iPhone Diff

What will you use your iPhone for?

Gaming

Which iPhone is enough, from what Apple and app makers publish. Where nobody publishes a figure, our own rule of thumb is marked as such.

What Apple and app makers say

The levels

Works

Console games ported to iPhone list A17 Pro or later as the minimum.

  • A17 Pro chip or newerThe app's maker says

Comfortable

Pro chips have more graphics cores, which leaves room for higher settings.

The Works conditions, plus:

  • A19 Pro chip or newerOur rule of thumb (not Apple's)

Heavy use

Big games take 30GB or more each, so keep several on a larger model.

The Works conditions, plus:

  • A20 Pro chip or newerOur rule of thumb (not Apple's)
  • 512GB of storage or moreOur rule of thumb (not Apple's)

Current models for this

Models Apple sells new today, cheapest first within each level.

Comfortable

  • iPhone Air$999 at launchComfortable
  • iPhone 18 Pro$1,199 at launchHeavy use with 512GB of storage or more (configurable)Comfortable
  • iPhone 18 Pro Max$1,299 at launchHeavy use with 512GB of storage or more (configurable)Comfortable
  • iPhone Duo$1,999 at launch · Not released yetHeavy use with 512GB of storage or more (configurable)Comfortable

Works

Your older model?

Every iPhone we have checked, by release year.

2023–
2018–2022
2013–2017
2007–2012
  • iPhone 5Not enough
  • iPhone 4sNot enough
  • iPhone 4Not enough
  • iPhone 3GSNot published by Apple or not in our data: A17 Pro chip or newerCan't confirm
  • iPhone 3GNot published by Apple or not in our data: A17 Pro chip or newerCan't confirm
  • iPhone (2007)Not published by Apple or not in our data: A17 Pro chip or newerCan't confirm

How we decide

Each use has up to three levels: Works, Comfortable and Heavy use. Comfortable and Heavy use each add their own conditions to the Works conditions, and a model gets the highest level whose conditions it meets.

"Apple says" and "The app's maker says" mark requirements that Apple or the app's maker publishes. "Our rule of thumb (not Apple's)" marks our own suggestion, used where nobody publishes a figure.

Memory and storage are judged on the standard configuration. When ordering more memory or storage would reach a higher level, we add a "configurable" note.

When a spec is not published by Apple or not in our data, we say "Can't confirm" instead of guessing, and the condition does not count as met.

App and system requirements change with new versions. The date at the bottom of each page shows when we last checked them.

Heavy use:
Meets the minimum and the conditions for big projects or heavy daily use.
Comfortable:
Meets the minimum and the conditions for everyday use without waiting around.
Works:
Meets the minimum conditions: the apps and features for this run.
Can't confirm:
A spec the minimum needs is not published by Apple or not in our data, so we do not count it as met.
Not enough:
Misses at least one of the minimum conditions.

Requirements checked on 2026-10-11.