Today, Apple unveiled a sneak peek at iOS 18, an important update packed with a variety of customizable options. This release includes the most significant redesign of the Photos app so far, new features for managing Mail and Messages inboxes, satellite messaging, and much more. Users will be able to personalize the bottom buttons on the Lock Screen, arrange widgets and apps in any open space, and quickly access more controls in the Control Center. In the Photos app, photo libraries will be automatically organized into a new single view, with handy collections making favorites easily accessible. Leveraging on-device intelligence, Mail will categorize emails to make the inbox more manageable, and iMessage will introduce new text effects. Building on the cutting-edge technology behind the existing satellite features on iPhones, users can expect enhanced capabilities in iOS 18.
What’s New
iOS 18 also introduces Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system designed for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This system combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver highly useful and relevant intelligence. Built with privacy as a core principle, Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. It leverages the power of Apple silicon to understand and generate language and images, perform actions across apps, and utilize personal context to simplify and speed up everyday tasks.
Customization and Settings
iPhone users now have more ways to customize their Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Control Center. They can arrange apps and widgets in any open space on the Home Screen, even placing them above the dock for easy access or perfectly framing a wallpaper. App icons and widgets can adopt a new look with a dark or tinted effect, and users can enlarge them for a more personalized experience.
The Control Center has been redesigned for easier access to daily functions, offering new levels of customization and flexibility. The updated design provides quick access to groups of frequently used controls, such as media playback, Home controls, and connectivity, and allows users to easily swipe between them. Additionally, users can add controls from supported third-party apps to the Control Center, enabling quick actions like unlocking a vehicle or capturing content for social media, all from one place. The new controls gallery shows the full set of available options, and users can customize the layout, adjust sizes, and create entirely new groups.
For the first time, users can change the controls at the bottom of the Lock Screen, selecting options from the controls gallery or removing them entirely. With the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, users can quickly access controls available in the gallery.
Changes in Photos App and Customization
Photos has received its biggest redesign ever, making it easier for users to find and relive special moments. The app now features a simplified, single view with a familiar grid layout, along with new collections that allow users to browse by themes without needing to organize content into albums. Users can also pin collections to keep their favorites easily accessible.
A new carousel view highlights special moments, updating daily to feature favorite people, pets, places, and more. Autoplaying content throughout the app brings photo libraries to life, allowing users to enjoy past moments while browsing. Since each user’s photo library is unique, the app is customizable, letting users organize collections, pin frequently accessed collections, and include what matters most to them in the carousel view.
New Way of Messaging
iMessage in iOS 18 introduces exciting new text effects that bring conversations to life by dynamically animating any letter, word, phrase, or emoji. Users can now better express tone with formatting options such as bold, underline, italics, and strikethrough. Tapbacks have been expanded to include any emoji or sticker, and users can compose messages and schedule them to be sent at a later time.
For messaging contacts who do not have an Apple device, the Messages app now supports RCS, offering richer media and more reliable group messaging compared to SMS and MMS.
iOS 18 also introduces Messages via satellite for times when cellular and Wi-Fi connections aren’t available. Using the same advanced technology as existing iPhone satellite capabilities, Messages via satellite automatically prompts users to connect to the nearest satellite from the Messages app to send and receive texts, emojis, and Tapbacks over iMessage and SMS. With Dynamic Island, users can always see when they are connected to a satellite. Since iMessage is designed to protect user privacy, iMessages sent via satellite are end-to-end encrypted.
Updated Mail
Later this year, Mail will offer new features to help users manage their inboxes and stay organized. On-device categorization will automatically sort incoming emails into four categories: Primary for personal and time-sensitive emails, Transactions for confirmations and receipts, Updates for news and social notifications, and Promotions for marketing emails and coupons. Additionally, Mail will introduce a new digest view that compiles all relevant emails from a business, allowing users to quickly scan and find what’s important at a glance
All New Safari App
Safari, the world’s fastest browser, now offers even easier ways to discover information on the web with its new Highlights feature and a redesigned Reader experience. Utilizing machine learning, Safari can surface key information about a webpage, allowing users to quickly review a summary to get the gist of an article, see the location of a restaurant, hotel, or landmark, or listen to an artist’s track directly from an article about the song or album. The redesigned Reader offers an enhanced reading experience, including a summary and table of contents for longer articles, making it easier to enjoy content without distractions.
The All New Password App
Expanding on the legacy of Keychain, which has been around for over 25 years, the new Passwords app simplifies access to users’ passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes. Additionally, the app provides alerts to users about common security vulnerabilities, such as easily guessed passwords, reused passwords, and those found in known data breaches.
