IOS 15 review: Forget about quantity, focus on quality

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Screenshot of the smartphone interface.
Enlarge / Some apps that received important updates in iOS 15.

Samuel Axon

Each year, Apple releases a major update to its operating systems for iPhone and iPad that sets the stage for a year of change to come. This year, iOS 15 brings new FaceTime and Messages features, tweaks to existing apps and notifications, and most notably, a new way to manage apps and notifications called Focus.

Frankly, this is a relatively modest update from what we saw last year. This is amplified by the fact that some key features initially announced by Apple in June weren’t included in the initial version of iOS 15. But today we’re going to explore whether a modest update means a bad one. Should you bother to upgrade to the new version of iOS when it’s mostly a tune-up and a fresh coat of paint?

As always, let’s start by seeing which devices are still supported.

Compatible peripherals

Sometimes Apple drops support for one or two older iPhone models with the release of a new version of iOS. But that’s not the case this time around; iOS 15 supports all of the same phones as iOS 14 last year. The same is true for iPadOS and its supported tablets.

Here’s the full list of supported devices for iOS 15 and iPadOS 15. (We’re focusing on the iPhone in this article, but we’ll be posting a short addendum that will look to the iPad in the coming days.)

Supported iPhone models

  • iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
  • iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini
  • iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini
  • iPhone 11
  • iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
  • iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone X
  • iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
  • iPhone 6S
  • iPhone 6S Plus
  • iPhone SE (1st and 2nd generation)

Supported iPad Models

  • 12.9-inch iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation)
  • 11-inch iPad Pro (1st and 2nd generation)
  • 10.5-inch iPad Pro
  • 9.7-inch iPad Pro
  • iPad (5th, 6th and 7th generation)
  • iPad mini (4th and 5th generation)
  • iPad Air (2nd and 3rd generation)

Supported iPod Models

  • iPod touch (7th generation)

Function limitations

While iOS 15 can be installed on all of the above devices, a handful of new specific features and improvements only work on certain iPhones. Here is the list.

iPhones with A12 chip and later

  • FaceTime: portrait mode
  • FaceTime: Voice isolation
  • FaceTime: spatial audio
  • FaceTime: broad spectrum mode
  • Maps: interactive globe
  • Maps: New Detailed City Experience
  • Maps: immersive walking routes
  • Weather: animated backgrounds
  • Live Text
  • Siri: on-device speech processing, customization and performance improvements
  • Siri: offline support
  • Keyboard: on-device and continuous dictation

iPhone 8 and later

  • Health: walking stability

iPhone 7 and later

  • Music: spatial audio with dynamic head tracking

Devices used for this exam

The screenshots, information, and impressions in this review were based on using iOS 15 RC and iPadOS 15 RC, as well as public versions of both. Devices used included iPhone XS, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max, and iPad Pro 11-inch 2021. We haven’t tested iOS 15 on an iPod touch.

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