The first ever iOS was released in 2007. Now, after nearly two decades, we have the 18th version, which was released on September 16, 2024. This most recent version, as predicted, offers several fresh features and improvements meant to improve your iPhone experience. Now, all iPhone 16 models and other devices that work with iOS 17 can give you more ways to customise your experience, better privacy protection, and smoother performance.
Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s newest OS version.
Key Features of iOS 18
AI-driven personalization, seamless device connectivity, improved privacy features, expanded customizability, and refined performance for a smoother user experience across Apple’s ecosystem – iOS 18 comes with several new key features. Let’s get into them.
Customisation Enhancements
With its most recent version, iOS marks a new phase of customisation. Now, unlike previously, users can take charge of their home and lock screens. Create custom shortcuts to quickly access your preferred iOS apps and match your look with your widgets.
The Control Center has also been completely rebuilt, so you may customise it to fit your particular needs. Easily add or remove controls, arrange them on several pages, and design a Control Center to your own tastes.
Messaging Improvements
With the addition of RCS support in iOS 18, messaging has changed a lot. Now, you can have richer, more dynamic chats with Android users. Features like scheduled messages, emotive emoji reactions, and an easy-to-use, dynamic UI let you experience a new degree of messaging.
Privacy and Security Updates
iOS 18 safeguards sensitive apps with Face ID or Touch ID by giving users’ privacy and security first priority and including app locking. Improved app permissions also give you exact control over which contacts an app can access, safeguarding your personal information from public view.
Apple Intelligence
This powerful suite of AI tools is designed to enhance your user experience across various apps. You can look forward to features like:
- Intelligent Writing Tools: Effortlessly summarise lengthy texts or generate creative writing prompts.
- Advanced Image Editing: Use AI-powered tools to enhance your photos and create stunning visuals.
New Apps and Features
iOS 18 brings a range of exciting new features and improved apps to enhance your iPhone experience.
Revamped Photos App
The major update to the Photos app makes managing your photo collection simpler than it has ever been. Discover better search results, more intelligent organising options, and a new Insights screen featuring insightful data on your photo collection.
Calculator Reinvented
The Calculator app is now more powerful than ever with the introduction of Math Notes. This innovative feature allows you to perform calculations on separate sheets, making it perfect for complex equations and note-taking. Handwriting recognition ensures seamless input, while the app’s intelligent suggestions help you solve problems efficiently.
Wallet, Reimagine
The Wallet app keeps developing with interesting, fresh ideas. Just by gathering two iPhones together, Tap to Cash will enable fast and simple peer-to-peer payments. Including loyalty programs in Apple Pay transactions further simplifies your shopping experience and pays you for each purchase.
System Requirements of iOS 18
Apple’s iOS 18 presents a notable update for many different kinds of iPhones. Since the new operating system works with all devices that supported iOS 17, many consumers will have a seamless updating experience. Though the foundation of iOS 18 is available to a large user base, some of the more advanced features—especially those driven by Apple Intelligence—are designed for newer hardware even though their accessibility is generally universal.
Specifically, features like advanced image editing, intelligent writing tools, and certain Genmoji capabilities require the A17 Pro chip or later, which is currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro models and newer. Older devices may not be able to fully use Apple’s most recent AI developments, even if they still benefit from the general performance enhancements, increased privacy protections, and other essential features of iOS 18.
iOS 18 allows users of older devices to still enjoy a notable update, but those looking for the complete range of Apple’s AI-powered capabilities should take some thought on upgrading to a newer iPhone model.
iOS 18 vs. iOS 17 Comparison
While iOS 17 was praised for its dependability and speed, iOS 18 pushes the envelope in terms of customising and intelligence, providing a customised experience, especially on more recent devices like the iPhone 15 Pro.
1. Personalization Options
With iOS 18, Apple’s devices have more customisation options. For example, app icons can be placed anywhere on the home screen, and users can order icons in any way they want, not just in a grid. Users can also change the background colours of icons and tools, which was not possible in iOS 17. This makes the device feel more personal.
