The idea is that you’ll be able to talk more naturally to Siri. Ask questions, and the assistant will be able to understand context better than ever. You can say, “Play that podcast my wife sent me the other day,” and Siri will be able to pull it up. Something like that.
Siri can also help explain how to perform certain functions on your phone if you’re unsure (it’s possible Samsung has into something with Bixby). And if you make a mistake mid-sentence, you don’t have to start over. Siri will be able to understand your mistake and also understand the context of your previous query, so you don’t have to repeat everything over and over again.
Like the way Google’s Gemini is relying on context Based on what’s on the screen, Siri can now understand what’s on the screen when you activate it, so if someone texts you an address, you can activate Siri and ask it to add the address to that person’s business card. All of this is expected to work in first-party and third-party apps.
ChatGPT Integration
Photo: Apple
Apple Intelligence clearly still needs a boost in some cases, so Apple has tapped OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help. The company says it’s using GPT-4o Modeland you control when Siri uses ChatGPT. This supports features like when you ask about the subject of a photo or document (like scanning a PDF that’s hundreds of pages long) and Compose, which lets you generate images and original text from a query.
All of these GPT features are free and do not require an account, however if you are already a subscriber you can link your account and access the paid features.
New Features in iOS 18
Okay, on to the more traditional software features. I’ve collected the top features in iOS 18 below, but there are a lot of smaller changes. You can see the full list here. Direct from Apple.
Remove application grid
For the first time, you can arrange your apps and widgets however you want (just like on Android). Say goodbye to the static grid that Apple has forced on us for nearly two decades. You can also further personalize app icons, setting them to a specific color to match or complement your wallpaper, and even switching them to dark mode. You can also make these apps and widgets look bigger.
More control in Control Center
Control Center, the center that appears when you swipe down on the right edge of your iPhone, is now more customizable. There are now tabs in Control Center, and you can scroll through them with a single, continuous swipe on the home screen. These include your favorites—the most important things you want to access in Control Center—media playback, and even smart home controls.
You can customize the size and layout of everything in Control Center, and that extends to the Lock Screen controls—you can swap out the two icons at the bottom of your iPhone’s lock screen for something more useful. Expect new controls from third-party apps.
Lock and Hide Apps
Finally, you can hide the app to prevent anyone from spying on it, or you can lock the app so that it requires a passcode or biometric authentication every time it launches. Information from this app will be hidden throughout the system, even in notifications and search. Google has launched a similar new app feature called Private Spacewill be available on Android later this year.
Redesigned Photos app
Apple’s Photos app has been completely redesigned in iOS 18. You now have a grid of photos at the top, and below that you can swipe through different collections, like Recent Days, Trips, and People & Pets. This upgrade is combined with a number of other improvements powered by Apple Intelligence, like Clean Up, which can remove unwanted objects from the background of your photos, and the ability to easily find any image through search.
RCS and satellite messaging
It’s safe to say one of Apple’s most anticipated announcements ended up being a small footnote among the company’s announcements. RCS is Rich media servicesThe messaging standard that follows SMS/MMS. Android phones have supported RCS for years, allowing for an upgraded messaging experience by leveraging features from instant messaging apps, like typing indicators, read receipts, and improved photo and video quality. However, none of these features work when an Android user texts an iPhone (or vice versa) because Apple doesn’t support RCS and uses the older SMS standard.
That’s changing, “RCS Messages brings richer media and send and read receipts to people who don’t use iMessage,” according to Apple’s marketing materials. Those texts will still show up in green (instead of blue when you message other iPhone users via iMessage), but it could eventually mark the end of broken messaging experience that has caused many people struggle.
