Apple's iOS 18 has finally rolled out across the globe (depending on your time zone) and has been a big talking point in the weeks and months in the buildup to the major release — especially with the iPhone 16 coming onto the market.
“We are thrilled to introduce iOS 18,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “It is a huge release with incredible features, including new levels of customization and capability, a redesigned Photos app, and powerful ways to stay connected with Messages. There are so many benefits for everyone.”
“This release also marks the beginning of a tremendously exciting new era of personal intelligence with Apple Intelligence delivering intuitive, powerful, and instantly useful experiences that will transform the iPhone experience, all with privacy at the core. We can’t wait for users to experience it.”
With iOS 18 featuring more customization options, the biggest redesign ever of the Photos app, new ways to manage Mail, Messages, and even Siri, here is a rundown of some of the key features users now have at their fingertips.
Apple
Users can now arrange apps and widgets in any open space on the Home Screen, including placing them right above the dock for easy access or framing wallpaper. App icons can be customized for brightness, tint and size.
The Control Center has been redesigned to provide easier access to a user’s most-utilized controls, such as media playback, Home controls and connectivity, as well as the ability to easily swipe between each. Users can now add controls from supported third-party apps to the Control Center to quickly unlock a vehicle or capture content for social media.
Users can now switch the controls at the bottom of the Lock Screen, including choosing from the options available in the controls gallery or removing them entirely.
Photos has undergone one of the biggest revamps to help users easily find specific images and videos. A simplified, single view displays a familiar grid, and new collections help users browse by themes without having to organize content into albums. Collections can be pinned to keep favorites easily accessible.
Messaging now has new text effects such as bold, underline, italics, and strikethrough, and tap backs expand to include any emoji or sticker, and now users can compose a message and schedule to send it at a later time.
Safari, the browser, now offers Highlights, using machine learning to skim an online article and give the user access to key information such as the location of a restaurant, or listen to an artist’s track right from an article about a song or.
The new Passwords app makes it easy for users to access their passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes.
The big one! Apple Intelligence unlocks new ways for users to enhance their writing and communicate more effectively. With systemwide Writing Tools built into iOS 18, users can rewrite, proofread and summarize text nearly everywhere they write, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.
With Image Playground, users can create playful images in seconds, choosing from three styles: Animation, Illustration, or Sketch. Image Playground is easy to use, built right into apps like Messages, and also available in a dedicated app.
Apple
Siri is also given an AI reboot, to become smarter with the information it provides the user, who can also switch between text and voice communication.
The new Clean Up tool in Photos can identify and remove distracting objects in the background of a photo — without accidentally altering the subject.
Access to ChatGPT is integrated into Siri and system-wide Writing Tools across Apple’s platforms, allowing users to access its expertise — as well as its image- and document-understanding capabilities — without needing to jump between tools.
