Here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s iOS 18 seen at WWDC 2024

Apple sped through all the updates for the phone since it had so many operating systems to cover, but we’ve captured all the important ones below.

By Liu Hongzuo - 15 Jun 2024

Note: This article was first published on 11 June 2024.

Apple's iOS 18 brings about tons of app and navigation improvements.

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an annual event focused on updating app developers working on the Apple ecosystem all over the world. Naturally, this covers the company’s smartphone operating system, which is now iOS 18.

Summary of all new features in Apple iOS 18 for iPhones.

Apple sped through all the updates for the phone since it had so many operating systems to cover, but we’ve captured all the important ones below. For Apple Intelligence on iOS 18, check out our separate article that takes you through Apple's approach in generative AI for the different OSes it has.

Improved personalisation for apps appearance and Control Centre

Flexible app placement, Dark Mode, and icon tint all in one.

The Home Screen goes beyond wallpapers, apps, and Widgets for personalisation. iOS now allows users to relocate apps to the sides and bottom screen (or anywhere, really) without forcing a sequential arrangement. A new Dark Mode changes the background of app icons into a dark grey shade, and apps also now allow uniform app and Widget icon tints if iPhone users want them.

Control Centre now has more panels. They are accessible by swiping upwards while in Control Centre’s dropdown menu. Users can also choose to swipe down from the top-right corn, allowing them to jump to a panel of their choice. Control Centre also now comes with a customisable layout, so you can move shortcuts like Flashlight and Camera to your liking.

App developers can also access a new Controls API to add app features to Control Centre. Finally, the Action Button (which is only on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max for now) can be tied to a Control Centre function.

Lock or hide an app

Users can lock or hide an app so that the iPhone demands Face ID unlocking when they hand their phone to someone else for sharing.

Hidden apps go into a folder and disappear from their Home Screen. Also, users can specify which contacts have digital visibility in apps of their choice (i.e., preventing your boss from seeing you’re online in a gaming app).

iMessage upgrades

It's giving "It's happy hour somewhere in the world".

iMessage also now allows emoji responses with any emoji, in addition to support for text formatting (bold, italics, strikethrough, underline). Text Effects adds 1990s-sque animations to iMessage texts.

It'll be a while until E.T. can phone home with satellite connectivity, but iMessage support is a step in the right direction.

iMessage also now supports satellite connectivity, allowing users to text loved ones even if they travel in remote areas. Apple said these messages are also end-to-end encrypted.

RCS support for iMessages, alongside the ability to queue a reply so it goes out later, was not mentioned explicitly in the keynote but featured in the iOS 18 summary slide.

Mail upgrades

Mail app is now less cluttered with new categories.

The Mail app now categorises messages based on Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions. Primary covers time-sensitive or personal e-mails, while Transaction covers digital receipts. Updates are for social media notifications, while Promotions are for brand marketing e-mails.

Maps upgrade

Hikers would be happy, although the addition only comes to U.S. national parks for the time being.

Apple said Maps will now offer more detailed topographic maps to make it more similar to the Maps seen on the Apple Watch. Users can also get turn-by-turn voice guidance and built-in hiking planning tools

Peer-to-peer transfers with Apple Wallet

Seriously, the full suite of Apple Wallet features need to come to Singapore.

Apple Wallet has a new feature called Tap To Cash, where users can make peer-to-peer transfers via Apple Cash by touching iPhones together. This also doesn't require users to exchange personal contact details.

Journal app upgrade

Journal app can do so much more after the update.

Journal now lets you search past entries and offers gamified tracking, where it monitors your journaling "streaks" (consecutive days of journalling).

Game Mode, forreals

Game Mode is now available on the iPhone. It minimises background activity to help sustain gaming framerate and has “improved connectivity” to AirPods audio and wireless game controllers. The AirPods improvements help reduce audio latency while gaming.

Upgraded Photos app

It might take some getting used to with the new Photos app, but it would hopefully be easier to navigate.

The Photos app, which is the Gallery equivalent of the iPhone, has now been improved into a single view for the entire library with Year and Month controls.

Filters now let users filter out specific groups of images, such as screenshots from the entire grid.

Below the entire photo library are Collections, where iOS organises photos by the day, a trip, or a core memory. Users can reorder Collections to their liking, getting the snapshots and highlights they want to see first.

Swiping right inside the Photos app brings up a new Carousel Mode, which shows Favourites and Featured Photos. Carousel Mode is also customisable, where users can add a category of their liking.

More Updates from WWDC 2024:

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