Since Apple finished their WWDC 2024 keynote in June I’ve had iOS 18 in my head. Apple announces the annually scheduled iPhone software update each year during its developer conference before rolling out a beta that includes the latest features and changes. It’s typically my job to dig into the beta to provide guides, reviews, and profiles of the various changes coming to iPhones everywhere in the autumn.
That’s exactly the case this year with iOS 18. After the keynote had ended I installed an iOS 18 beta for developers on my iPhone to take a first look at the new features Apple showed off during WWDC. In mid-July, I began testing the beta public through its tests. When Apple was ready to launch an official version of iOS 18 which was on Tuesday (September 16) I was running at least one form of the operating system update on four distinct devices. One of them was the most recent beta for the iPhone 12 I use as my daily phone.
My views on the latest iPhone software by reading my iOS 18 review. However, if you aren’t able to take the time needed to get through the entire book and the Tom’s Guide website doesn’t pay me by the hour I’ve put together an easy overview of what I love in iOS 18 and what I think could be improved upon by the changes Apple will undoubtedly release changes to the software.
So, if you’re eager to download and install iOS 18 and wondering what new iPhone features you should try first, here’s a summary of the main lessons I learned from my experience over the past three months working in iOS 18’s company.
A majority of the time, when you open an iPhone you install a fresh operating system, everything appears identical, even though Apple has added important new features. It’s not the case with iOS 18 photos which is going through an extensive overhaul that is the most significant ever seen in this history application, Apple says.
The changes are so significant in Photos that have been made to Photos in iOS 18 that the version of the app in the app version that is released to the general public doesn’t appear like the one that was in the early beta versions of iOS 18 beta. In the beginning, Apple included a carousel on the top of the Photos app. When you move your finger across the top or left of the photo library, you’ll be able to see a selection of images. However, in iOS 18, beta 5 Apple eliminated the carousel feature, deciding to concentrate on the library of photos presumably based on feedback from beta testing.
It wouldn’t have been the feedback that I’d give. Although I think that the first Versions of iOS 18 Photos could have been more obvious the fact that something was to be found on both sides of the library if you swipe, I like the fact that the carousel emphasized the thing I love about Photos that is discovering photos I would have otherwise not thought about. The sensation of discovery is missing in the current version or at the very most, it’s been moved.
The basic principles aspects Photos redesign remain in the same place. Start the app and your collection of photos fills the top portion of the screen. Other collections are located in the lower half. The downward swipe will take you further into the library of photos and an upward swipe lets you browse through different collections, albums, and memories.
It’s a style that requires time to get used to. It’s been on IOS 18 features for several months and am not accustomed to it. At least, you’ve got some choice in deciding how these collections, memories, and albums show up. Simply scroll to the end of the app and then tap the Customize and Reorder option.
The latest version of Notes offers several major changes, yet each version is more efficient than the previous. If you’re not currently using Apple’s Notes app, which is built-in to help you write notes or record your thoughts, then the iOS 18 version will be the one that encourages users to take Notes an attempt.
The math feature in Notes is going to attract the most attention because it’s shiny You can write a math formula and the built-in calculator will provide the solution. In reality, though, it’s difficult to use this particular feature on the 6.1-inch iPhone screen with your finger as the primary input device it’s better using the Apple Pencil on an iPad-sized display. However, Math in Notes also allows you to write formulas, like the running total of your costs. When you alter the input data, Notes will update the total. This is a clever method to ensure that your notes are kept up to the current.
The other features in Notes that truly amaze me. I love the collapsible sections Apple added to assist me in organizing my notes. Also, I like that you can create notes in audio directly within Notes instead of connecting to a recording in the Voice Memos application. Auto-generated transcripts are useful however they are not always as precise as I’d like to be able to.
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I’ve written previously about the amount of time I’ve spent using my Fitness application in the past since iOS 16 made it possible to keep track of your steps, without requiring you to use you have an Apple Watch. It encourages me to move even though the app’s constant prompting tries to encourage me to move, when I should be taking my body for time to rest.
Similar to to update to watchOS 11, the update Apple recently launched, iOS 18 modifies the Fitness application to allow users to stop their activity streaks to allow them to have a break to recuperate from injuries or illnesses without forfeiting their progress towards earning a new badge. (In fact, you can stop your streak indefinitely if require more recuperation time.) You can also alter your daily goal for moving every Monday, taking into consideration that certain days are likely to be more demanding than others.
I’m not too enamored of the Highlights feature of Safari It aims to extract short bits of important information from websites you browse. I don’t believe it’s providing useful information with the current version and the way I’ve seen it isn’t very easy to use.
Highlights are supposed to offer information about places such as people, films or shows however, at the moment it’s the place that’s the most frequently mentioned information that is displayed. This information tends to be the location on a map, as well as its hours of operation which is arguably simpler to locate on Google’s Maps app.
That is assuming you are aware that there are Highlights to see from the beginning. A tiny AI icon in purple located in your address bar is intended to inform you that there’s more in this area, but it’s easy to miss.
In reality, all the additions to Safari in iOS 18 appear to take a bit longer in development. The most refined feature is the summaries which appear within the Reader view in Safari to provide you with an overview of the content you’re reading. However, by nature, they just provide a rough outline. The Hide Distractions tool allows you to eliminate distracting elements on the web page using just a tap, but you can do this while you scroll through the page, which is similarly distracting. Better to look at the page using Reader If you can.
As I mentioned in my review Apple Intelligence isn’t available in the current version of iOS 18 that Apple just released, although that’s due to design. Apple is set to release new Apple Intelligence functions in October, as part of the iOS 18 update. If you own a device that can run Apple Intelligence – that’s one of last year’s iPhone 15 Pro models or one of the latest iPhone 16 models that will be available on Thursday (September 20) This is the time to test these new tools for writing as well as images-generation capabilities.
Many Apple Intelligence features will arrive with subsequent updates. We may see updates to compatible phones into 2025, based on certain reports.
Due to necessity, my attention has been on the major iOS 18 upgrade, but I’ve had a play in the iOS 18.1 beta for developers where you’re able to test the initial Apple Intelligence functions. As someone who has a complicated relationship with Siri, I’m excited to find out how the new digital assistant performs in everyday usage, thanks to Apple Intelligence’s enhanced capabilities. I’m a bit stammering which has made it challenging to talk to Siri previously, and I’m eager to find out whether assertions that Siri does not get agitated by changing your mind mid-sentence is true.
The idea of natural language search for images is also intriguing. It will make it simpler to locate things with simple language, rather than relying on that I’ve come across the correct combination of keywords that will yield the information I’m seeking. I’m interested to see how a memory movie where you put together an assemblage of videos and still images by making use of a few language prompts to create an entertaining video.
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