Three days from now, Apple will kick off its It is Glowtime occasion (you may watch it right here) the place it’s going to announce the brand new iPhone 16 lineup. These telephones may have iOS 18 already put in, so you will not should improve at buy — this is when the iPhone 16 fashions are anticipated to hit shops. Nevertheless, in case you’re not getting one of many new iPhones, you might discover that your older cellphone’s working system is not supported by Apple.
Usually every year, some older iPhone fashions are faraway from Apple’s iOS eligibility listing. Final yr, for example, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X have been left off the compatibility listing. That meant these iPhone house owners could not replace to iOS 17 and missed out on some notable options.
We’ll show you how to discover out in case your iPhone will assist iOS 18 — which is predicted to develop into obtainable in roughly two weeks — in addition to Apple Intelligence. Unsure 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 now have excellent news: In case you had an eligible cellphone final yr if you up to date to iOS 17, that gadget ought to nonetheless be appropriate with iOS 18, in keeping with Apple. Meaning you will not have to purchase a brand new cellphone to take a look at many of the new software program options.
Put one other manner, when you have an iPhone from the 2017 mannequin yr or earlier (iPhone 8 or iPhone X), you may’t improve to the most recent iOS, however your cellphone 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 assist the most recent iOS, chances are high that you just will not get to attempt the Apple Intelligence beta but. Until you may have an iPhone 15 Professional or iPhone 15 Professional Max — the top-end 2023 fashions — your iPhone is not eligible. It is a protected guess that the brand new iPhone 16 fashions will likely 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 obtainable on older iPhone fashions apart from the iPhone 15 Professional sequence. However the remainder of the iOS 18 options will hit the handsets listed above. Listed below are simply a few of the highlights you may anticipate if 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 which you can entry instantly within the app. (Whereas this performance presently exists in Settings, transferring 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 will additionally have the ability to add animations to your textual content messages. The replace can also be bringing RCS to iPhones to higher assist Android compatibility.
An organized pictures library: The Images app is getting a redesign, which lets you create and pin your individual collections within the app — suppose “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 through the beta course of.
Customized house display structure: You will lastly get the choice to rearrange your apps — for example, you may go away the center house open to show your own home display picture, and as a substitute have your apps alone the border of the display. You can too change the looks of the apps by tinting them with any colour, 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 perfect hidden options of iOS 18 and its sibling Apple working system updates, primarily based on the betas launched earlier this yr.
Is there an iOS 18 beta?
There may be, 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.