iOS 18 was unveiled on June 10 at the Apple WWDC'24 developer summit. The latest software update for Apple's popular mobile OS delivers an abundance of new features, enhanced customization, and complete overhauls to core iOS apps and experiences. The focus, however, is on AI, or Apple Intelligence.
A much smarter and more capable AI-powered Siri was introduced, though it will only be compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro/iPhone 15 Pro Max and newer, whereas iOS 18 will be available for the same phones that run iOS 17 (more on that here).
Generative AI has also made an appearance in apps like Messages and others, while essential apps like Mail, Messages, and Photos were revamped. A customizable new paginated Control Center was introduced, as well as free-form app icon placement and color tinting.
Aside from iOS, new versions of iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and visionOS were announced on stage. However, the biggest focus will be iOS, as it could potentially be the biggest software update for the iPhone in more than a decade.
iOS 18 was introduced on June 10, 2024, at the opening keynote for WWDC'24.
A developer beta of iOS 18 is already out. An iOS 18 public beta, generally slightly more stable and bug-free, should arrive in the coming weeks.
iOS 18 will come to your iPhone in September 2024 along with the iPhone 16 lineup.
iOS 18 personal impressions
We've been playing with the iOS 18 beta since it became available on a daily driver iPhone. So far, the overall experience is surprisingly stable and bug-free in comparison with last year's issue-ridden iOS 17 Developer Beta. Battery life is just as good as on the latest iOS 17.5.1 version, so no worries here.
As usual, I'd recommend NOT to install the iOS 18 beta on your daily driver if possible. Even if you decide to go against my advice, please make a full iTunes or iCloud backup beforehand.
The only issues I can personally point out is the overall control center customization, which isn't very polished yet and tends to act awkwardly when you're resizing or placing toggles. Understandable given just how different the new core iOS element is in comparison with before.
That said, the first developer beta is relatively light on features, with the chief omission being Apple Intelligence. More features will surely roll out with upcoming betas, but so far, the experience is definitely on the positive side of the spectrum (as opposed to last year's controversial iOS 17 beta which regularly had me fuming at my phone).
iOS 18 new features
Apple Intelligence and Siri
iOS 18 will come along with Apple Intelligence, which is the underlying artificial intelligence foundation that will make Siri smarter and enable all kinds of AI-related interactions with your device. Most of the Apple Intelligence processing will take place on your device, but when more complex processing is required, data will be sent to the new Apple Silicon-powered Private Cloud Compute servers, which will help your device with the heavy lifting.
Apple is working with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT to iPhones and supercharge Apple Intelligence, especially when it comes to photos and documents. The latter will be deeply integrated with Siri, which will be able to tap into ChatGPT's knowledge and advanced understanding for more complex tasks.
Apple says that keeping user data private will be paramount, so every iOS user will be controlling whether their data is shared with OpenAI. Access to the ChatGPT client will be and require no account. Meanwhile, those who are already paying subscribers of ChatGPT will be able to connect their accounts so that they continue using the same premium features free, without creating an account.
That said, iOS 18 comes with a revamped Siri which is smarter and much more capable, as well as boasting a new appearance. However, the redesigned and upgraded smart assistant is only available on devices with the Apple A17 Pro chip or newer, as well as M1 or newer. This means only users of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as the upcoming iPhone 16 generation, will be able to utilize the new version of Siri.
And powerful it is. With App Intents, the voice assistant is now capable of performing various tasks within your applications, including intricate multi-step queries. For instance, you can ask Siri to execute a complex series of tasks, like scouring your photo gallery and finding all photos of golden retrievers and promptly sending them in the group chat for all your friends to enjoy.
Here are some other AI features that are not requiring specific hardware support (they will most certainly be available on all iOS 18-compatible phones):
Safari is becoming more advanced with an Intelligent Search feature that leverages AI to highlight key topics and phrases on web pages, providing a concise summary. Additionally, a new tool called Web Eraser allows users to hide annoying parts of web pages that keep reappearing.