In iOS 18, users have more control over their data privacy by being able to select which contacts they want to share with a specific app. Furthermore, developers now have the capability to connect third-party accessories with an iPhone without granting the app access to view all other devices on the user’s network. This ensures that a user’s devices remain private while enabling seamless pairing with accessories.
Apple Intelligence
Integrated deeply into iOS 18 and designed with privacy as a foundational principle, Apple Intelligence introduces innovative ways for users to improve their writing and enhance communication. With the introduction of new systemwide Writing Tools in iOS 18, users gain the ability to rewrite, proofread, and summarize text across various platforms, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party applications.
In iOS 18, Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated and prioritizes user privacy from the ground up. It introduces inventive methods for users to refine their writing and elevate communication. The new systemwide Writing Tools in iOS 18 empower users to rewrite, proofread, and summarize text seamlessly across different platforms, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party applications.
The latest image capabilities in iOS 18 bring even more excitement to communication and self-expression. With Image Playground, users can effortlessly create playful images by choosing from three styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch. Integrated directly into apps like Messages and also available as a standalone app, Image Playground offers a user-friendly experience.
Memories in Photos takes storytelling to the next level by allowing users to create customized stories simply by typing a description. Leveraging Apple Intelligence, the feature selects the best photos and videos based on the description, creates a storyline with themed chapters, and organizes them into a cohesive movie with its own narrative arc. Additionally, the new Clean Up tool can identify and remove distracting background objects from photos without affecting the subject.
Siri receives significant enhancements with the power of Apple Intelligence, becoming more natural, contextually relevant, and personalized. Users can now interact with Siri through text input, seamlessly switching between text and voice communication based on their preference.
With Private Cloud Compute, Apple raises the bar for privacy in AI. This feature allows computational capacity to be flexibly and securely allocated between on-device processing and larger server-based models running on dedicated Apple silicon servers. When requests are routed to Private Cloud Compute, user data is not stored or accessible to Apple, ensuring privacy. Independent experts can verify this privacy protection.
Furthermore, ChatGPT access is integrated into Siri and systemwide Writing Tools across Apple platforms, providing users with access to its expertise, as well as image and document understanding capabilities, without the need to switch between tools.
Some Additional Features
- In Apple Maps, users can explore thousands of hiking trails across national parks in the United States and effortlessly create custom walking routes, which can be accessed offline. Additionally, Maps users can save their favorite national park hikes, custom walking routes, and locations to a new Places Library and add personal notes about each spot.
- Game Mode enhances the gaming experience by providing more consistent frame rates, particularly during extended play sessions, and ensures responsiveness with wireless accessories like AirPods and game controllers.
- Apple Pay introduces new features, including the ability to redeem rewards and access installments from eligible credit or debit cards. With Tap to Cash, users can send and receive Apple Cash by simply holding two iPhone devices together. Additionally, Tickets in Apple Wallet offer a richer experience for fans by providing key event details like stadium information and recommended Apple Music playlists.
- SharePlay with Apple Music allows users to share control of music playing from HomePod, Apple TV, or any Bluetooth-enabled speaker, making listening together more enjoyable.
- AirPods enhancements offer a more personalized, private, and convenient experience. Siri Interactions allow AirPods Pro (2nd generation) users to respond to Siri announcements by nodding or shaking their head. Voice Isolation improves call quality in loud or windy environments, while updates provide the best wireless audio latency for mobile gaming and introduce Personalized Spatial Audio for immersive gameplay.
- The Notes app now instantly solves formulas and equations entered while typing with Math Notes. New collapsible sections and highlighting make it easier to emphasize important information.
- In the Journal app, an insights view helps users track journaling goals, and search and sort features facilitate browsing past entries. Time spent journaling can be logged as mindful minutes in the Health app, and users can record their state of mind directly in Journal. A Journal widget allows quick entry creation from the Home Screen or Lock Screen, audio recordings are automatically transcribed, and entries can be exported and printed.
- Calendar becomes more helpful by displaying both events and tasks from Reminders. Users can create, edit, and complete reminders directly from Calendar, and the updated month view offers an overview of events and tasks.
- The Health app features a redesigned Medical ID for easier access by first responders in emergencies. It also offers better understanding of pregnancy-related data with adjustments and recommendations reflecting changes in physical and mental health.
- Emergency SOS Live Video allows users to share context through streaming video and recorded media during emergency calls, facilitating faster assistance.
- The Home app introduces guest access for granting control of select smart home accessories to guests, along with convenient updates to the Energy category for accessing and understanding home electricity use.
- Accessibility updates include Eye Tracking for navigating iPhone with just eyes, Music Haptics for experiencing music using the Taptic Engine, and Vocal Shortcuts for performing tasks with custom sounds.
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