At its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 10th, 2024, Apple took the wraps off the highly anticipated iOS 18, the next major update to its iPhone operating system. The event, which was held both in-person at Apple’s Cupertino headquarters and streamed online, highlighted Apple’s increasing focus on artificial intelligence (AI), user customization, and privacy enhancements.
Apple Intelligence Takes Center Stage
The biggest announcement was the introduction of Apple Intelligence, Apple’s new AI framework that powers many of the new features across iOS 18 and its other operating systems. CEO Tim Cook framed it as going beyond just artificial intelligence to “personal intelligence”.
“We believe [WWDC] will kick off an AI-driven accelerated growth cycle on the iPhone and services that will be the narrative of the Apple story for the coming years,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
Apple also announced a partnership with OpenAI to bring the power of ChatGPT to Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant. This will allow Siri to engage in more natural conversations, provide personalized suggestions based on user context, and even help with using Apple devices.
Check: iPhone 16 Leaks, Features, Price, Camera
Home Screen Customization
iOS 18 introduces the most significant update to the iPhone’s home screen since the original iPhone. Users can now freely place app icons anywhere on the screen, tint icons to match their wallpaper, and even design their own emoji in a feature called Genmoji.
The Control Center also gets an overhaul, with support for third-party app tiles and the ability to edit tile style, size and layout. Apple has also redesigned several core apps like Photos, which gains AI-powered object removal and a new gallery view.
User Privacy
On the privacy front, iOS 18 adds the ability to lock individual apps behind Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode with the new Lock Apps feature. Users have more granular control over what contact information they share with apps.
The Messages app gains the ability to schedule sending messages for later and improved text formatting options. Mail can now categorize messages by content type for easier management.
iOS 18 Availability and Supported Devices
The developer beta of iOS 18 is available starting June 10th, with a public beta to follow in July and final release in the fall. However, some of the new AI capabilities may require an iPhone 15 Pro or later to take full advantage of the on-device processing.
“The WWDC marks the start of a new frontier for Apple as the company looks to further bring AI to its developer community and lay the groundwork to bring generative AI to its consumers,” commented Ives.
With iOS 18, Apple looks to maintain its lead in the premium smartphone market by doubling down on AI-powered features, user customization and privacy – areas where it believes it has an advantage over rivals. As the battle for smartphone OS supremacy heats up, consumers can look forward to more intelligent, personalized and secure experiences on their iPhones come this fall.