In an interview with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple reportedly revealed ambitious plans for iOS 18 later this year. Gurman predicted that iOS 18 might be the “biggest” software update for the iPhone ever in this week’s Power On newsletter’s Q&A section. “I’m told that the new operating system is seen within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates—if not the biggest—in the company’s history,” according to him.
Although Gurman has promised to reveal more information regarding the precise changes and additions to iOS 18 shortly, we do know about two new features that will most certainly be part of the update, and they are detailed below.
The first developer beta for iOS 18 will be released in June during Apple’s annual developer conference, WWDC. The operating system itself will be released in September.
Smarter Siri
According to Gurman, generative AI will be included in iOS 18 and “should improve how both Siri and the Messages app can field questions and auto-complete sentences.” He went on to say that Xcode, Apple Music, Pages, Keynote, and other platforms’ apps have all been considered for generative AI capabilities.
According to The Information, Apple is planning to deeply integrate the Shortcuts app with Siri to enable users to automate complicated tasks using large language models. Supposedly, this feature will be available in the next iOS 18 update for the iPhone in 2024, according to the report.
With the release of ChatGPT, a chatbot capable of responding to queries and other commands, by OpenAI in 2022, generative AI experienced a meteoric rise in popularity. As more and more companies rushed into the chatbot space last year, Google and Microsoft released very similar chatbots. The chatbots can mimic human speech patterns thanks to extensive training in large language models.
RCS support in iOS 18
Based on the announcement made by Apple in November 2023, the cross-platform messaging standard RCS will most likely be included in iOS 18 on the iPhone. The support will begin “later” in 2024.
The following enhancements to the default messaging experience between Android devices and iPhones should be the outcome of RCS support:
- Images and videos with a higher pixel density
- Audible messages
- Indicators for typing
- Review invoices
- Wireless communication between Android and iOS smartphones
- Group chats have been enhanced, and now iPhone users can easily exit a discussion that involves Android users.
- Superior security measures in comparison to SMS
Blue bubble conversations between iPhones in iMessage already have these modern features, and many of them are also available in third-party messaging apps like Telegram and WhatsApp. If your iPhone has RCS support, you can add more functionality to the green bubbles in Messages.
The report says Apple’s iOS 18 will be huge.
According to Apple, it is one of the most significant updates to iOS ever.
One of the most significant releases in Apple’s history might be iOS 18, which is expected to be unveiled at the company’s WWDC event in June.
This is according to what Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his subscribers-only newsletter about the impending release, as reported by 9to5Mac. He says that iOS 18 has been “seen within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates—if not the biggest—in the company’s history.”
The fact that iOS 18 is highly valued by Apple is not new; Gurman covered the subject in November 2023, mentioning that Apple took the unusual measure of halting the development of the software to fix bugs.
The emphasis on generative AI is likely one of the things that will set the next version of Apple’s mobile platform apart. Gurman claims this will lead to a more intelligent Siri and extensive use of AI in core iOS applications like Messages and Apple Music.
A “lot more” is on the way with iOS 18, according to Gurman, but no specifics are available at this time.
Possibly around the time of iOS 18’s release in 2024, Macrumors noted that Apple would announce iPhone support for the cross-platform messaging standard RCS. As a result of RCS support, users will enjoy a more seamless experience when messaging on Android and iOS devices, respectively.
With everything riding on this year’s WWDC, it’s sure to be an exciting one. Although it usually happens in June, Apple has not yet made an official announcement about its developer-centered conference.
Conclusion
Apple is set to release iOS 18 later this year, with Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman predicting it to be the “biggest” software update in the iPhone’s history. The update is expected to feature generative AI technology, allowing Siri and the Messages app to field questions and auto-complete sentences. Apple plans to incorporate large language models into Siri to automate complex tasks, likely in an iPhone software update coming in 2024. Additionally, iOS 18 will support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone, resulting in improvements to the default messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices.
FAQS
What can we expect from iOS 18?
We’re also likely to see native iPhone apps like Apple Music and Keynote with generative AI features. iOS 18 might also usher in an iPhone experience that’s more customizable and more open to outside software. Apple is likely to allow third-party app marketplaces and alternative in-app payments.
Which phones will get iOS 18?
If Apple sticks to the 5-year window, iOS 18 should support every iPhone released in 2019 and later. This means the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max would be dropped from the list as they’ll be hitting the 5-year mark in 2024.