Apple has announced the first details for the upcoming major version of iOS, its operating system specially designed for the iPhone, at WWDC 2024.
As expected, this is a crucial moment for the mobile platform, as iOS 18 will focus on artificial intelligence.
“I am excited that we will be introducing profound new intelligence capabilities that we hope will inspire developers, delight users, and make our platforms even smarter and more useful than ever before,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook during his launch of the event. after in the presentation, Apple announced that it was integrating ChatGPT with Siri and other system-wide interactions.
However, before we talked about AI, Apple mentioned new customization features. Icons can now be arranged anywhere on your home screen so that your background photos are not hidden.
“iOS 18 is a big release that offers more ways to customize your iPhone, stay connected and relive special moments,” says Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering.
Icons can be customized with a tint color. For example, if you want all your icons to look yellow, you can tint all app icons to that color.
The control center will also receive an update. It is not limited only to the buttons that you see on the main page of the control center. You can swipe down to view media playback and home control. You can also edit the control center directly from the Control Center by tapping an edit button in a corner.
There is a new set of APIs for the Control Center, which means that third-party developers can create shortcuts to the Control Center and the lock screen. For example, Apple has shown that you can replace the camera button on the lock screen with a Snapchat button.
Apps can now be locked individually. In this way, you need to identify yourself with face ID, touch ID or your passcode to unlock this app. This app also does not appear in the search results. Being able to hide apps will also be important for AI functions.
Messages will receive a very welcome update for tapbacks. You can now respond to messages with any emoji or sticker and they will be displayed in color (pretty much like in any other messaging app). You can after send messages and format text (underline, strikethrough, etc.).). Apple is also adding RCS support to iOS 18. It has already been announced, but the schedule was unclear. As a reminder, RCS is an update of the SMS protocol with additional features, such as support for native groups.
Emails will also get new categories, similar to Gmail categories, so promotions, newsletters and other transactional emails will be hidden in your inbox. There’s also a new Digest view that retrieves all the relevant emails you’ve received, such as your flight information before you head to the airport.
The calendar will receive a small update with an optional integration with reminders. You can choose to view reminders directly in your calendar.
Wallet gets new features. You can tap on cash to pay someone back by holding your phone together. It uses Apple Cash behind the scenes to top up your card and send the money to your friend or family member. Event tickets will receive an update with further information about your event, e.g. a stadium ticket.
Journal, the recently launched journaling app, is getting an update with insights and a new way to quickly find past entries. The game mode, a special mode that boosts device performance, comes to the iPhone. It is no longer limited to macOS.
