iOS 18 will mark Apple’s annual iPhone software update for 2024 and will be full of changes. The update has been described as one of the biggest ever for the iPhone. There will be major new AI features and design changes, plus new customization options. Read on for a recap of everything we know about iOS 18’s new features so far.
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What to expect from iOS 18
In November, Bloomberg reported that Apple put a one-week pause on the development of new features for iOS 18 to fix bugs. This was done after the completion of the “first milestone” build of iOS 18. Typically, Apple would then immediately begin work on the second milestone, but this year, it took that one-week break to iron out early bugs and problems.
This delay, however, is unlikely to have a significant impact on iOS 18 in terms of new features and its release date. Instead, it was simply Apple taking an early pause to make sure iOS 18 is developed on as stable of a foundation as possible.
When will iOS 18 be released?
iOS 18 will likely be announced at WWDC 2024, which will take place during the first or second week of June. It will then be released to developers for beta testing. A public beta will likely be released in July 2024, followed by a release to the general public in September.
Here’s a rundown of recent iOS release dates:
- iOS 17: September 17, 2023
- iOS 16: September 12, 2022
- iOS 15: September 20, 2021
- iOS 14: September 16, 2020
- iOS 13: September 19, 2019
- iOS 12: September 17, 2018
iOS 18: Which devices will be compatible?
One of the biggest questions every year is which devices will be compatible with the new iOS version. This year, the rumor is that Apple has good news for iPhone owners. According to an anonymous account on Twitter, iOS 18 will be supported by all the same devices as iOS 17.
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone SE (3rd generation)
New features in iOS 18
Groundbreaking AI
Apple was reportedly caught “flat-footed” by the sudden rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft Copilot. As such, the company is reportedly working on a wide array of new artificial intelligence features for iOS.
In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook himself has promised that Apple has new AI features coming this year. During Apple’s most recent earnings call, Cook teased Apple is spending a “tremendous amount of time and effort” on artificial intelligence technologies, and the company is “excited to share the details of our ongoing work in that space later this year.
In October, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman gave an in-depth rundown on some of Apple’s goals for AI in iOS 18. The report outlined that “there’s an edict” within Apple and Craig Federighi’s software team to fill iOS 18 “with features running on the company’s large language model.”
Here’s a recap:
- A revamped version of Siri that is more intelligent and able to take advantage of a new AI system that incorporates large language model technology
- AI integration in the Messages app that can “field questions and auto-complete sentences”
- New AI features for Apple Music to create “auto-generated playlists”
- Integrating generative AI into iWork apps, including Keynote and Pages
- Adding generative AI features to Xcode to let developers “write new applications more quickly”
Not all of these will necessarily be tied to iOS 18 or ready to be shipped as part of iOS 18. Apple’s apparent goal, however, is to fill iOS 18 with as many AI features as possible.
9to5Mac found evidence of Apple’s work on new AI and large language model technology in iOS 17.4. We reported that Apple is relying on OpenAI’s ChatGPT API for internal testing to help the development of its own AI models.
Furthermore, both Bloomberg and The New York Times have reported that Apple is in talks with Google about potentially licensing its Gemini set of generative Ai models. The report explains that Apple is specifically looking to partner on cloud-based generative AI models. Other features would still be powered by Apple’s own on-device models.
RCS support
Apple made a surprise announcement in October: RCS support is coming to iPhones sometime in 2024. RCS, or Rich Communication Services, is the successor to SMS and MMS. It will bring a number of iMessage-style features to texts between iPhone and Android users.
RCS will unlock things like read receipts, typing indicators, and support for sending high-quality images and videos for conversations between iPhone and Android devices. It will also give users the ability to share their location with other people inside text threads. Unlike regular SMS, RCS can work over mobile data or Wi-Fi as well.
Apple’s specific wording is that RCS will be available on iPhone “later next year” via a software update. This would seemingly suggest that the feature could be included as part of iOS 18.
New customization options
Following the addition of Home Screen widgets with iOS 14 in 2020, Apple reportedly has more Home Screen changes in store for iOS 18. According to a pair of reports, iOS 18 will include new customization for the iPhone’s Home Screen.
In particular, rumors say that Apple will let users freely place app icons on their Home Screen for the first time. This means iPhone users will be able to break free from the Home Screen grid and create gaps between widgets and app icons.
What else?
Bloomberg has described iOS 18 as being Apple’s most “ambitious and compelling” update in years. The update is reportedly considered “groundbreaking” inside Apple and full of “major new features and designs, in addition to security and performance improvements.”
As of right now, it’s unclear what else iOS 18 might include. The addition of major new AI features would certainly fulfill the “ambitious and compelling” description of iOS 18.
Apple has internally referred to iOS 18 as potentially the “biggest” iOS update ever, according to reports. There is reportedly a lot more in the works for the update than just the aforementioned new AI features.
It’s important to remember that Apple’s plans for iOS 18 may change between now and June. Over the next three months, Apple will finalize its plans for iOS 18 based on development progress. Some features could also be announced at WWDC 2024 but not released until much later via updates such as iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2.
What are you hoping to see in iOS 18? Do you think Apple will be able to catch up to other companies with new AI features? Let us know in the comments.
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