CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA — Apple today previewed iOS 18, a significant update featuring more customization options, the largest-ever redesign of the Photos app, innovative ways to manage inboxes in Mail, satellite messaging in Messages, and much more. Users can arrange apps and widgets in any open space on the Home Screen, customize the Lock Screen buttons, and quickly access additional controls in Control Center. The Photos app now automatically organizes photo libraries into a single view with new collections for easy access to favorites. Mail simplifies the inbox by categorizing emails using on-device intelligence, and iMessage introduces all-new text effects.

Powered by the same advanced technology as existing iPhone satellite capabilities, users can now communicate over satellite in the Messages app when cellular or Wi-Fi connections are unavailable. iOS 18 also introduces Apple Intelligence, a personal intelligence system for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This system combines the power of generative models with personal context to deliver highly useful and relevant intelligence. Built with privacy at its core, Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, utilizing Apple silicon to understand and create language and images, take actions across apps, and leverage personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks.

“We are thrilled to introduce iOS 18. It is a major release with incredible features, including new levels of customization and capability, a redesigned Photos app, and powerful ways to stay connected with Messages. There are so many benefits for everyone,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “This release also marks the beginning of an exciting new era of personal intelligence with Apple Intelligence delivering intuitive, powerful, and instantly useful experiences that will transform the iPhone experience, all with privacy at the core. We can’t wait for users to experience it.

Enhanced Customization and Capability

iPhone users now have more ways to personalize the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Control Center. Apps and widgets can be arranged in any open space on the Home Screen, including above the dock for easy access or to perfectly frame a wallpaper. App icons and widgets can adopt a new look with dark or tinted effects, and users can enlarge them to create a tailored experience that suits their preferences.

Advanced Customization and Capabilities

Control Center has been redesigned for easier access to everyday tasks, offering new levels of customization and flexibility. The update provides quick access to frequently used controls, such as media playback, Home controls, and connectivity, with the ability to easily swipe between them. Users can now add controls from supported third-party apps to Control Center, allowing them to quickly unlock a vehicle or start capturing content for social media, all from one location. The new controls gallery displays the full set of available options, enabling users to customize the layout, adjust the size of controls, and create entirely new groups.

For the first time, users can now change the controls at the bottom of the Lock Screen, selecting options from the controls gallery or removing them entirely. With the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, users can quickly access controls available in the gallery.

Photos Introduces Unified View, New Collections, and Enhanced Customization

Photos receives its largest-ever redesign to help users easily find and relive special moments. A simplified, single view displays a familiar grid, and new collections allow users to browse by themes without organizing content into albums. Collections can be pinned to keep favorites easily accessible. A new carousel view presents daily highlights featuring favorite people, pets, places, and more. Autoplaying content throughout the app brings libraries to life, allowing users to enjoy past moments while browsing. The app is customizable, enabling users to organize collections, pin frequently accessed ones, and include what's most important to them in the carousel view.

Empowering Connectivity in Messages

iMessage introduces fresh text effects, enhancing conversations with dynamic, animated enhancements to letters, words, phrases, or emojis. Users can now convey tone more effectively by incorporating formatting options such as bold, underline, italics, and strikethrough. Tapbacks are expanded to include any emoji or sticker, and users gain the ability to compose messages and schedule them for later sending.

Revolutionizing Messaging Beyond Apple Devices

When communicating with contacts who don't use Apple devices, the Messages app now supports RCS, enhancing media richness and group messaging reliability compared to SMS and MMS.

Satellite-Powered Messaging

iOS 18 pioneers Messages via satellite for connectivity in remote areas. Utilizing the groundbreaking iPhone satellite technology, Messages via satellite prompts users to connect to the nearest satellite for sending and receiving texts, emojis, and Tapbacks over iMessage and SMS, ensuring seamless communication even without cellular or Wi-Fi networks. With the Dynamic Island feature, users can easily identify their satellite connection status. And because privacy is paramount, iMessages sent via satellite are end-to-end encrypted.

Mail Reinvented

Mail undergoes significant improvements, offering streamlined inbox management and enhanced categorization. On-device categorization sorts incoming emails into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions, simplifying email organization. Additionally, a new digest view aggregates relevant emails from businesses for quick scanning.

Safari's Evolution

Safari, renowned for its speed, introduces Highlights and a revamped Reader experience for easier web exploration. Powered by machine learning, Safari extracts key information from webpages, such as article summaries or location details, enhancing browsing efficiency. The redesigned Reader provides distraction-free reading with summaries and table of contents for longer articles.

Passwords Made Simple

Building upon Keychain's legacy, the new Passwords app centralizes access to passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi credentials, and verification codes. Additionally, it offers alerts for common password weaknesses, ensuring robust security practices.

Empowering Privacy

iOS 18 empowers users with enhanced privacy controls. Locked and hidden apps safeguard private information, while users can share specific contacts with apps, preserving privacy. Furthermore, developers can seamlessly connect third-party accessories without accessing a user's entire network, ensuring device privacy.

Transformative Apple Intelligence

Integrated into iOS 18, Apple Intelligence revolutionizes user experiences with advanced writing tools and image capabilities. Systemwide Writing Tools enable rewriting, proofreading, and summarizing text across various apps. Image Playground facilitates playful image creation, offering animation, illustration, or sketch options. Memories in Photos curates personalized photo stories, while Siri becomes more natural and contextually relevant.

Private Cloud Compute and Expanded Siri

Private Cloud Compute sets a new standard for AI privacy, flexibly managing computational capacity for enhanced privacy. Siri gains ChatGPT integration, providing expertise in writing and image understanding seamlessly across Apple platforms.

Diverse Feature Enhancements

iOS 18 brings an array of additional features, including improved Apple Maps with national park hikes, Game Mode for enhanced gaming experiences, expanded Apple Pay capabilities, and SharePlay with Apple Music for collaborative listening. Accessibility updates include Eye Tracking, Music Haptics, and Vocal Shortcuts, ensuring inclusivity across user experiences.

                                                                                                                                                                       Source: Originating at apple