The Future is Now: A Deep Dive into iOS 18
While iOS 26 is still many years away, Apple's latest update, iOS 18, marks one of the most significant upgrades ever. This interactive report explores the key advancements in intelligence, customization, and core app experiences. Use the dashboard below to navigate the new features.
Feature Dashboard
Click on the chart segments or buttons below to filter the feature list.
All New Features in iOS 18
iOS 18 delivers a comprehensive suite of updates across the entire operating system. The headline feature is Apple Intelligence, a deeply integrated personal AI system designed to be helpful and private. Beyond AI, this release brings the most extensive customization options ever for the Home Screen and Control Center, alongside major redesigns for essential apps like Photos and Messages. Explore the cards below for a summary of each key enhancement.
Apple Intelligence: Your Personal AI
Apple Intelligence is a new personal intelligence system that combines the power of generative models with your personal context. It's integrated system-wide to enhance writing, create images, and make Siri more capable than ever. Most processing happens on-device for privacy, with Private Cloud Compute handling more complex requests securely.
A New Level of Personalization
iOS 18 gives you unprecedented control over your device's look and feel. You can now arrange apps and widgets anywhere on the Home Screen, tint app icons with any color to match your wallpaper, and completely redesign the layout of the Control Center with new groups and third-party controls.
Major App Overhauls
Core applications receive significant updates. The Photos app has been completely redesigned into a single, unified view with smart collections to make finding memories easier. Messages gains powerful new text effects, scheduled sending, and RCS support for better cross-platform communication. A new dedicated Passwords app simplifies secure credential management.
Enhanced Privacy and Utility
Privacy remains a cornerstone of iOS. With iOS 18, you can now lock individual apps behind Face ID or Touch ID, or hide them completely in a secure folder. For gamers, a new Game Mode optimizes performance by minimizing background tasks and improving the responsiveness of wireless accessories like controllers and AirPods.
Writing Tools
System-wide tools to rewrite, proofread, and summarize text nearly anywhere you write, from Mail to Notes.
Image Playground
Create fun, original images in seconds using Animation, Illustration, or Sketch styles directly within apps.
Genmoji
Generate custom emoji on the fly by simply typing a description. Perfect for any situation.
Siri Overhaul
A more natural and context-aware Siri that can take actions in apps and understands what's on your screen.
Flexible Home Screen
Place apps and widgets anywhere on the screen grid to create your perfect layout.
App Icon Tinting
Automatically color your app icons with a custom tint, or switch to a new dark look for icons.
Control Center Redesign
A new multi-page layout with a gallery for adding and arranging controls, including from third-party apps.
Photos App Overhaul
A unified single-view design with automatic "Collections" that organize your library by topic.
Messages Upgrades
New text effects, scheduled sending, RCS support, and Tapbacks with any emoji or sticker.
Passwords App
A new dedicated app to securely manage all your passwords, passkeys, and verification codes.
Lock & Hide Apps
Secure specific apps with Face ID/Touch ID or hide them in a locked, hidden folder for privacy.
Game Mode
Optimizes performance for gaming by improving responsiveness of controllers and wireless audio.
Device Compatibility
iOS 18 is compatible with the following iPhone models: