Digital Trends

Apple lifted the curtain on all of its upcoming software updates during itsWorldwide Developers Conference ( WWDC ) 2024keynote , showcasing what we can expect in all of its next major software updates — includingiOS 18 .

Apple Intelligence , Apple ’s own make of AI tools , will be a large part of all the new software update , including iOS 18 . However , due to hardware constraints and the magnate necessary for AI , not all iPhones that can run iOS 18 will be able-bodied to get Apple Intelligence .

Nonetheless , there ’s a lot to calculate forward to in iOS 18 — and there are a few specific characteristic I really ca n’t await to get my hands on ( plus one I ’m a turn apprehensive about ) .

The new Photos app and Clean Up tool

Though I never considered myself a professional photographer , I ’ve loved contract photos ever since I get my first digital camera . Smartphones have made take pic so much easier , and as I ’ve been using an iPhone for most of my life , I ’ve accumulated a ton of exposure . And once I became a parent , I ’ve takeneven more . In fact , on my 1 TB iPhone 15 Pro , I have over 52,000 photos and 2,000 videos .

The Photos app has largely stay unaltered over the years , at least until iOS 18 . We ’re give out to have a new , simplified user interface and the power to pin collection and retention that are the most important to us . It ’s also getting some Apple Intelligence superpowers , and I ’m peculiarly eager for that .

With Apple Intelligence , we ’ll be able to do better search in Photos . For example , we ’ll be able to search exposure and videos with born speech phrases . For video search outcome , it will be able to find specific moments in those clips and take you right to that section .

One of my favorite tools on Android phones recently has been the power to remove unwanted objects and the great unwashed from the background of my pic ( Magic Eraser in Google Photos ) . Apple is finally adding a similar pecker in its photo - redaction suite in the form of Clean Up .

This uses Apple Intelligence to distinguish and remove distracting objects in the background of your photos without altering the subject . I ’ve been having to habituate the Google Photos app for the Magic Eraser instrument for that , but with iOS 18 , I can stick with the default Apple Photos on my iPhone .

Lastly , as I have so many photos and video of my girl , I look forward to trying out the young Memories feature that lets you create your own video story . All you require to do is type out a verbal description of the storage you need to show off , and Apple Intelligence picks out the good photos and videos based on that command prompt . It sounds like a fun way to create playfulness niggling picture time of my girl to show off to my family and acquaintance , and I ca n’t wait to use it .

Writing Tools look promising

My line of work at Digital Trends take a portion of penning . It ’s fundamentally all I do , and honestly , I would n’t have it any other agency . I enjoy my work , but sometimes I do need a little push .

I often habituate some tool while writing , like Grammarly , to help me check that that my words are right and wait beneficial for you all to read . And with Apple Intelligence , I ’m eager to try out the fresh writing pecker that are implemented systemwide .

I do n’t plan to use the Rewrite dick , as I wish to write my own Word of God personally , but I am curious to give the Proofread and Summarization ones a try . Before I submit my work , I like to give it a aspect over to check that that everything is spell correctly with no typo , periods are where they ’re ask , and other basic things are in order . I am curious to see how well the Proofread creature will work once it ’s useable .

The Summarization puppet is potential to be the one I use the most . I take line often during closet briefings and come across recollective articles throughout the day . There are also a stack of email that impinge on my inbox that are rather lengthy . I hope that the Summarization dick will make my liveliness a bit loose by just give me the primal points of text .

More home screen and Control Center customization

A feature that does n’t employ Apple Intelligence , but one that I still ca n’t waitress to try out out is the new habitation screen customization .

Thoughsome people may not like that iOS is becoming more like Androidwith the customization , I welcome it . I especially care how the Dark Mode icons look since I live in Dark Mode 24/7 , and I am also curious about the icon tinting . Though Apple did n’t show off all great examples , I think it can look good if done powerful .

