Apple Wallet’s order tracking feature has been quietly frustrating iPhone users for years. You know that little package icon in the corner of your Wallet app? For most people, it’s been completely useless since it launched with iOS 16. But here’s the thing—iOS 26 is finally fixing the fundamental problems that made this promising feature practically invisible to most users.

The latest update brings some serious improvements through Apple Intelligence integration, according to 9to5Mac, completely transforming how iPhone users can track their online purchases. Now, I’ll be honest—even with these upgrades, there are still some notable limitations that prevent this feature from reaching its full potential. But let’s break down what’s actually changed and why it matters.

What made order tracking so frustrating before iOS 26?

The original concept behind Apple’s order tracking feature was actually pretty solid. It launched with iOS 16 with a straightforward premise: automatically gather shipping updates and order information from participating merchants and display it cleanly inside Wallet, as noted by WiFi Planet. Sounds great in theory, right?

Here’s where the problems started. The feature only worked when purchases were made using Apple Pay, according to MacRumors, which immediately cut out a huge chunk of potential use cases. Think about it—how many online retailers actually support Apple Pay compared to traditional credit card payments? You’re looking at a pretty small slice of your actual shopping habits.

But the real issue wasn’t just the payment method restriction—it was Apple’s reliance on merchant integration. Even when all the conditions were supposedly met, the feature struggled with massive reliability issues because it depended on individual retailers implementing Apple’s API correctly. Many tech journalists (myself included) reported never successfully using the feature despite it being available for years, according to 9to5Mac. It was like having a sophisticated tracking system that only worked when every link in the chain—your payment method, the merchant’s integration, and Apple’s servers—aligned perfectly.

How Apple Intelligence transforms the experience

Now here’s where things get interesting. iOS 26 takes a completely different approach that sidesteps the merchant integration problem entirely. Instead of waiting for retailers to play nice with Apple’s system, Apple Intelligence automatically scans your email for order information, identifying and extracting order tracking details from emails sent by merchants or delivery carriers, according to 9to5Mac.

This shift from merchant APIs to email parsing is brilliant because it works universally. Bought something on Amazon with your regular credit card? No problem. Ordered from that small online boutique that’s never heard of Apple Pay? Your iPhone’s got you covered.

Apple Intelligence handles the complex work by scanning your emails for shipping updates, extracting tracking numbers, and summarizing delivery information, as reported by WiFi Planet. The system can detect tracking numbers and order numbers automatically, then update package status as items move from order to delivery, according to MacRumors. This creates the unified hub where you can see full order details, progress notifications, and delivery updates that the original feature promised but couldn’t deliver because of its technical limitations.

The hardware limitation that holds everything back

But here’s where Apple’s solution creates a new problem—and it’s a pretty significant one. The enhanced order tracking feature requires Apple Intelligence, which means you need specific hardware to access it. Users must have an iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 16, or iPhone 15 Pro to get the upgraded experience, according to 9to5Mac.

This hardware restriction isn’t arbitrary—Apple Intelligence requires significant on-device processing power that older chips simply can’t handle. But the practical result is that millions of iPhone users who own older devices are excluded, even those running iOS 26. So while Apple finally solved the fundamental technical challenge with order tracking, they’ve created a new barrier: device compatibility.

The feature is also opt-in rather than automatic, requiring users to manually enable “Orders Found in Mail” under Order Tracking in their Wallet settings, as noted by Engadget. Apple has also labeled this as a beta feature, signaling that they’re still working out the technical complexities of reliable email parsing, according to MacRumors. Some orders don’t update properly and need manual completion, while others fail to appear in the app entirely.

What’s still missing from the complete picture

Despite the significant technical improvements, iOS 26’s order tracking still has some gaps that prevent it from being the comprehensive solution users really need. The beta status reflects ongoing challenges with email parsing accuracy—tracking information sometimes fails to update automatically, according to MacRumors. You might still need to manually mark orders as complete or deal with missing shipments that the AI simply can’t identify from your email patterns.

The hardware restrictions create a fragmented user experience that undermines Apple’s ecosystem philosophy. While newer iPhone owners get a dramatically improved tracking system, those with older devices are stuck with the original merchant-dependent functionality that barely worked, as reported by 9to5Mac. This two-tiered system means order tracking remains a premium feature rather than a universal iOS capability.

There’s another technical limitation worth considering: the email-scanning approach inherits the complexity of modern email habits. If you’re someone who uses multiple email addresses for shopping, has aggressive spam filtering, or frequently deletes confirmation emails, the tracking system may miss important information, according to WiFi Planet. The AI can only work with the data it can access, which means your digital organization habits directly impact the feature’s effectiveness.

Bottom line: A major step forward with strategic implications

iOS 26 represents a major step forward for Apple Wallet’s order tracking capabilities, finally addressing the core technical problem that made the feature nearly unusable. The shift from merchant API dependence to Apple Intelligence-powered email analysis, according to 9to5Mac, demonstrates how AI can solve integration challenges that traditional approaches couldn’t crack. For users with compatible devices, this creates a genuinely useful tool for managing online purchases and deliveries.

However, the hardware limitations and beta status reveal Apple’s broader strategic challenge: delivering advanced AI features while maintaining ecosystem accessibility. The company needs to either expand Apple Intelligence to older devices or develop alternative technical approaches that don’t exclude a significant portion of their user base, as noted by MacRumors. This tension between cutting-edge capabilities and universal access will likely define many Apple Intelligence features going forward.

What’s encouraging is that the improvements in iOS 26 signal Apple’s serious commitment to making Wallet a comprehensive digital hub rather than just a repository for boarding passes and payment cards, according to WiFi Planet. If Apple can resolve the remaining reliability issues and eventually expand device compatibility—perhaps through more efficient AI processing or cloud-based alternatives—order tracking could become the comprehensive package management solution that demonstrates the real-world value of Apple Intelligence integration.

The key takeaway here is that iOS 26 doesn’t just make order tracking work—it showcases how AI can fundamentally solve technical problems that seemed intractable. That’s a blueprint for Apple’s broader software strategy, even if there’s still more work ahead.