The Messages app is set to receive several useful AI enhancements. AI-powered suggested replies will make responding to texts faster and easier. Siri will also now summarize long messages, simplifying conversation catch-ups. A new emoji feature will allow users to create unique, AI-generated emojis based on their messages, offering a fresh alternative to the standard emoji collection.
The Mail app is getting a boost with the new Smart Replies feature, which suggests quick responses to incoming emails. The search function is also improved, and there’s an option to summarize lengthy email threads. Additionally, the app will automatically categorize incoming messages and offer a Rewrite feature to generate different drafts of your emails by altering the tone and style.
Photos: The Photos app introduces an AI-powered feature that lets users remove unwanted objects from their images. Searching through photos and videos is now more intuitive, as the app can understand more complex queries thanks to AI. Users can also create a memory by simply typing a description, with Apple Intelligence transforming their photos into a movie.
Generative images: iOS 18 will bring the Image Playground app to compatible devices, allowing you to create custom images with the help of Apple Intelligence and possibly ChatGPT. This feature will likely function like the popular Midjourney app.
iOS 18 revamped stock apps and experience
iOS 18 puts the cherry on top of customization, Messages are fresher than ever and will support RCS, while Photos has been redesigned from the ground up
iOS 18 also features a redesigned Control Center that takes a page out of Vision OS as far as overall appearance is concerned.
The Control Center is now multi-paginated. You can create different pages with different toggles, but if you wish, you can default to a single page, which can now be filled with customizable toggles (size and position).
Let's summarize the gist of it. Don't worry, you will still access Control Center as you normally would––a swipe down from the top-right corner. Unlike the old Control Center, the new iOS 18 one allows you to select what toggles to display inside, as well as alter their position and sizing. Not only that, but you can go beyond a single Control Center page! That's right, if you want all of your media playback controls to be on a separate page, you can create one.
Each toggle can be customized in terms of size and position, similarly to widgets, but the toggles are a bit difficult to move around as they follow the now-old iOS icon placement policy of "no free spaces". Moving one toggle around can severely mess up with your toggle placement.
Meanwhile, the Settings app has been cleaned up. The long list of apps at the bottom has been minimized and tucked away, while many other essential menus inside Settings have scored minor fixes and updates that provide additional useful tidbits of relevant information.
More customizable interface
iOS 18 allows you to place icons anywhere on your home screen and apply a coat of paint to all of them. There's also an optional new dark mode appearance
iOS now features freely movable iOS icons on the home screen. While apps and folders will still adhere to the underlying grid, you will be able to put them anywhere you wish so that you have a deeper customization options.
If you enable Dark Mode on your device, the icons will automatically get tinted with a darker background so that they adhere to the device's overall theme. You can also force either light or dark mode on them if you prefer one over the other.
You can tint app icons with any color you want with a new Customize Sheet, but it didn't look great when it was shown off on stage.
Lock and hide apps: iOS 18 now allows you to lock apps with Face ID so that nobody else can snoop into your private data. You can also hide apps, which will now appear in a new "hidden" folder at the bottom of your App Library, unlockable only by Face ID.
Safari: The stock iOS browser gets a new Highlights feature, which lets you collate relevant information on the sites you visit. With the help of machine intelligence, Safari can quickly show you only a summary of the key aspects of a webpage, like the rating of a venue, the essential contact details, its location, and more. An improved Reader mode is also here.
New Passwords app: Keychain gets promoted to Passwords, a hub containing all your passwords, passkeys, verification codes, and shared passwords.
Messages: Other iOS essentials like Messages and Mail are also getting some love. Messages, in particular, scores revamped tapbacks (the reactions you can apply to incoming messages) with colorful icons. You can also react with any emoji. Messages also gets the ability to schedule texts. There are cool new effects that will allow you to express your messages in a better way. Apple has additionally incorporated additional formatting options to Messages, such as of strike-through and underlined text.
