While everyone is talking about Apple's new AI platform, Apple Intelligence, we are specifically focusing on the iOS update. Apple announced the release of iOS 18 at their developer event a few days ago.
They mentioned that the latest iOS 18 will be available for a variety of iPhone devices this fall, including older ones.
For example, if you're using an iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPhone XR, or iPhone XS, we have good news: your device will also receive the iOS 18 update.
Interested? We've selected the 5 best iOS 18 features for you to explore.
Before we move on, there's a disclaimer: we haven’t tested any of these features yet, but they are scheduled to be released soon.
Let's start with the major announcement on the iPhone Photos app.
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Photos are organized by topics such as "Recent Days" or "People and Pets" (left), with auto-carousel highlights of photos (right). Image via Apple |
With iOS 18, the Apple Photos app is getting blown away with lots of features.
Now they have changed the entire layout panel to make it look more organized. For example, you don't have to organize your photo albums or collections manually; your photos will be organized in the collection automatically by topics like recent days, trips, people, or pets.
Although this feature has existed in Google Photos for years, the company claims that it will give lightning-fast access to the collections or albums most important to their users. Besides, they have added a new highlights carousel, similar to the Google Photos Memories feature, which will show you a set of photos in a poster-like view.
Collections automatically organize your library by topics like recent days, trips, and people and pets. And Pinned Collections gives you lightning-fast access to the collections or albums most important to you.
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| iMessage has been updated with a variety of new features, including message scheduling and emoji reactions. You can schedule a message to send, which is helpful for sending birthday greetings. You can also use emojis to react to messages that your friends send. Image via Apple |
2. Updated text styling options and new features: message scheduling and emoji reactions on iMessage.
Text, letter, phrase, or emoji—whatever you type—will suggest automatic new effects and animation in iMessage. Some traditional but powerful text editing formats like bold, italics, underline, and strikethrough are going to be available from now on. **
What's more surprising is the newly added “message scheduling” option. Which you can use to schedule any messages to be sent at a specified time later on. For example, you can set a birthday wish message to send after 12 to your best so that you don’t forget it.
Additionally, iOS 18 implemented the most-awaited satellite capabilities messaging option on some iPhone 14 and later devices, where you can send messages without your internet connection. All your iMessages sent over satellite are end-to-end encrypted.
3. Automatic highlights of relevant information on a page and a new reading mode are available inside the Safari browser.
iOS 18 brought Some handy changes to the Safari browser. That includes the auto-highlighting of relevant information on a webpage and a chrome-like reading mode with content summary and table of contents features.
Highlights display helpful information like directions and quick links to learn more about people, music, movies, and TV shows.
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| A new feature for Notes in iOS 18 is the auto-calculation feature. It instantly solves expressions when you type them in Notes, without the calculator app. It's like Excel’s addition and subtraction functions. Image via Apple |
The new iOS update will allow iPhone users to record their notes and then generate a transcript from that recording. While these features are available in many third-party apps, the iPhone's Note will be a stand-alone app for many.
Another cool thing is the new automatic calculation feature inside the notes, like the Excel addition and subtraction function. When you type multiple numbers (i.e., expressions) for calculation using plus or minus signs, it will instantly automatically solve your expression without needing to open the calculator app.
5. Log and organize your feelings, gain insights, and easily search past entries with widgets within the Journal app.
The new iOS update has brought a range of features to the journal app that has been missing for years. One of the most notable additions is the mood log, which allows users to track their feelings throughout the day and identify patterns in their moods.
Another useful feature is the ability to see your writing streak and track when and how often you write.
These are just a few of the many features included in iOS 18, and there are even more updates to other apps on the iPhone. Stay tuned for future content to learn more about the latest updates from Apple.
iOS 18 compatible devices:
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE(2nd generation or later)
Source:
https://www.apple.com/ios/ios-18-preview/