Apple announced new features coming to iPhones via iOS 18 and the company’s AI-powered intelligence system called “Apple Intelligence” at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday, including scheduled iMessages, interface customizability and one-of-a-kind emojis.
With iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence coming later this year, according to Apple executive Craig Federighi, iPhone users will have access to a smarter, more customizable and more powerful mobile operating system.
“We are just getting started, I hope you are as excited as I am about the road ahead,” Federighi said during Apple’s keynote at WWDC.
Here are some of the new features coming via iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence.
When is iOS 18 releasing? Which phones can use iOS 18?
Apple announced iOS 18 will debut this fall as a free download for iPhone Xs and later.
Enhanced home screen, control center customizability
When iPhone users unlock their devices, they are typically met by a wallpaper and a ton of apps. With iOS 18, users will be able to further customize their home screen in various ways, including by:
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Putting app icons and widgets anywhere on the home screen grid.
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Turning the iPhone on dark mode, which now changes app icons.
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Changing the tint color of the home screen.
The control center is also more customizable as iPhone users will be able to group their favorite controls, including ones created by third-party apps. The flashlight and camera shortcuts on the lock screen will also be changeable.
Scheduled messages and more “tapback” reactions coming with iOS 18
The Messages app will have a lot of new features coming thanks to iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, Apple leaders announced Monday.
Scheduled messages, emoji tapbacks and text effects were announced as improvements to the Message app. The text effects will allow users to visually amplify their messages, while emoji tapbacks are ways to respond to text messages more expressively.
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is another new edition to Messages coming via iOS 18 and the improvement will allow for smoother text messaging between iPhone and Android users.
Welcome, ‘Genmojis’
With the help of Apple Intelligence, users will be able to create custom “Genmoji” to match any moment. All users will have to do is provide a description and a Genmoji will appear, along with other options to choose from. Genmojis can also be added inline in messages.
Another feature available in Messages due to Apple Intelligence is users’ ability to create “total original images” of people in sketch and animated forms. Apple used a contact’s birthday as an example, and a custom sketch was created and sent via the Messages app.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: iOS 18 release, features, changes: Apple releases new iPhone OS
Source Agencies