Mail: The stock email client scores a visual redesign and a new Categorization feature, which automatically sorts incoming email in different categories depending on the content. Aside from the Primary tab, by default you'll also have access to dedicated tabs for promotions, transactions, and updates.
Game Mode: With iOS 18, iPhone scores the Mac's dedicated Game mode, which aims to minimize distractions. Once you open a game, you will no longer be bothered by app notifications. Of course, this feature can be disabled.
Vocal Shortcuts: Users will be able to designate unique custom phrases to Siri, which will be used to trigger existing shortcuts. For example, you can set up Siri to turn on low-power mode by saying, "I'm running out of juice."
Atypical speech recognition: This one will allow users with cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or stroke to be better understood by their iPhone and more easily control the device with their voice.
Eye tracking: Another feature that aims to help people with speech issues, Eye Tracking will essentially enable you to navigate your device with your eyes only. Using the front-facing camera, Eye Tracking is set up and calibrated in seconds and all the machine learning required for this tool is kept on-device and is not shared with Apple. No additional hardware or accessories are needed, and the feature works across iOS and iPadOS apps. Users will be able to employ their eyes to press physical buttons, swipe the screen, and make other gestures.
Music Haptics: Apple Music and other music-streaming apps will eventually play taps, textures, and refined vibrations in sync with the music you listen to, which should benefit people who are hard of hearing.
Vehicle Motion Cues: Reading on your phone while inside a moving vehicle is one of the fastest ways to score a headache. No more, says Apple, and announces a brand new Vehicle Motion Cues feature, which displays dots across your screen that move to the opposite side in relation to the vehicle movement. For example, if the vehicle swerves left, the dots move to the right and vice versa; if the vehicle accelerates, the dots will move backwards, if the brakes are applied, the dots will move upward. This will offset the detrimental effects of motion sickness.
All of these accessibility settings are available on the iPhone
iOS 18 compatible devices
Here's a list of all iPhone that will get iOS 18. Note that despite our expectations, the iPhone Xs family did not get dropped from the list, which is great news for all those rocking these older devices.
iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini
September 24, 2021 (2 years and 8 months ago)
Yes
iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini
October 23, 2020 (3 years and 8 months ago)
Yes
iPhone SE 2nd Gen
April 24, 2020 (4 years and 2 months ago)
Yes
iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11
September 20, 2019 (4 years and 8 months ago)
Yes
iPhone Xs Max, Xs, iPhone XR
September 21, 2018 (5 years and 8 months ago)
Yes
iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone X
September 22-November 3, 2017 (6 years and 8/7 months ago)
No
Conclusion
So far, iOS is shaping up to be a great update that will inevitably act as a landmark moment for iOS: in a few years' time, we will be talking about the "before" and "after" of the Apple Intelligence update. It's not only major because of the traditional changes that it brings to core experiences, but also due to the scope of potential improvements that Apple Intelligence will enable for future updates.
That's all about the future, though. As of now, in this moment, iOS 18 is just a placeholder for all the interesting features that were showcased on stage during WWDC'24. We will have to wait longer before we can try out all the new features.
One universal complaint for iOS 18 and some of the more exciting Apple Intelligence feature in particular, is the fact that the latter has extremely high-performance requirements, which greatly limits the number of people that will be able to benefit from it this fall.
Of course, there are perfectly good reasons for that are logical: as most of the processing is done on the device, a powerful device like the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max is required.
What's more, Apple Intelligence and the new Siri are not a one-off exercise: Apple will most certainly build upon the foundation laid by iOS 18 with future iOS updates, and as people inevitably upgrade to newer and faster iPhones, they will eventually get access to all the potential features and functionalities of Apple Intelligence.
Peter, an experienced tech enthusiast at PhoneArena, is captivated by all things mobile. His impartial reviews and proficiency in Android systems offer readers valuable insights. Off-duty, he delves into the latest cryptocurrency trends and enjoys sci-fi and video games.
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