The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are among Apple’s most repairable iPhones in recent years. The company made several internal design changes to make battery replacements and component swaps easier.
The changes will allow you to seamlessly swap the TrueDepth camera system between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro without issues.
With RCS support, iOS 18 brings a huge upgrade to the cross-device Android and iPhone messaging experience. It enables users of both devices to share high-quality media and enjoy features like read receipts and typing indicators.
However, RCS chats between Android and iPhone lack end-to-end encryption (E2EE). The GSM Association, which developed the RCS standard, is working to fix this security gap.
The new Photos app in iOS 18 brings the biggest changes ever to how you browse your pictures, videos and memories on your iPhone. Gone are the separate tabs across the bottom. Now the Photos app delivers a single, scrollable view. Scroll up to see your library; scroll down to sort through albums, people and memories.
It takes some getting used to — and the big changes are driving some people absolutely insane. To get a grip on all the changes, you need to learn where to find your recently saved images, deleted photos and your album of hidden photos.
Here’s how it works.
Apple released iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11 and macOS Sequoia Monday. After Apple showcased these operating systems in June at WWDC24, it revealed the release date for iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia’s first stable build at the “It’s Glowtime” event.
They are available now for download on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.
iOS 18 is a surprisingly rich software update with major new customization features and big changes in Photos, Messages, Notes and more. Although Apple Intelligence features are going to continue grabbing headlines for the next year, it’ll only be available on the latest iPhones later in the fall.
The iOS 18 update is packed with features — and it’s out right now. Find it in Settings > General > Software Update. It’s compatible with all the same devices as iOS 17.
After you update, here’s the big list of things you should check out. You should definitely start with editing your Home Screen, reading how the new Photos app works and checking out the new iMessage features.
iOS 18 will add a button to pause video recordings in your iPhone’s Camera app. Apple introduced the pause option in the Camera app with the iOS 18 Release Candidate build.
While basic, the pause option will ensure you don’t have to record multiple clips.
Like iPhones, Apple regularly updates AirPods with new features. iOS 18 will continue that trend by introducing several enhancements for Apple’s earbuds. They include interacting with Siri using head gestures, lowering audio latency while gaming, and more.
Read on to see what new AirPods features iOS 18 will bring to further improve the best earbuds for Apple fans.
iOS 18 is packed full of great features Cult of Mac has covered at length — but the upcoming iPhone software update packs many more tiny features and small improvements that Apple did not mention or talk about. If you know to look out for these features, they’ll make the everyday interactions with your phone faster and easier.
Here’s a roundup of 18 little changes and useful features in iOS 18. Keep reading or watch our video.
The new AI-powered Clean Up feature in the Apple Photos app got people raving about the magical ability to “fix” pictures — and posting examples of when things go horribly wrong. The positive experiences sound great, but the negative ones look like pure nightmare fuel.
Apple added the Clean Up feature in iOS 18.1 beta 3, released Wednesday, and users put the new photo touch-up tool to the test immediately. The results, posted on X, show a wide range of outcomes, including some hilarious misfires.
You’ve wanted to try iOS 18 since Apple showed it off in June but held off for fear of massive bugs. But the current iOS 18 beta is nearly the final one — and it’s really quite stable. Put it on your iPhone now and jump ahead of friends and co-workers by about a month.
And there are great new features to try, including a fully customizable Home Screen, an improved Control Center, a new Passwords app, and more.
Apple reportedly added support for JPEG XL to the iPhone Camera app in iOS 18. That’s left many iPhone users wondering, what the heck is JPEG XL?
It’s intended to be the replacement for the classic JPEG image format with new features for use on the web. And apparently, iPhone users soon can take pictures in this format, not simply view them.
The iPhone’s new Game Mode in iOS 18 will enhance graphics and reduce controller latency. It comes on automatically when you first launch a game.
Game Mode also reduces the background activities and services running on your phone. Luckily, if you don’t want that to happen, you can turn off Game Mode from your iPhone’s Control Center.
Here’s everything you need to know about how Game Mode works.
You can get rich topographical hiking maps of local trails and U.S. national parks on your iPhone, right in Apple Maps. New in iOS 18, you can build custom routes connecting walking paths and save them to your device for offline access.
