Popular iPhones and iPads will get new operating systems this autumn. Apple unveiled them at the opening keynote of the WWDC 24 developer conference.

For a long time, Apple appeared to be leaving AI completely out in the cold, while “quietly” developing their own version. Now they have introduced it under the name of Apple Intelligence. It will be part of new operating systems across the portfolio. 

What Apple Intelligence can do

Apple’s AI combines the usual functions of generative models with the user’s personal context. 

  • It will have the ability to generate written text and images based on suggestions.
  • It will crawl, summarize and analyze text for you and create a summary or excerpt. 
  • It will easily edit a photo, for example, removing a distracting element that spoils your picture.
  • It can perform tasks across applications. 
  • Allows you to use personal context to simplify and speed up everyday tasks. In real life, this means that, for example, it can search for specific information needed throughout a conversation thread by context.
  • A very nice capability for smartphone and tablet owners will be the organization and prioritization of features and notifications. Thus, in the focus mode, it will notify only the most important facts that will require immediate action.  
  • Such a fun toy is the Genmoji app, which will be able to create customized emojis.

Thanks to the cloud, Apple Intelligence will securely protect the privacy of its users. 

Many of Apple Intelligence’s features will manifest themselves through Siri the assistant. It will get a new environment and be less intrusive when activated, but the main change is the use of AI and ChatGPT’s conversational features. The new Siri will understand context and be able to communicate not only verbally, but also in writing, which comes in handy when you can’t speak at the moment. Unfortunately, still no new languages added.

What’s new in iOS 18 

But it’s not just AI that’s innovating in iOS 18. Here are some exciting and already appreciated innovations:

  • Photos app redesign. The app has undergone its biggest redesign yet. In addition, it will be able to automatically organize albums in a new unified view and sort them by month, year or theme. We’ve already mentioned the AI’s photo-editing capabilities.
  • New text effects in iMessage. Brand new text effects are coming to iMessage that dynamically and animatedly highlight any letter, word, phrase or emoji to bring conversations to life. 
  • RCS support. The modern messaging standard allows for more dynamic and secure conversations, sending bigger and better content, and an overall better user experience.
  • Better navigation in Mail. New categories for messages like receipts, newsletters, etc. will be created, making it easier to find relevant mail.
  • Smooth setting options. Easier access to settings and a new and clearer look and feel for the Control Center.
  • Personalisation. Finally, the ability to arrange the app icons on your home screen as you wish and change the look of apps to match the background. The ability to swap the camera and flashlight icons on the lock screen is useful.
  • Game mode. Minimizes background iPhone activity to improve gaming performance.

Even in the new version of the operating system, Apple hasn’t forgotten about security.

  • Passwords. A new feature introduces separate Passwords app that will act as a password manager. Until now, their management has been hidden in the settings.
  • Lock apps. If you lend your iPhone to someone, you can lock selected apps so that no one can access them. You’ll need Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode to access them. 
  • Hiding apps. Well, and if you want to hide the fact that you have an app on your phone, for whatever reason, you can move it to the Hidden Apps folder in your app library.

And what’s iPadOS 18 getting in addition?

Many features, especially artificial intelligence, but also better customisation options, will be shared with iPhones running the new operating systems. Among the new features purely for iPadOS 18 we can mention:

  • Calculator. iPadOS 18 finally brings a calculator to tablets. 
  • Math features. You can evaluate expressions, assign variables, and even create graphs from notes and designs you sketch with Apple Pencil. 
  • Notes. The feature transcribes handwritten text with Smart Script.
  • New look for app icons. App icons and widgets will be given a sleeker, darker design. 

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