2. Control Center and App Updates
In iOS 18, the Control Center has been redesigned to include more information about the Journal app, which makes it easier to find things. Also, Maps now has offline terrain maps that are great for places with slow internet. Then, there is the Tap to Cash feature, which was mentioned above. These additions make daily chores easier, while iOS 17’s Control Center didn’t give you as many insights or options.
3. Apple Intelligence Features
Apple Intelligence is one of the most important new features in iOS 18. It adds AI-powered features and makes Siri faster. While these updates make Siri’s answers better when it knows what you’re talking about, they are only available on newer iPhones like the 15 Pro and Pro Max. Even though iOS 17 works, it doesn’t have these powerful AI features.
4. Enhanced Mail and Photos
In iOS 18, both the Mail and Photos apps have been improved to make them less cluttered. This makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for. New graphics and more options for TapBacks make interactions in the Messages app more fun. Even though iOS 17 worked, these apps weren’t as well organised or aesthetically pleasing as they were in iOS 16.
5. Performance and Stability
Despite iOS 18’s appeal, users have reported some initial issues, such as touchscreen sensitivity on newer devices, signalling potential bugs. iOS 17.7, however, is widely recognised as stable, particularly on older devices, making it a preferred choice for those prioritising reliability. Users may consider sticking with iOS 17 for now or waiting for iOS 18’s subsequent updates if stability is paramount.
iOS 18 vs. Android 15 Comparison
The new iOS 18 and Android 15 both make the user experience better in many ways, but they do so in manners that are different from each other in terms of user interface, speed, security, and AI integration. You can see how they compare to each other in some important ways below.
1. User Interface and Customization
Even though iOS 18 makes it easier to customise, it still keeps Apple’s signature simplicity and consistency across all devices.
But Android 15 is still the most customisable, with even more options for home screens, system colours, and the new pinned taskbar for bigger screens that lets you do more than one thing at once.
2. Performance and Efficiency
Apple’s A-series chips are a big part of iOS 18’s performance. They offer optimised speed and efficiency, especially through the new dedicated Game Mode, which makes iOS gaming smoother by prioritising resources.
Android 15, on the other hand, works differently on different devices because it is open-source, which means it can be customised. This means that speed can vary from model to model.
3. Security and Privacy
With Face ID integration for private apps and a central Passwords app, Apple’s security improvements in iOS 18 continue to put a lot of focus on protecting user data. These changes add to iOS’s reputation for strong security across all of its products.
With Android 15, however, Private Space is added. This creates a separate, safe space for private information and apps, giving users more control over their privacy. Android 15 also allows RCS messaging, which improves communication between platforms. iOS’s closed ecosystem protects privacy consistently, but Android 15 gives you more control over your private settings.
4. AI Integration
Both iOS 18 and Android 15 take significant strides in AI but with different focuses. Apple Intelligence in iOS 18 provides enhancements like notification summaries and visual intelligence, enriching user interactions without overwhelming the interface.
Android 15’s integration of Google Gemini pushes AI further by leveraging data from user behaviour to personalise suggestions and app interactions. Android’s AI capabilities are embedded across apps and services, creating a more seamless integration, whereas Apple focuses on AI within specific, user-facing features.
5. Gaming Experience
The new Game Mode on iOS 18 improves the gaming experience by prioritising performance during gaming, especially for users of devices with Apple’s high-performance chips.
Android 15, on the other hand, enhances gaming through its Game Dashboard, which allows users quick access to settings, screenshots, and performance tools within games. Android’s Game Dashboard offers more customisation and control, while iOS 18 provides consistent, optimised performance tailored to Apple’s hardware.
Conclusion
iOS 18 adds a lot of new features to the iPhone. It gives you more ways to customise your home screen and lock screen, better privacy settings, and cool new AI features like advanced writing tools and better photo editing tools. iOS 18 can be used on most iPhones, but some of the newest AI features are only on the newest iPhones.
