Apple showcased the latest generation of its operating system for the iPhone – iOS 18 – during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) keynote event on Monday. This is considered the biggest iOS revamp as the tech giant is betting big on artificial intelligence to power its devices.
AI is front and center of everything as the company announced Apple Intelligence – a generative AI model developed in collaboration with OpenAI. The next iPhone OS will be loaded with a ton of generative AI features that we will be looking at in this article.
Here is everything you need to know about iOS 18.
1. Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence is the company’s highly anticipated generative AI model that would be available on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The company describes Apple Intelligence as a highly capable large language and diffusion model that works across apps to identify and feed data to its models.
The model has the following capabilities:
- Apple Intelligence can understand your personal preferences and recognize notifications that are important to you.
- The model introduces a proofreading and style improvement tool to third-party and system apps to enhance writing.
- The AI can be prompted to generate images based on your photo library in three different styles: sketch, illustration, and animation.
- Apple Intelligence can delve into your apps and execute tasks on your behalf. During the keynote, the AI was asked to pull up files sent by a contact during a certain time and it was able to get it done instantly.
- Apple Intelligence can determine whether user data needs to be processed on-device or using cloud-based servers while ensuring they are private and secure. Users can control what kind of data they want to be stored in the cloud and how it can be accessed.
Apple Intelligence is currently only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max with the iOS 18 developer beta. The generative AI will be officially launched with the iPhone 16 Pro series, scheduled to come out in September.
2. Upgraded Siri
Siri has received its biggest upgrade to date with the integration of Apple Intelligence. Apple claims its virtual assistant now has the ability to answer thousands of questions on how to use your Apple device.
Siri also has more access to the iPhone and can take action in and across apps on your behalf. For example, it can send a news article from Apple News to a group thread in iMessage. Apple will allow third-party apps to tap into some of Siri’s enhancements.
The assistant can also be accessed via text. It can correct your statements in real-time and is more tightly integrated into the Apple ecosystem than before.
3. Customizable Home and Lock Screens
Apple has always limited users’ ability to customize their iPhone’s home and lock screen. However, with iOS18, you can customize the apps and their layout on the home screen and functions on the lock screen.
During the keynote, Apple’s senior executive Craig Federighi showed how iOS 18 lets users arrange iPhone apps and widgets on the home screen any way they want. With the new update, you can arrange app icons as you wish without sacrificing a good wallpaper for a filled screen.
You can also customize the appearance of the icons by giving them a dark mode filter or a tint that matches the colors on your wallpaper. Furthermore, lock screen widgets like the camera and flashlight can be swapped for other tools.
4. Updated Control Center and Hidden Apps
The Control Center is getting a major revamp with iOS 18, where you can add controls to your most used apps for quicker access. The controls on the hub can be customized to suit your needs.
iOS 18 also allows you to hide and lock apps. When an app is hidden, the phone will require Face ID or a passcode to unlock and access it. This comes in handy if you don’t want someone to access important files or apps on your device. The apps can be stashed in a Hidden Apps folder in the App Library that won’t be visible on the home screen.
5. New Password Manager App
Apple’s password keychain feature has been turned into a full-blown app called Passwords, which will safely store all your credentials in one place. The app is also able to sync your passwords across devices linked to your Apple ID, which means if you change your password to an app or service on one device, it will be reflected on the other.
The Password app will store verification codes, app passwords, WiFi passwords, and Passkeys. You can manage all your passwords in one place and also verify their strength.
6. Schedule Messages on the Messages App
The Messages app on iOS18 will allow you to schedule messages that need to be sent later, react to messages with more Tapbacks, and format specific words in messages with text effects.
You can also generate your own emojis with the help of Apple Intelligence which can then be used in iMessage. Apple calls these Genmojis.
Apple is also adding Rich Communication Support (RCS) to Messages, allowing you to seamlessly communicate with Android users and share media content with them. However, the green bubble will remain.
7. Notes App
The Notes app on iOS18 has multiple features, such as live audio transcripts, a collapsible section to keep your notes organized, and the ability to highlight certain phrases. The app can also solve mathematical problems. All you need to do is type in the equation and Apple Intelligence will answer it in real time.
8. Tap to Cash
With iOS18, Apple has made it easier for you to send cash to friends and family with an iPhone. The Tap to Cash feature allows you to quickly send money from your Apple Wallet by bringing your iPhones close together, similar to how you NameDrop your contact information or Airdrop a photo to someone.
Conclusion
These are some of the new features that Apple introduced during the WWDC keynote. iOS18 will be available to all iPhones from XS onwards, but Apple Intelligence will be exclusive for the iPhone 15 Pro series onwards.
It will be publicly released following the launch of the iPhone 16 in September. Eager fans can sign up for Apple’s developer beta and test the new operating system.
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