Apple’s iOS 18 is now available.
Users of Apple phones will note the available upgrade in their settings under General and Software Update. It requires at least 7.54GB of space to upload.
The launch brings swiftly up the rear of the iOS 17.7 upgrade (3.45GB), which contains “important security fixes and is recommended for all users”.
iOS 18 comes with many new features, but people will have to wait until October for iOS 18 to begin rolling out Apple Intelligence.
So, what can you expect with iOS 18?
Apple says it’s given Photos its “biggest ever update”.
New collections include Recent Days, People & Pets and Trips. Users can personalise their experience with a customisable layout “that reflects what is most important to them and pin favourite collections to keep them easily accessible”.
Messages includes formatting options like bold, italic, underline and strikethrough; new text effects; and emoji and sticker Tapbacks.
“For times when cellular and Wi-Fi connections aren’t available, Messages via satellite connects users to a satellite in space right from the Messages app to send and receive texts, emoji, and Tapbacks over iMessage and SMS,” Apple says.
“When messaging contacts who do not have an Apple device, the Messages app now supports RCS for richer media and more reliable group messaging compared to SMS and MMS.”
There will be updates to Mail later this year. The Primary category lets users focus on the messages “that matter most or contain time-sensitive information”.
Transactions, Updates and Promotions are grouped by sender in a new digest view that “pulls together all relevant emails from a business”.
When browsing, Apple says Highlights offers key information – a location’s address, a summary, or more information about a movie, TV show or song – after a webpage is loaded.
“The redesigned Reader brings more ways to enjoy articles with a streamlined view, a summary, and a table of contents for longer articles,” the manufacturer says.
“With Distraction Control, users can hide items on a webpage that they may find disruptive to their browsing, such as sign-in banners or content overlays within a website.”
Passwords is a new app built on the foundation of Keychain, and Apple says it makes it easier for users to access their passwords and see all their credentials in one place.
“Passwords is backed by incredibly secure end-to-end encryption; seamlessly syncs across devices; and alerts users when a password could be easily guessed, has been used multiple times, or has appeared in a known data leak.”
As for the forthcoming Apple Intelligence updates, the company says users will be able to “refine their words by rewriting, proofreading and summarising text nearly everywhere they write, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps”.
In Photos, the Memories feature enables users to create movies by typing a description.
The new Clean Up tool “can identify and remove distracting objects in the background of a photo – without accidentally altering the subject”.
In the Notes and Phone apps, users can record, transcribe and summarise audio.
“When a recording is initiated while on a call in the Phone app, participants are automatically notified, and once the call ends, Apple Intelligence generates a summary to help recall key points,” Apple says.
Siri has a new design with a glowing light that wraps around the edge of the screen when active on iPhone.
iOS 18 is a free software update that is available starting today for iPhone Xs and later. Some features may not be available in all regions, all languages, or on all iPhone models. For more information, visit apple.com/au/ios/feature-availability.
