Apple on Monday released a preview version of its big new iPhone update.
The iOS 18 public preview is a beta version of the software that will launch alongside new iPhones this fall, allowing Apple fans and developers to test the newest features before they officially launch and identify bugs before all iPhone users install the new software.
This year, however, the most important new service isn’t in the public beta: Apple Intelligence. In June, Apple announced that some of its newer devices would be able to access Apple’s AI service that can answer questions intelligently, control your iPhone, and even generate images.
Apple says that Apple Intelligence will be released in a beta version this fall and users will be able to try it out this summer. Some of the promised Apple Intelligence features, like ChatGPT integration, and some Siri improvements, aren’t expected to be released until later this year.
However, there are still many changes in this version of iOS that will change the way that iPhones look and feel and could surprise users when they first install the software. Apple has updated several of the core user interface elements of the device, including the lock screen, home screen, and Control Center to support a wider range of colors and customization.
Top apps like Photos have been redesigned. Messages is more colorful and supports emoji reactions. Users can even change all their app icons to the same color.
Many of these look-and-feel features have been available to Android users for years, but they will be new to longtime iPhone users, and are part of a multi-year process in which Apple is opening up the formerly rigid iPhone software design to greater visual customization, after last year’s release redesigned the device’s lock screen.
Here are some of the big changes in iOS 18:
- Users can now put icons anywhere on the home screen — for example, you can put all your apps around the border of the screen so users can see their wallpaper better.
- App icons can be changed to dark mode, or iOS can change all your app icons to the same color.
- Apple’s Control Center menu — accessed by swiping down from the upper right corner — is more customizable, with several pages of screens, and offers new types of controls.
- Users can swap out the camera and flashlight shortcuts on the lock screen for other apps.
- Apple’s Photos app is getting a big update with a redesign. Now, the app uses AI to organize photos into trips or albums, which are on the first page when the app is opened up.
- Apple’s Messages app can now add bold or italics to text. Users can also react to messages with any emoji. These so-called “tapbacks” now display in color in the Messages app.
- iOS 18 users with recent devices can send texts via a satellite if there’s no Wi-Fi or cell service.
- Safari will summarize news and other web articles, including generating tables of contents. These features are accessed using the button on the left side of the URL bar in Safari.
- Apple’s put all of its password management features into a new app, Passwords.
- Users can tap an iPhone against another iPhone to quickly transfer digital money.
- iPhones can now generate transcripts from calls or recordings.
- The Siri animation now takes over the entire iPhone screen.
Here’s how to download the beta:
- Make sure your phone can run the latest software. It will need to have been released in 2018 or later.
- Update to the latest public version of iOS.
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update. Select the iOS 18 public beta from the dropdown menu.