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max are now supported for iOS 27.

You can check out the full list of compatible iPhones below: