Apple is working hard on the upcoming release of its latest operating system for iPhone.
So, when will iOS 18 be available, which iPhone models will it support, and what new features will it introduce? Here are all the latest news and rumors regarding iOS 18.
When will iOS 18 be released?
Apple typically announces a new version of iOS at its Worldwide Developers Conference, more commonly known as WWDC.
This almost always takes place in early July, with the iOS announcement usually made during the keynote on a Monday. With this in mind, an announcement on June 3 or June 10, 2024 is possible.
Assuming iOS 18 is revealed by then, we’ll probably have to wait until September 2024 for the final version. Apple tends to announce a release date during its main iPhone event, so that iPhone 16 models can ship with the new software.
If you can’t wait that long, you have the option to join Apple’s beta program, which gives you access to unfinished versions of the latest versions of iOS.
It’s important to note that these iterations of the software are still under development and often have bugs and other issues. So we only recommend this route if you’re confident you can work with beta software or have an iPhone that you don’t mind being a testing machine.
Which iPhones will iOS 18 be supported?
Apple hasn’t confirmed which iPhones will be compatible with iOS 18. But if the rumors about AI capabilities are true, it could spell the end for some older models.
When iOS 17 arrived in 2023, the iPhone 8 and iPhone X models were excluded from the list. This time around, we could (although it’s certainly not guaranteed) say goodbye to the iPhone XS, XS Max, XR and iPhone SE (2nd generation). But we’ll have to wait and see.
These iPhones may get iOS 18, but not all features will be supported. This is something Apple has done in the past, so there’s still hope if you’re using an older model.
Here is the list of devices supported by iOS 17:
- iPhone15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhoneX
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
What will be new in iOS 18?
It won’t be until WWDC in June that we’ll get concrete announcements from Apple about what we’ll see in iOS 18. But there are already some rumors that it could be a significant upgrade compared to iOS 17.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in a January 2024 newsletter: “I’m told the new operating system is considered within the company to be one of the biggest iOS updates – if not the biggest important part of the company’s history.
So what exciting new features will iOS 18 include? It’s not clear yet, but there are some rumors.
RCS support
We know that Apple is about to introduce RCS cross-platform messaging support, which will improve the experience between iOS and Android devices.
The company released a statement in late 2023 that confirmed this, saying: “Later next year, we will add support for the RCS Universal Profile, the standard currently published by the GSM Association. We believe RCS Universal Profile will provide a better interoperability experience compared to SMS or MMS. It will work with iMessage, which will continue to be the best and most secure messaging experience for Apple users.
RCS is a new standard aimed at replacing SMS/MMS as the default messaging standard across all platforms. It should integrate with existing messaging apps, such as iMessage and Google Messages, making it simple to share texts, group messages, photos, and have typing indicators so you know when someone is responding. It will also allow you to get read receipts with your friends, family and colleagues, no matter what device or app you are using.
AI boost for Siri and other apps
There could also be a huge upgrade to the often virtual assistant Siri. In recent years, the service has fallen behind Alexa and the Google Assistant by many estimates, but the introduction of generative AI could transform Siri for the better.
Gurman didn’t reveal exactly what would make iOS 18 such a big update, but it will likely revolve around AI. And the Google Pixel 8 & 8 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24 series give some clues as to what that might entail.
Much of this focuses on photos, with the ability to remove subjects from an image, move/resize them, or fill in missing areas using generative AI. iOS already has the ability to pop people out of an image and then use them as stickers in messages, so it feels like some of the groundwork has already been done.
An Apple version of Google’s Best Take feature wouldn’t be out of the question, nor would potentially some of the translation, transcription, or visual search features of the S24 phones.
AI fever could also reach other applications like Messages, where suggested replies could be improved, Notes would also benefit from AI search capabilities, not to mention that Apple Music would have the ability to create lists of more personalized automatic readings.
Our sister publication, Macworld, discussed how iOS 18 appears to be the start of Apple’s push into generative AI. So we hope it will bring some interesting and useful new improvements when it arrives later this year.
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