Apple has just released its iOS 18 update. It includes Apple’s own AI. The WWDC 2024 keynote will not only be remembered for the super-charged Siri, which is designed to make you think twice about making jokes about its capabilities. The big iPhone update for this fall brings a slew of features I’ve wanted for years. They might even tempt me into installing the beta preview.
iOS 18 is a major update. From Messages updates which will make my group chat giddy to a Photos redesign that could confuse some users, iOS looks to be a huge deal. To help you avoid confusion, I have broken down the top 11 features that will be coming to iPhones this fall.
Apple Intelligence is AI for the iPhone
Apple’s announcement of a software suite with AI-generated features in the first half 2024 is not surprising. Apple Intelligence is a rebranding of AI, which we’re used to seeing at Apple events. Apple Intelligence, which is available on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max (aswell as iPads and Macs that use M-series processors), contains many tricks that are familiar to tech enthusiasts.
Apple Intelligence, for example, includes the Rewrite feature that helps you reword any writing. The company suggests this tool could be helpful in situations where you are not confident. You can choose from three different styles: Friendly, Professional, and Concise. You can even request that your words be rewritten to “read like poetry.” This technology was first seen in the Samsung Galaxy S24 Series phones where its value is negligible. This option is not appealing to me as a writer, or someone who does not trust AI technology.
Some tools that will be included in iOS 18 include those that offer to create images that are good looking or that make it visible that they were made using a computer. For the former, a fresh cleanup tool in image editing will come to allow the removal of undesired persons or items from images, same like how some mobile devices including the Google Pixel 8 with the Magic Eraser.
And in terms of the latter, Apple’s got a whole new image creation tool called Image Playground, which offers three styles of its own: Indication of Animation, Illustration and Sketch.
Image Playground, which Apple demonstrated in the speech as an example of how, taking several keywords, which is somewhat akin to what the new Chromebook Plus laptops are doing to the background of desktop wallpapers and video calls, you can create a new image of one of your contacts. Oh, and in other news regarding the image generation tool, say hello to your very own sitio emoji, or Genmoji, for that oh-so-specific moment when only a tiny drawing of a dinosaur riding an airplane while wearing a football helmet will suffice.
Apple’s excuse is that these images were generated by the device itself. The company didn’t tell us which image database Image Playground was used to train the images, such as a mom who is also a super hero and a cat in a chef’s outfit. Apple’s WWDC keynote also confirmed its partnership with OpenAI. Its ChatGPT-4o tool will be available on the iPhone as part of iOS 18.
You might be wondering what’s so Apple-like about this “Intelligence”? Apple is putting a privacy-first approach to everything. If it needs to use the power of the Cloud to complete a task, it will send requests to its Private Cloud Compute server where it promises to ensure that your privacy is secure and publically verifiable.
You can write to Siri, who’s doing more than ever
Siri has been in dire need of an update for a long time. In iOS 18, Siri looks and behaves quite differently, as if it were to tell users that Siri can do so much more. When you interact with Apple’s digital assistant, for example, a colorful frame will wrap around the iPhone screen instead of a glowing sphere. Double-tapping the bottom of your screen will give you the option to ask Siri text questions.
Siri’s new version will be more forgiving of those who do not speak well. It can now process your intention if you correct yourself in the middle of a sentence or stammer. Siri is also said to be more capable of sending items and photos between apps. A presenter, for example, used Siri to search for a picture and add it to an Apple Notes file. Apple’s AI assistant is also very personal. It can pull up flight arrival times, lunch plans, and distances from the airport to restaurants from your apps.
Take more control of your iPhone’s app icons
But don’t assume that iOS 18 is only AI. Apple has finally given up control of your home screen widgets and app icons. You’ll also be able drag and drop apps that you need and love around your home screens to suit your preferences — and even leave blank space on these screens.
This is a feature that Android users have been praising for years. It allows you to place app icons at the bottom of your screen, so you don’t need to reach as far. You can also make sure that the people, pets and places you’d like to see on your screen are not covered by apps such as Mail, Spotify, and Safari.
App icons can also be customized with the addition of dark mode images, and you can change their colors to suit your preferences. All of the app icons displayed on your homescreen can be customized to match your wallpaper.
RCS finally comes to the iPhone
The iPhone will finally have improved messaging interoperability with RCS. This news made the Android community say “it took you too long.” iOS 18 adds Rich Communication Services, allowing iPhone and Android users to exchange high-quality audio and video files.
Apple did not explain the new feature in detail, but an image that was used to preview it confirmed that the messages sent to Android users would still appear in green bubbles.
Messages comes alive in iOS 18
iOS 18’s Messages app will be upgraded in two ways. Apple has upgraded the Tapback icons my friends and relatives love to use in their messages. The default Tapbacks glow with color and shadows, and now you can use any emoji for a Tapback.
The text will also ripple, jitter and shake (amongst other options).
The Photos app gets a huge redesign
In iOS 18, the tab-based Photos application you are familiar with is gone. Instead, you will see a single view that starts off with a grid at the top of your screen. This grid sits over collections that organize images. This section is grouped by the photos taken on certain days such as yesterday and today, and then shows you the People & Pets category. Then you can pin your favorite photos under that collection.
Where are all those moments and highlights that Photos loves to show? You can see all your favorite photos by swiping horizontally across the big grid on the top screen.
It is also great to be able to filter out screenshots. They seem to get in the way and lose value at an increasing rate. You can easily hide your recipe cards and ticket stubs by pressing the “Hide Screenshots” button.
We get more control over the Control Center
You can access the Control Center by swiping downward from the top right corner of your iPhone. I hope that every iPhone user knows what it is. You can change the brightness, Airplane Mode, volume and more right here. It’s great when you are about to watch a movie. The Control Center will no longer be limited to Apple apps. Apple will let third-party apps like Ford’s app, which is designed to make it easy to enter and exit your phone, as well as your car, add controls to the Control Center.
You also know that the camera and flashlight buttons are on your lockscreen? You can also swap out the Control Center buttons. You’ll have the option to choose from the Notes app, which will allow you to create a new document more quickly than ever.
Make your own apps a bit more private
Have you ever felt that you were taking an enormous risk when you handed your phone over to someone so they could view something? Apple has heard your fears and now lets you hide specific apps behind Face ID unlock. Apple has heard your fears and is now letting you lock specific apps behind Face ID unlock.
This should not lead to more arguments over why apps are closed than if they were left open. You’ll also be able hide apps behind Face ID – for those you want to keep private.
The Mail app gets easier to manage
You can sort your emails more efficiently with the iPhone’s Mail app. The categories Primary, Transactions Updates, and Promotions at the top are very similar to Gmail’s tabs for Primary, Social, and Promotions.
Apple will also group messages sent by the same sender into digests. This will make it easier to find everything I have received about my flight booked this summer including any changes to the departure time.
Apple’s iOS 18 preview states that these changes will be “coming later this year”.
Apple’s newest app stores your passwords
Apple has released a Passwords App for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Vision Pro. Apple has been storing your passwords for quite some time (have you opened Keychain lately?). This application appears to be more refined than Apple’s Keychain.
This app not only flags passwords that are easy to guess and have been leaked from data dumps, but also includes passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes (the latest password-free option).
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