You can use this feature to plan a hike as a day trip. Planning your route in advance could save you the hassle of getting lost without a signal — or keep you from starting an overly ambitious hike.
According to Apple, the update comes with data for “all 63 U.S. national parks.” In my testing, Apple Maps showed a thorough knowledge of the trails in northeastern and Appalachian Ohio, too. It could contain detailed trail data about your local park as well.
Here’s how to make the most out of the new hiking maps in iOS 18.
You can get Apple Intelligence right now on your iPhone, iPad or Mac. The first round of features are in iOS 18.1, but if you want even more, you can upgrade to the iOS 18.2 beta. You’ll get access to Visual Intelligence, Image Playground, Genmoji and more. It also adds support for additional dialects of English.
It’s also possible to enable it in the European Union by switching your region — although you’ll lose access to EU-region features, like alternative app marketplaces.
Apple Intelligence is compatible with the iPhone 15 Pro and the new iPhone 16 lineup. Unfortunately, older devices (or even the iPhone 15) don’t have enough RAM to support Apple’s Foundation models. Luckily, you can also try it out if you have an iPad or Mac with an M-series or A17 Pro chip.
Here’s how to get it all.
Since WWDC24, Apple has released five developer beta builds of iOS 18 every two weeks. The company has now switched to a weekly beta release cycle. iOS 18 beta 6 is here, packing some minor changes as Apple focuses on squashing all the bugs.
You can find all the new features and minor enhancements in iOS 18 beta 6 below.
Apple does not plan to charge for Apple Intelligence in the next three years. Apparently, the company wants to add more advanced AI features before charging for it.
The Cupertino giant did not talk about eventually charging for Apple Intelligence during its unveiling at WWDC24 earlier this year.
Flip a switch in iOS 18 and the Camera app will add music playing on an iPhone to the video being recorded on the device. It’s an easy way to add background music to a video.
Just be careful about copyright violations.
Apple added Distraction Control to the Safari web browser in the iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia 15 betas released Monday. The new feature allows users to remove elements they find irritating or distracting from web pages.
Some have called Distraction Control an ad blocker. It’s not. Or certainly not a very good one.
Apple is working with regulators to bring Apple Intelligence to China and the EU. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook revealed this in response to an investor’s question during the company’s Q3 earnings call.
Cook said the company aims to “move as fast we can” to bring Apple Intelligence features to everyone.
Apple Intelligence took a big step toward release on Monday. The AI-powered features unveiled at WWDC24 entered beta testing so developers can start trying them out in the real world.
They are part of the initial round of betas of iOS 18.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1 and iPadOS 18.1, which are expected to launch in October.
When iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 launch this fall, do not expect Apple Intelligence to be part of the first releases of the operating system upgrades. The company’s cool new AI capabilities reportedly will arrive about a month later. Monday’s release of the first developer beta of iOS 18.1 — which includes some Apple Intelligence features — seems to confirm that release roadmap.
This means Apple Intelligence likely will arrive in October, around the same time as macOS Sequoia. So Mac users might get Apple AI along with their big upgrade.
Emergency platforms RapidSOS and Prepared recently shared their plans to integrate with the new Emergency SOS Live Video functionality in iOS 18. That means most 911 calls will include the option to share video with dispatchers, like a FaceTime call. And that will help responders assess the scene and prepare to help in the best way.
Apple is updating Safari this year for a cleaner, faster web browsing experience on iPhones, iPads and Macs. While the enhanced Reader mode and Highlights stand out as key additions to Safari in iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, several other changes will come to Apple’s web browser as well.
Below we’ll look at all the improvements coming to Safari later this year.
Apple has rejected reports of training Apple Intelligence and its AI model on YouTube videos without the creators’ consent. The company says OpenELM, its open language model, does not power Apple Intelligence.
Instead, it created OpenELM as a way to contribute to the development of open source large language models.
iOS 18’s redesigned Photos app will gain a Recovered album to help you restore damaged photos or videos. It will only show up when the app detects corrupted media not in your photo library.
The new Recovered album will appear under the Utilities section of the Photos app.