WWDC: What’s new in iOS 18 which ships this fall?

While Apple Intelligence is woven into the new improvements announced across all Apple’s primary products (iPhone, iPad, Mac) there are also many enhancements unique to each platform. Here’s what’s new to iOS 18.

What Apple said

“We are thrilled to introduce iOS 18. It is a huge 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 a tremendously 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.”

We discuss some of the improvements in Apple Intelligence elsewhere, but here’s what’s new to iOS 18.

Customize Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Control Center.

Users can now arrange apps and widgets in any open space on the Home Screen, including placing them right above the dock for easy access or perfectly framing a wallpaper. App icons and widgets can take on a new look with a dark or tinted effect, or made larger.

Control Center has been redesigned to provide easier access to the controls you need. You also gain access to useful tools such as media playback, Home controls, and third-party apps. Available options are showcased in a new controls gallery, and you get to decide how controls are presented.

You can also change the two controls shown at the bottom of the Lock Screen, which have always included Camera and torch – now they can be other things.

Photos Gets a Unified View, New Collections, and Customization

Photos has been redesign to help you manage huge images collections. Expect a simplified single view as your starting point, and new collections that help you browse by themes without having to organize content into albums. A new carousel view presents highlights that update each day and feature favorite people, pets, places, and more.

New Ways to Stay Connected in Messages

iMessage receives all-new text effects abd formatting like bold, underline, italics, and strikethrough. Tapbacks expand to include any emoji or sticker, and now users can compose a message and schedule to send it at a later time.

When messaging contacts who do not have an Apple device, the Messages app now supports RCS.

Messages via satellite

iOS 18 introduces Messages via satellite for the times when cellular and Wi-Fi connections aren’t available. This automatically prompts users to connect to their nearest satellite right from the Messages app to send and receive texts, emoji, and Tapbacks over iMessage and SMS. Messages sent via satellite are end-to-end encrypted.

Big Updates to Safari

Safari gains AI generated website highlights, a redesigned Reader experience that includes a table of contents and more.

Introducing the Passwords App

Building on the foundation of Keychain, which was first introduced more than 25 years ago, the new Passwords app makes it easy for users to access their passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes. The app also includes alerts for users regarding common weaknesses, such as passwords that are easily guessed or used multiple times and those that appear in known data leaks.

New Privacy Features

Users can now lock an app; and for additional privacy, they can hide an app, moving it to a locked, hidden apps folder. When an app is locked or hidden, content like messages or emails inside the app are hidden from search, notifications, and other places across the system.

iOS 18 puts users in control by letting them choose to share only specific contacts with an app. In addition, developers now have a way to seamlessly connect third-party accessories

Additional features in iOS 18 include: 

• In Apple Maps, users can browse thousands of hikes across national parks in the United States and easily create their own custom walking routes, which they can access offline. Maps users can also save their favorite national park hikes, custom walking routes, and locations to an all-new Places Library and add personal notes about each spot.

• Game Mode enhances the gaming experience with more consistent frame rates, especially during long play sessions, and makes wireless accessories like AirPods and game controllers incredibly responsive.

• Users get new ways to pay with Apple Pay, including the ability to redeem rewards and access instalments from their eligible credit or debit cards. With Tap to Cash, users can send and receive Apple Cash by simply holding two iPhone devices together. Tickets in Apple Wallet bring key event information like stadium details and more.

• SharePlay with Apple Music allows even more users to share control of music playing from HomePod, Apple TV, or any Bluetooth-enabled speaker, making listening together more fun and engaging.

• The AirPods experience gets even more personal, private, and convenient with Siri Interactions, allowing AirPods Pro (2nd generation) users to simply nod their head yes or gently shake their head no to respond to Siri announcements.

• In the Notes app, formulas and equations entered while typing are solved instantly with Math Notes.

• Calendar becomes even more helpful by showing both events and tasks from Reminders.

• Medical ID has been redesigned to make it even easier for first responders to find the most important information in an emergency.

• Emergency SOS Live Video allows users to share context through streaming video and recorded media. In the middle of an emergency call, participating emergency dispatchers can send a request for a user to share live video or media from the user’s camera roll over a secure connection, making it easier and faster to get help.

• The Home app introduces guest access.

• Accessibility updates include Eye Tracking, a built-in option for navigating iPhone with just eyes; Music Haptics, a new way for users who are deaf or hard of hearing to experience music using the Taptic Engine in iPhone; and Vocal Shortcuts that enable users to perform tasks by making a custom sound.

Availability

The developer beta of iOS 18 is available through the Apple Developer Program now,, a public beta should appear next month, and the OS should ship in fall.

More WWDC coverage, please also read

• WWDC: Will Apple lead the world in AI?
• WWDC: Apple announces Apple Intelligence
• WWDC: Private Cloud is the future of cloud services
• WWDC: What’s new in iOS 18 which ships this fall?
• WWDC: This is what’s coming to the Mac with Sequoia
• WWDC: iPads get smarter, gain calculator, more
• WWDC: visionOS hits 2.0, Vision Pro goes international
• WWDC: Xcode gains a little AI of its own, making coding easier
• WWDC: Apple ramps up its developer support
• iPhone + AI will launch an Apple upgrade cycle

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