I also ca n’t wait to tinker around with the new Control Center , which has stayed the same for many years . Being able to put the controls you want anywhere , as well as nonplus third - political party app control , is a big and welcome change . And the fact that you could finally interchange the shortcuts on the curl screen ? It ’s about damned time !

Messages app improvements

Apple is lastly bring some big fresh changes in the Messages app , too .

The feature I ’m most look forward to is RCS backing . However , it was ratherodd that Apple barely mentioned this during the keynote , deal how big of a feature article it is . It may have something to do with Apple being forced to spiel this manus due to regulations , but still , it would have been nice to discover more about what it ’s going to seem like instead of just “ RCS is coming . ”

While Android lover will scoff at Apple finally ease up us a Send Later have for iMessages because they ’ve had it previously , it ’s still a cool feature article that I was n’t expecting . Perhaps my mind was just focalise on the RCS support , or possibly it ’s because I do n’t often involve to schedule messages . But it ’s nice that it ’s run low to be a feature usable for all iMessage substance abuser .

A smarter Siri, hopefully

I scarcely ever use Siri aside from setting timer when cooking or maybe changing the music in the car . But now that Siri will be riddle with Apple Intelligence , I ’m looking forward to giving the whole virtual assistant affair another endeavor .

With Apple Intelligence , Siri is supposed to be more innate , relevant , and personal . It should be able to see you even if you falter , fumble your Word of God , or make multiple petition in one go . It can even interpret the setting on - screen , making it more able than ever before .

Of course , since Apple Intelligence is not presently in the first Io 18 developer beta ( it ’s not go to be available until the fall ) , we ca n’t say for sure if it ’s actually better or not . But I ’m very curious to see if it ’s actually an improvement over the current state of Siri , though that ’s a comparatively low bar .

The image-generation stuff feels uncomfortable

Though AI can definitely be utilitarian , one of my biggest issues with it as a whole relates to the ethics behind it all , especially with persona propagation . And , unfortunately , Apple decided to conjoin that bandwagon .

We bonk that iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence , along with iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia , will have the Image Playground feature of speech . This is a standalone app and is also integrate into first - party apps like Messages , Notes , and more . With Image Playground , user can create young and “ original ” effigy based on a series of descriptive keywords . Your persona can look like an animation , representative , or even a sketch .

you may convey yourself well in Messages or even have a honest film to go with your notes , and it ’s contextually aware . So in Messages , for exemplar , it will offer suggest images free-base on the matter in a ribbon , and in Notes , it can even generate a new image establish on the setting in the surrounding area . Then there ’s Genmoji , which let you make moderately much any emoji you want just by typing in a description .

in person , I ’m a bit uncomfortable with all of Apple ’s mental image - generation tools . In lodge for AI to generate art and images , it has to study from existing art from artists and creators by scraping the internet , and then it incorporates it into the art it bring forth from a prompting . Apple says its image - generation tools were trained on high - timber , licensed , and public data . The three artistic production styles for the Image Playground were also produce by Apple ’s aim team .

It sounds like a good overture than some other image - generation tools , but I still do n’t feel great about it . This is especially true when Apple is often learn as the marque for Godhead and artists ( e.g. , drawing on the iPad with Apple Pencil ) .

During the keynote , when Apple was showing off the Image Playground feature in the Notes app by converting a helping hand - draw resume into an AI - return picture , I shook my head . I personally favour seeing the hand - drawn vignette , as it made your notes look more like , well , your note . The sketch was n’t even terrible looking either , better than my artistic potentiality anyway .

There’s a lot to look forward to

Despite my issue with AI image genesis , I ’m still expect forward to many characteristic in iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence .

Some of the biggest requests I ’ve had in the preceding few yr are in conclusion coming rightful , like more place projection screen customization , customizable lock blind cutoff , a better Control Center , and improved ways to search my photographic and video memories . I also attend forward to getting summary of text in multiple apps and possibly even using Siri for more than just set a timer .

presently , iOS 18 is in developer genus Beta , with a public beta coming in the come after week . The last version of iOS 18 , along with theiPhone 16 , is expected in the fall .