iOS 18 Makes iPhone More Personal, Capable, and Intelligent Than Ever
iOS 18 introduces new customization options, a comprehensive redesign of the Photos app, enhanced connectivity features, and the innovative Apple Intelligence system.
Cupertino, California — Apple today previewed iOS 18, a significant update that offers extensive customization options, a major redesign of the Photos app, improved email management in Mail, satellite messaging capabilities, and much more. Users can now arrange apps and widgets freely on the Home Screen, customize Lock Screen buttons, and access more controls in Control Center. Photos are now organized in a single view with new collections for easier access to favorites. Mail categorizes emails into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions using on-device intelligence. iMessage introduces new text effects, enhanced Tapbacks, and message scheduling. Satellite messaging allows users to communicate when no cellular or Wi-Fi connection is available.
iOS 18 also debuts Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system that combines generative models with personal context to deliver relevant and useful insights. Built with privacy as a priority, Apple Intelligence integrates into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, utilizing Apple silicon for advanced language and image understanding, simplifying everyday tasks.
“We are thrilled to introduce iOS 18, a massive update with incredible features, enhanced customization, and powerful new communication tools,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “This release marks the beginning of a new era of personal intelligence with Apple Intelligence, offering intuitive and powerful experiences that transform the iPhone, all while maintaining our commitment to privacy.”
New Levels of Customization and Capability
Users can now customize the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Control Center with more flexibility. Apps and widgets can be arranged in any open space, and users can choose between light, dark, or tinted looks for icons and widgets. Control Center has been redesigned for easier access and customization, allowing users to add controls from third-party apps and organize them into groups.
The Lock Screen now allows users to switch controls at the bottom, choose from available options in the controls gallery, or remove them entirely. The Action button on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max provides quick access to these controls.
Photos: Unified View, New Collections, and Customization
The Photos app has been completely redesigned to simplify finding and reliving special moments. A single view displays a grid with new collections for easy browsing. Collections can be pinned for quick access, and a new carousel view presents daily highlights featuring favorite people, pets, and places. Autoplaying content throughout the app brings photo libraries to life.
Powerful Ways to Stay Connected in Messages
iMessage now includes new text effects and formatting options such as bold, underline, italics, and strikethrough. Tapbacks have been expanded to include any emoji or sticker, and users can schedule messages to send later. For non-Apple contacts, Messages now supports RCS for richer media and more reliable group messaging.
Messages via satellite allows users to send and receive texts, emoji, and Tapbacks when no cellular or Wi-Fi connection is available, using end-to-end encryption for privacy.
Enhancements to Mail
Later this year, Mail will introduce on-device categorization to organize emails into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions. A new digest view compiles relevant emails from a business for easy access.
Big Updates to Safari
Safari now includes Highlights and a redesigned Reader experience. Highlights use machine learning to surface key information from webpages, and Reader provides a distraction-free reading experience with summaries and tables of contents.
Introducing the Passwords App
The new Passwords app consolidates passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes into one place, with alerts for common weaknesses and data leaks.
New Privacy Features
iOS 18 enhances privacy with tools to manage app visibility, contact sharing, and accessory connections. Users can lock and hide apps, and selectively share contacts with apps. Developers can connect third-party accessories without accessing other devices on a user’s network.
Apple Intelligence Transforms the iPhone Experience
Apple Intelligence introduces systemwide Writing Tools for rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text. Image Playground allows users to create playful images in seconds. The new Memories feature in Photos lets users create custom stories from their photos and videos, and the Clean Up tool removes distracting objects from photos.
