The large day has lastly arrive: Apple will kick off its large It is Glowtime occasion (you possibly can watch it right here and comply with Engadget’s Apple occasion liveblog, too) immediately at 1PM ET, the place it is anticipated to announce the brand new iPhone 16 lineup, in addition to new Apple Watch and AirPods fashions. These telephones can have iOS 18 already put in, so you will not should improve at buy — here is when the iPhone 16 fashions are anticipated to hit shops. Nevertheless, in case you’re not getting one of many new iPhones, chances are you’ll discover that your older telephone’s working system is not supported by Apple.
Usually annually, some older iPhone fashions are faraway from Apple’s iOS eligibility checklist. Final 12 months, as an example, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X had been left off the compatibility checklist. That meant these iPhone homeowners could not replace to iOS 17 and missed out on some notable options.
We’ll enable you to discover out in case your iPhone will help iOS 18 — which is predicted to develop into accessible in roughly two weeks — in addition to Apple Intelligence. Undecided what’s coming with the brand new replace? This is a abstract of the largest bulletins from WWDC, together with an summary of iOS 18.
iPhones appropriate with iOS 18
We’ve excellent news: Should you had an eligible telephone final 12 months while you up to date to iOS 17, that gadget ought to nonetheless be appropriate with iOS 18, based on Apple. Which means you will not have to purchase a brand new telephone to take a look at many of the new software program options.
Put one other approach, when you have an iPhone from the 2017 mannequin 12 months or earlier (iPhone 8 or iPhone X), you possibly can’t improve to the most recent iOS, however your telephone ought to proceed to work — albeit with out the most recent bells and whistles.
Is your iPhone appropriate with Apple Intelligence?
Whereas your older gadget will nonetheless have the ability to help the most recent iOS, likelihood is that you just will not get to strive the Apple Intelligence beta but. Until you could have an iPhone 15 Professional or iPhone 15 Professional Max — the top-end 2023 fashions — your iPhone is not eligible. It is a secure guess that the brand new iPhone 16 fashions will probably be totally Apple Intelligence appropriate, however we’ll should await the official particulars on the September 9 occasion.
iOS 18 new options to anticipate
Whereas Apple Intelligence is by far the largest replace coming with iOS 18, its options are going to be launched extra piecemeal over the next few months. And the extra superior options will not be accessible on older iPhone fashions other than the iPhone 15 Professional collection. However the remainder of the iOS 18 options will hit the handsets listed above. Listed here are simply a number of the highlights you possibly can anticipate while you obtain Apple’s new software program later this month.
Passwords app: Securely retailer all of your credentials in a single place, together with passwords and safety alerts you could entry immediately within the app. (Whereas this performance at present exists in Settings, shifting it to a brand new app ought to make it simpler to find and entry.)
Improved Messages app: A brand new iMessages expertise is bringing the choice to daring, italicize, underline and strikethrough your textual content. You may additionally have the ability to add animations to your textual content messages. The replace can be bringing RCS to iPhones to higher help Android compatibility.
An organized pictures library: The Images app is getting a redesign, which lets you create and pin your personal collections within the app — assume “wedding photos” or “trip to Aruba.” It removes the present tabbed backside and leans right into a grid structure. The up to date carousel view that was touted at WWDC was eliminated throughout the beta course of.
Personalised dwelling display screen structure: You may lastly get the choice to rearrange your apps — as an example, you possibly can depart the center area open to show your own home display screen picture, and as an alternative have your apps alone the border of the display screen. You can even change the looks of the apps by tinting them with any coloration, in addition to making the apps bigger.
There are many different tweaks and enhancements to keystone apps like Maps, Calendar, Safari and extra. Try Cherlynn Low’s selections for the very best hidden options of iOS 18 and its sibling Apple working system updates, primarily based on the betas launched earlier this 12 months.
Is there an iOS 18 beta?
There’s, and you may obtain it now — as long as you are prepared to dwell with the glitches and challenges of beta software program. If you have not already downloaded it at this level, we might counsel simply ready for the actual deal to be launched in only a few days.