iOS 18 Features, Release Date, Supported Devices, and More

iOS 18, the next iteration of the iPhone operating system was finally showcased at WWDC. As expected, iOS 18 is one of the biggest updates in history bringing tons of improvements and new features.

If you are eagerly waiting for the iOS 18 update, then you landed in the right place. Here’s everything you need to know about the iOS 18, including the features list, release date, supported devices, and more.

iOS 18 Release Date

Apple showcased the iOS 18 at its annual developer conference, WWDC 24, on Monday. Following the announcement, the first developer beta of iOS 18 was promptly released for compatible devices.

Apple has announced the iPhone launch event which is scheduled to take place on September 9. This means, the iOS 18 RC will release on September 9 whereas the public release is expected on September 16 or September 17.

iOS 18 Supported Devices

In terms of availability, a big list of Apple devices are in line to get the highly anticipated software update. Apple really wants more iPhone users to experience the new features of iOS 18. Therefore, they have maintained the same eligibility criteria as last year, making the update available for iPhone XR and newer models.

Here’s the complete list of iPhones that support iOS 18 update.

iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 Mini
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 Mini
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11
iPhone SE 2nd Gen
iPhone SE 3rd Gen
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR

iOS 18 Features

Now that iOS 18 has been officially announced, we can discuss all the official features without relying on rumors and leaks.

App and Widget Coloring

iOS 18 brings Material You-like app coloring to iPhones, but it is not exactly like Android. It lets you set your preferred color for app icons and widgets. You can match them with the color of your iPhone wallpaper manually or through the suggested colors. It only works in Dark Mode, which means the background of each icon will be dark. Apart from coloring, you can also make them appear larger.

Rearrange Apps and Widgets

Finally, a basic feature that should have been available for years has made it to the iPhone. You can now rearrange your apps and widgets freely anywhere on the home screen. This is great for personalizing the home screen.

Redesigned Control Center

Control Center now supports multiple pages, which can store similar types of controls. All tabs are easily accessible with swipe up and down gestures. You can also add any control from the control gallery (with many new options) to keep your frequently used options in the Control Center for instant access.

Now you can also rearrange and resize controls in the control center.

Change Controls on Lock Screen

iOS 18 allows you to change quick buttons on the lock screen. For example, you can swap the torch option with notes to quickly take notes when needed. On iPhone 15 Pro and later, you can also use the Action button to access these controls.

Lock and Hide Apps

The new update for the iPhone also brings the ability to lock and hide apps. Locked apps will require Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode to unlock. If you don’t want an app to be visible on the home screen, you can now easily hide it. Information about these apps will not appear in search or notifications once locked.

Messages

Another Apple product that has many new features with iOS 18 is Messages. Starting with Tapback, which is now improved and allows sending emojis or stickers, including live stickers.

You can now schedule messages to be sent later, which can be particularly handy for occasions like sending birthday wishes or for various other scenarios.

Put weight on your words by adding text effects. You can choose effects for words in messages that play and pop out for attraction.

Messaging over satellite allows you to send messages even in areas with no Wi-Fi or cellular coverage. It will be supported on iPhone 14 and later models.

RCS Support is another addition that lets iPhone users easily connect with Android phone users via messaging.

Apple Mail

You can now easily manage your emails with the new categorization feature. It keeps similar types of emails in the same category. These categories differentiate personal emails from other low-priority ones. The category filters include Primary, Transaction, Updates, and Promotion.

On iOS 18, you can now see a snippet of all messages in one place from the same sender.

Topographic Maps

Apple Maps now features topographic maps for detailed trail networks and hikes. You can also save them for offline use. And you can create your hikes.

Game Mode

A dedicated game mode comes to the iPhone with iOS 18 for seamless gaming. Just like on other phones, this acts as a game booster that improves gaming performance by minimizing the background and increasing the game’s frame rate. It is helpful in long gaming sessions.

It also reduces audio latency with AirPods and improves the connectivity of the controller.

Redesigned Photos App

The Photos app gets its biggest redesign ever. The new look of the Photos app helps you find photos much faster. The app organizes photos on topics like trips, recent, pets, and more. A new carousel shows the best moments in a beautiful poster-like view.

In my opinion, it still requires refinements for the best experience.

Apple Passwords App

Apple brings a new app to save all your passwords in one place. The Passwords app is free to use and works across devices, including Windows via iCloud.

Wallet App improvement

The wallet app update makes it easier to send and receive payments. It works similarly to Namedrop where you need to bring two iPhones close to each other and the assigned transfer will take place.

Apple Intelligence

Apple finally integrated AI into its devices including iPhones with iOS 18. However, there is a catch, only iPhone 15 Pro is eligible for these features which doesn’t make this addition interesting.

Some of the main AI features include:

Priority Notification on the lock screen
Writing tools in different apps
Create images including personalized images matching contacts look
Genmoji for generating emojis
Image playground
Clean Up tool to remove unwanted objects in images
Search Photos and Videos with prompts
ChatGPT is also coming later this year

Other Features

The iOS 18 packs so many features that we haven’t discussed yet. Here are the other remaining features.

Safari browser detects important information on webpages and highlights them
Summary and table of contents of an article before even reading it.
Hands-free Siri interaction on AirPods Pro (2nd generation), like nodding your head to pick up and reject calls
Voice Isolation on AirPods Pro
Live audio transcription of your audio sessions like Calls, lessons, and more
Log your state of mind in the Journal app, View your writing streaks in the Journal app
InSight in the Apple TV app
Home App improvements
Privacy and Security improvements

So, this is all about the upcoming iOS 18 update.

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