iOS 18: all the expected new features and release date

A new design for iOS 18

To begin with, you should know that Apple should sign with iOS 18 sabiggest update to the iPhone operating system since its debut. And for good reason: the design would be completely revisited! So, of course, this was already the case with iOS 7, you might say. But the platform was less equipped with features, so the number of changes would necessarily be greater in 2024.

Among the changes which are already mentioned in the specialized press, we think in particular that the home screen could be more personalized than today, or that larger hour figures will be displayed in Calendar. In particular, users could be able to create spaces between lines and rows of icons on the home screen, which is still impossible at the moment. In addition, the interface could be inspired by visionOS, the operating system which today equips the Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset.

Artificial intelligence galore

iOS 18 is expected to be powered by many AI-powered features, likely in partnership withOpenAI(ChatGPT) or withGoogle(Gemini). Apple is also developing its own language model, but that's not what we should take advantage of for the occasion.

According to some reports, the data collected by Apple's artificial intelligence is mainly stored locally. This is an additional guarantee of confidence for confidentiality. Otherwise, the information could also be saved on servers, but powered by proprietary chips also signed by Apple.

App updates

iPhones running natively iOS 18 could be delivered without pre-installed apps, in order to meet the European Union's requirements in favor of competition. Otherwise, here are the updates that are expected:

Freeform

Freeform could get a feature calledScenes, perhaps translated into “Scenes” in the language of Molière. This will certainly make it possible to pin items so that they can be found more easily, as we can already do with WhatsApp conversations or with Mozilla Firefox tabs. Because it is true that with a canvas of infinite size, certain Freeform content can indeed quickly find itself lost in the mass.

Rumor has it that the “scenes” could also be shared to third parties on a read-only basis, or to others who want to collaborate on the same Freeform project.

Notes and Dictaphone

The Notes app, on iOS 18, would host aunique integration with Calculator. This would notably make it possible to integrate mathematical operations into a sticky note. It is also possible that the transcription of voice memos into text is included, within the eponymous app and Notes. In addition, a generative AI would be there to create for you a summary of the meetings that you have previously recorded orally.

Messages

Messages could also benefit from artificial intelligence byfinishing your sentences for you. Additionally, support forRCS(rich communication services) is in the loop and should notably allow us to send and receive high-resolution images without going through iMessage, the same for audio content. We could also know if our correspondent is typing text at the time we speak to them, and acknowledgments of receipt on iOS 18 could be received even if the recipient has a device running Android.

Please note, moreover, that RCS also allows you to send messages using the Wi-Fi network in the event that your usual mobile data is unavailable. Finally, group conversations are improved and cross-platform, also with support for emojis regardless of the operating system of the sender and recipient. It was about time!

Siri

Siri would be the main app to take advantage of Apple's new artificial intelligence features. The Apple firm's proprietary voice assistant already benefits from a powerful algorithm, only it is not efficient enough to face the competition, according to most opinions.

With the help of OpenAI or Google, Siri could therefore offer more precise responses and better conversational capabilities to its users. Notification summaries could also be established, as could article reviews.

Safari

And "navigation assistant” would appear on Safari with iOS 18. We don't know much more at the moment, but this solution could come close to the value proposition of Aria already available on Opera.

Photos

With iOS 18, Photos could accommodate avisual searchend-to-end encrypted, reminiscent of the principle of Claude's camera or Google Lens.

As artificial intelligence is on the menu in iOS 18, it would also be wise to offer us some additional features for photo editing, such as automatic background removal.

Apple Music

Apple Music could give pride of place tonew smart transitions between music, but simply with fading and without synchronizing the beats per minute. Some also suggest that the streaming platform could take advantage of generative AI by creating playlists for us, but this remains to be proven.

Mail

Mail could also be updated with the move to iOS 18, but we don't know exactly what Apple has planned here.

Shape

As with Mail, Forme would also be updated with iOS 18, but the associated new features have not yet been leaked.

Calendar and Reminders

Apple is currently preparing aintegrationmajor difference between its two apps Calendar and Reminders. As with Google Calendar, we should soon be able to create reminders directly from Calendar. And these reminders will obviously be visible in the form of a list within the app of the same name.

Apple Plans

Apple Plans would supportpersonalized journeys, like on Google Maps. In other words, you could decide not to follow the route automatically suggested by the app when you want to go somewhere.

Health

Features with artificial intelligence in iOS 18 would also be planned for health.

iWork

Generative artificial intelligence could also find a place within the iWork suite (Numbers, Keynote, Pages). Just look at how Google did the same with Workspace and Gemini to get an idea.

Accessibility

• eye-liner tracking: possibility of controlling your iPhone under iOS 18 simply by tracking eye movements (via the webcam and not the Face ID TrueDepth sensor)
• Music Haptics: “people using it will be able to feel music through vibrations, pulsations and refined textures“
• Vocal Shortcuts: to trigger a functionality by pronouncing a pre-established word, without going through “Dis, Siri“

New emojis with iOS 18

Several new emojiscould arrive with a version of iOS 18, but in 2025. In other words, not the first version which would be released in September 2024. You can find the images in question just below.

CarPlay

• voice control
• changing interface colors to help color blind people
• recognition of surrounding noises, for deaf or hard of hearing users

Which iPhones will be compatible with iOS 18?

The iPhone 15 and many other modelsare expected to be compatible with iOS 18. Among these, we can notably cite all those which are still available new in stores today, such as the iPhone 14 or the third generation iPhone SE.

iOS 18: potential release date

iOS 18 will be available in beta for developers at the end of the opening keynote of the Worldwide Developer Conference,in all likelihood. This will take place on June 10 at 7 p.m. (Paris time). The beta version for developers is accessible to the general public, but the latter will benefit from a potentially more stable version dedicated to them from July.