Along with the launch of the iPhone 16 line, Apple made the official announcement of iOS 18. The new version of the operating system brings more customization features, improvements to apps like Photos and Safari, a renewed password manager, app blocking function and integration with Apple Intelligence.
More customization
In terms of customization, iOS 18 gives users more freedom to position app icons and widgets on the home screen. Apple itself emphasizes that this option allows users to leave elements of the background image visible.
It is also possible to make the icons and widgets look dark, uniform (all icons have the same colour pattern) or colourful. It all depends on the user’s taste.
Improved native applications
Among native apps, Photos is one of the ones that has changed the most. Now, the tool allows users to define collections of images to access them more quickly. In addition, the app allows users to search for themes (such as people or animals) even without having added descriptions to the content, thanks to the intelligent classification implemented by Apple.
Other improved applications include:
- Safari: The Reader tool can include summaries and even tables of contents in long web pages; the Highlights feature uses machine learning to highlight the most important points in text content;
- Mail: the email client classifies messages according to their level of relevance and introduces a summary view mode that groups together the most important emails from a company, for example;
- Messages: the messenger brings new text effects, as well as emojis with dynamic animations; other features include easier access to formatting functions and the option to schedule the sending of messages;
- Passwords: The Passwords app can now generate strong passwords, automatically apply them to login fields, and sync across user devices.
Blocking or hiding applications
New security and privacy features in iOS 18 include built-in functionality to lock or hide selected apps. Locked apps can only be accessed through biometric authentication (Face ID) or password entry.
Hiding the app moves it to a locked folder, which only the user can access, again, through authentication. The content of the hidden app, such as email messages, does not appear in searches or notifications.
Integration with Apple Intelligence
iOS 18 debuts the artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that make up Apple Intelligence. It integrates with both native features (such as Mail, Notes, and Pages) and third-party tools to create unique images for the user, remove objects from photos (Clean Up), compose messages based on word lists, and more.
As for Siri, Apple Intelligence will make the assistant give contextualized and more accurate responses, as well as perform specific actions at the user’s request, such as removing duplicate images in the Photos app.
Apple Intelligence will begin rolling out next month in the United States and in December for other English-speaking countries. Support for other languages, including Japanese, Chinese, French and Spanish, will begin in 2025. Apple has not yet commented on support for Portuguese specifically.
It is worth noting that Apple Intelligence will be released for the entire iPhone 16 line, in addition to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max models.
iOS 18 Availability
Despite being officially announced alongside the iPhone 16 line, iOS 18 is not exclusive to the new generation. The new version of the operating system will also be available for the following devices:
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 13 Mini
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 12 Mini
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE (3rd and 2nd generations)
The final version of iOS 18 is expected to be released for download on compatible iPhones starting September 16, 2024.
Other news from Apple on Monday (9) include the AirPods 4 and the Apple Watch 10 line.
