iOS 18: Release date, new features, and compatible iPhones

• iOS 18 release date
• iOS 18 personal impressions
• iOS 18 new features
• iOS 18 compatible devices

iOS 18 release date

iOS 18 personal impressions

Revamped stock apps and more customization 

• iOS 18.1 (Currently out): This initial update will bring the first round of Apple Intelligence features, focusing on email and message management, writing tools, photo editing, and call recording/transcription.
  
  
• iOS 18.2 (Early December): Users can expect marquee features like lock-screen notification prioritizing, Image Playground, Genmoji, and the initial integration of ChatGPT with Siri. This update will also expand Apple Intelligence's localized English support to several new countries.
  
  
• iOS 18.3 (Late December): Primarily a bug-fix update for iOS 18.2, this release may also include some new Siri features, such as Personal Context and deeper app integration.

iOS 18.1

• Writing Tools––Enabling you to proofread and rewrite text natively in almost any app. You can review the suggested edits one by one or apply them all at the same time. Also lets you summarize given text in a table or bullet points, make a list, and so on. Probably one of the most useful new features that will go live with iOS 18.1

• Siri––While the more capable Siri is coming in early 2025, the current iteration is scoring a new look, giving a glowing overlay when Siri is activated (this works on iOS, macOS, and in CarPlay). Still, the iOS 18.1 iteration of Siri lets you type commands instead of having to always talk to it. The assistant will reportedly also score better context-awareness and will be able to follow along if you start changing your query mid-sentence.

• Mail––The default email app will let you summarize emails and issue quick-tap responses thanks to a feature dubbed Smart Reply. If Apple Intelligence deems a certain email as high-priority, you will be notified of it with priority.

• Messages––The Smart Reply feature arrives in Messages as well, allowing you to quickly send adequate responses.

• Photos––Aside from a big redesign, the stock photo app also gets some AI features, namely Memory Movies. This functionality lets you type in a prompt and have Apple Intelligence sift through your photo library, creating an appropriate movie. The Photos app also scores a Clean Up tool that lets you remove unwanted objects from your images.

• Focus Modes––A new Reduce Interruptions focus mode will rely on Apple Intelligence to only notify you of important notifications.

• Notifications––You will be presented with an AI summary of your notifications on the lock screen. This feature works with most apps out there, but you will most often see it with messaging apps, email, and other apps that can deliver multiple notifications in a relatively tiny amount of time. 

• Phone––iOS 18.1 will let you record phone calls and automatically transcribe them straight to the Notes app.

• Safari––The stock browser gets a summarize feature as well as the ability to remove distractions like ads and banners.

IOS 18.2

• Image Playground––Lets you create custom images based on text description. Just describe what you want, choose a style, and flick through the results that Apple Intelligence has generated for you. 
  
  
• Genmoji––This one will let you create unique emoji based on a text prompt. The emoji can either be stock ones or use any frequent face from your Photos app as a template. 
  
  
• ChatGPT integration in Siri––Apple's smart assistant can now tap into ChatGPT's powers when you ask it to, giving you the full array of AI capabilities of the most popular AI chatbot out there (you can also log with your own account information)

  
  
• Additional Writing Tools options––"Compose" and "Describe your change" have been added to the Writing Tools suite. 
  
  
• Visual Intelligence for iPhone 16 users––By pressing the new Camera Control button, iPhone 16 users can now snap a picture and search the web for information about what's captured.
Think of this as Apple's take on Google's visual search. 
  
  
• Image Wand––This new feature lets you turn your rudimentary sketches into complete graphics

  
  
• Redesigned Mail app––The stock Mail app now has categories, intelligently sorting your mail and keeping it well organized

Other iOS 18 features

• RCS messaging:iOS 18 now finally supports RCS for a better messaging experience between iOS and Android devices. Here's what this means. 

• Lock and hide apps:  iOS 18 now allows you to lock apps with Face ID so that nobody else can snoop into your private data. You can also hide apps, which will now appear in a new "hidden" folder at the bottom of your App Library, unlockable only by Face ID. 
  
  
• You will be able to continue playing music while using the camera app, finally! This way, you will be able to create superb stories for your social media stories. 

• Safari: The stock iOS browser gets a new Highlights feature, which lets you collate relevant information on the sites you visit. With the help of machine intelligence, Safari can quickly show you only a summary of the key aspects of a webpage, like the rating of a venue, the essential contact details, its location, and more. An improved Reader mode is also here. 

• New Passwords app: Keychain gets promoted to Passwords, a hub containing all your passwords, passkeys, verification codes, and passwords you've shared with your iCloud family. 

• Messages: Other iOS essentials like Messages and Mail are also getting some love. Messages, in particular, scores revamped tapbacks (the reactions you can apply to incoming messages) with colorful icons. You can also react with any emoji. Messages also gets the ability to schedule texts. There are cool new effects that will allow you to express your messages in a better way. Apple has additionally incorporated additional formatting options to Messages, such as of strike-through and underlined text.

• Mail: The stock email client scores a visual redesign and a new Categorization feature, which automatically sorts incoming email in different categories depending on the content. Aside from the Primary tab, by default you'll also have access to dedicated tabs for promotions, transactions, and updates. 

• Game Mode: With iOS 18, the iPhone scores the Mac's dedicated Game mode, which aims to minimize distractions and prioritizes the running game. Once you open a game, you will no longer be bothered by app notifications. Of course, this feature can be disabled.
  
  

Extra accessibility settings

• Vocal Shortcuts: Users will be able to designate unique custom phrases to Siri, which will be used to trigger existing shortcuts. For example, you can set up Siri to turn on low-power mode by saying, "I'm running out of juice."

• Atypical speech recognition: This one will allow users with cerebral palsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or stroke to be better understood by their iPhone and more easily control the device with their voice. 

• Eye tracking: Another feature that aims to help people with speech issues, Eye Tracking will essentially enable you to navigate your device with your eyes only. Using the front-facing camera, Eye Tracking is set up and calibrated in seconds and all the machine learning required for this tool is kept on-device and is not shared with Apple. No additional hardware or accessories are needed, and the feature works across iOS and iPadOS apps. Users will be able to employ their eyes to press physical buttons, swipe the screen, and make other gestures.

• Music Haptics: Apple Music and other music-streaming apps will eventually play taps, textures, and refined vibrations in sync with the music you listen to, which should benefit people who are hard of hearing.
  
  
• Vehicle Motion Cues: Reading on your phone while inside a moving vehicle is one of the fastest ways to score a headache. No more, says Apple, and announces a brand new Vehicle Motion Cues feature, which displays dots across your screen that move to the opposite side in relation to the vehicle movement. For example, if the vehicle swerves left, the dots move to the right and vice versa; if the vehicle accelerates, the dots will move backwards, if the brakes are applied, the dots will move upward. This will offset the detrimental effects of motion sickness.

iOS 18 compatible devices