These iOS 15 Features Aren't Available on the iPhone X or Older

[Seoras]

If you followed anything in Apple's WWDC2020 you'll have seen that iOS14 was attempting to secure proprietary app data. CoreML Model encryption was one notable announcement.

Apple has also updated, last year, their DeviceCheck API to include an App Attest Service which lets developers check if an installation of an App is compromised before downloading data (e.g. AI model) which is at risk of being stolen. I believe it requires the T2 secure enclave.

For an app developer this is great because the only way to protect your valuable AI ML models right now is to offer them as a cloud based service.
CoreML Model encryption is meant to encourage downloading of AI models onto the device and run without the need for a network connection which may even provide speed gains.
Apple device owners will benefit from T2 being a requirement (Mac OS too now) as they will benefit from faster, and offline, AI applications becoming available on both iOS and Mac OS.

I'm surprised at the iPhone X omission from some of the on device AI applications like voice dictation but not concerned.

Too many people though are jumping onto the "this is a marketing move to force upgrade".

It is more likely to be a hardware issue.

The X/8's A11 was the first of the Bionic series including neural engine.
If I was to hazard a guess I'd say that either the A11 isn't up to the task required for these features or that the T2 chip in the X/8 iPhones isn't secure enough for Apple to be happy to allow downloading of their ML models onto those devices. That and memory requirements (for CPU, GPU or now even NPU) . That always hold back older models from getting the new stuff.

 

[Maven1975]

Well considering iPhone 11 is the last phone they produced I can personally use due to PWM, they are really forcing me out of the ecosystem more and more.

What a shame 😞

 

[BBLV]

Siri obviously needs cutting edge processing power to set a 15 minute timer when my internet connection is down... What a joke.

 

[macfacts]

Hazarding a guess I would say they need the ML engine.

Anything done in hardware can be done in software, just slower.

 

[macfacts]

Why ought it be able to have that feature? The only features is “ought to be able to have” are the features that existed when he bought the phone. What is the basis for this sense of entitlement?

Software updates, that was a promised feature when older iPhones were originally bought.

 

[PreordersSuck]

what a let down dropping iPhone X support. Pixel 6 here I come!

 

[iamasmith]

Anything done in hardware can be done in software, just slower.

and with more power consumption.

Remember when during the mac G4 to Intel transition stuff that certain video effects were removed if you didn't happen because overall the user experience would be bad..? We've had several years of phones without ML draining batteries too rapidly.

In terms of audience, imagine you have a lot of sunset product... give them something they can use all day vs latest tech that will give them 2 hours of use..?

 

[kirk.vino]

XR has 3GB but gets all the features, so I don't think it's due to RAM.

As some have pointed it out, it’s most likely related to the newer neural engine/processor in the newer models.

 

[elmateo487]

Some are borderline but clearly these don't require new hardware and are artificially gimped.

• An interactive 3D globe of Earth in the Maps app.
• More detailed maps in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and London in the Maps app.
• The ability to swipe up or down while taking a QuickTake video to zoom in or out.
• New animated backgrounds in the Weather app that more accurately represent the sun position, clouds, and precipitation.

How do you know so clearly that these don't use new apis only available to newer hardware?

 

[macduke]

Hard to believe that the gap between the iPhone 13 and iPhone X is the same as the gap between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 3g. They functionally look the same and the specs are a lot closer together than the iPhone 5 and iPhone 3G ever were.

Separate note, but that reminds me of how many people mocked the iPhone 5 as a taller iPhone and made memes of huge iPhones as long as swords, etc. That seems really quaint today.

 

[goobot]

Yes. Every time a new device can do something that your old device can’t do, even though your old device can still do everything it could at the time you bought it, your old device is obsolete.

That’s just truth.

/s

3D Touch?

 

[subi257]

So that is like expexting an off the shelf Win machine from 2017 to run EVERY feature in Win 11. I am sure (as sure as a none "use win as little as humanly possible" user) I would expect that there will be some features/functionality that won't run. New OS's are written with the newest Hardware/chips in mind, oh and let's see if we can make it run on older systems.

 

[SenorWhyMe]

4 years old…and it’s obsolete how exactly?

I know right, it literally does everything I need a phone to do, I don't see it obsolete yet

 

[M5RahuL]

so… do i even get any features?

On device scanning

 

[mi7chy]

Anything done in hardware can be done in software, just slower.

Added these two to my original post since four year older 2013 Moto G budget phone can do offline voice commands with just Google app and 49MB offline language download to do things such as open/close apps, turn on/off flashlight, open settings, etc. No reason it can't be done on 2017 iPhone X flagship except for laziness and/or artificial gimping to force upgrade.

• On-device speech processing of Siri requests.
• The ability to make Siri requests offline without an internet connection for timers, alarms, phone calls, messaging, sharing, launching apps, controlling audio playback, and opening settings.

 

[JosephAW]

Does anyone know the minimum system requirements or minimum iTunes version to support iOS 15?

 

[matrix07]

Your 3 year old phone is now obsolete!

4 full years next month, which is still quite fast btw so I'm not upgrading this year.

 

[Zdigital2015]

The amount of RAM could be the factor here as well: the X has 3GB, anything newer is at least 4GB.

My XR only has 3GB of DRAM.

 

[cmaier]

that’s most of the new features then. But to be fair it’s pretty decent Apple are still supporting devices from 2017 (and even earlier)

good luck getting an android which has even half that amount of support

That’s not even close to nearly all the new features.

 

[Sorig]

Anything done in hardware can be done in software, just slower.

Just download more RAM!

 

[macfacts]

Just download more RAM!

Here you go, https://www.amazon.com/Connectix-R010836-RAM-Doubler-9-0/dp/B00004W37M

 

[Shirasaki]

Apple is not obligated to even offer a minor or major OS upgrade for your device. Apple created the free update model, as prior to the iPhone what you bought was what you were stuck with. That is planned obsolescence. What you want is free for the life of the phone.

ROM in a $3000 device? Count me in. I hate software updates. Apple can never slow down my iPhone ever again!
/s

 

[bniu]

The X is still a perfectly capable phone. Some of these feel intentional. 6S I can see.. but X? Not buying this one.

likely apple coded the feature to leverage the 8 core ML engine that’s present in A12 and later CPUs. The A11 has only a dual core crippled ML engine that pretty much just does Face ID and Animojis.

 

[russell_314]

Your 3 year old phone is now obsolete!

Obsolete is a bit dramatic. It doesn’t have the same features as a new one. Why would you expect it to. Why even buy a new phone if they don’t add features. If it had all the same features people would be complaining that the new one doesn’t do anything that the old one can do 😂😂😂

 

[KOTN91]

That’s not even close to nearly all the new features.

It’s most of the best ones though