The release of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 is shaping up to be the biggest update to Apple’s operating system in a decade. In addition to the expected advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, the stock applications and overall appearance will also change.
iOS 18 … is coming this fall
A combination of industry trends and Apple’s own engineering efforts are coming together in a set of major updates later this year. Apple has been closely following the rise of AI technology and has been working on it for years.
In 2018, Apple hired John Giannandre from Google, who was in charge of the search giant’s Machine Learning division. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to advance Apple in the same area.
Since then, Apple has made a lot of smaller improvements in various areas of what the industry calls AI. But 2024 looks set to be the year its AI efforts hit the ground running, just in time for powerful new hardware to arrive this fall.
In particular, iOS and iPadOS 18 will receive a major redesign and major updates to their core applications. Of course, other operating systems and devices that run them will also receive these updates.
All these years-long efforts are coming to fruition in the second half of 2024. He promised that it would be a significant year for Apple.
2024 is the year of Apple AI
One of the biggest user-friendly changes is expected to be an improved Siri voice assistant.
Starting this fall, Siri is expected to significantly improve its ability to answer random questions and requests. Apple is working on a large language model (LLM) on the device to help Siri better understand requests.
This means that some requests will of course require an internet connection to receive a response. For example, asking Siri “what’s the current score in the Canucks vs Predators hockey game?” requires an online update.
Siri can now retrieve such results from the same sources that Live Activites uses for its current sports results widget. Hopefully the days of “I found some information for you on the web” as a response are numbered.
Likewise, the next version of Safari is expected to get a “browsing assistant” in updated OSes in the fall. It should help users find the website they are looking for, similar to the built-in search engine.
Apple recently published research that suggests it is making great strides in machine learning. The A16 and M4 chips coming later this year are said to feature a significantly larger and more powerful Neural Engine.
In addition, Apple’s AI researchers share their findings with developers. This will help more apps take advantage of the improvements Apple makes to its future hardware.
The year 2024 will bring a new OS with a new look
The overall look of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will get a redesign. Combined with new features in standard apps, it’s expected to be the biggest iOS redesign since 2013’s iOS 7.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reiterated previous claims that users will be able to position icons arbitrarily in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. This would still use the invisible “grid”, but would allow more flexible use of the “white space” by the user.
This gives users even more freedom to place apps and widgets where it makes the most sense. Related apps can be placed together, leaving a “blank space” on the page to separate them from other apps.
Apple has previously supported the use of “app folders” in iOS to collect related apps.
2024 is the year that the included apps will get a big update
The debut of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 this fall will also change the look and capabilities of many, if not most, “built-in” apps. Apps expected to receive design changes include Notes, Mail, Fitness, Photos, and Calculator.
The new version of the latter application will also appear on the iPad for the first time.
The iPad finally gets its own Calculator app.
Previous reports said that Notes will also undergo a major overhaul, making it a more complete product on par with competitors like OneNote. Expected changes include built-in audio recording and integration with the improved Calculator app for the “Math Notes” feature.
Currently, Apple has a separate app for Voice Memos. This feature will now be available in the regular Notes app starting in iOS 18.
As with the existing Notes app, everything stored in it can be synced between devices using iCloud.
Notes in iOS 18 will also be able to add calculations and symbols from the new Calculator app for the “Math Notes” feature. This should allow users to extend formulas and calculations with text and graphics.
Voice Notes and Math Notes bring audio recording and calculations to the Notes app for iOS 18.
The Maps app will also benefit from the enhanced machine learning capabilities of the upcoming A18 chip. The code snippets hinted that Apple would add custom route planning for users, among other features.
Currently, when users search for a route in Maps, the application offers several options to get from point A to point B. For various reasons, some users would like to create their own route from parts of different options. Maps in iOS 18 is expected to let you do just that.
In a related development, CarPlay is also getting a serious update that includes a new overall look. This is said to include the ability to use additional screens on some new car models.
However, older car models will benefit from a new look and software experience on a conventional single screen.
Fitness+ and Photos will also use both a redesign and enhanced AI capabilities to tailor their capabilities to individual users. Apple’s design for iOS and iPadOS 18 includes many primary AI components within the software.
This means that older devices that can run iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 will also get these redesigned apps and improved software capabilities.
Is Apple late to the game?
Apple has long been accused of “catching up” to rivals in terms of the artificial intelligence features incorporated into its products. Microsoft and Google, to name two, already have chatbot-based search up and running.
Apple CEO Tim Cook rejected such claims. He said Apple has been rolling out features that rely on machine learning and AI for several years.
Cook recently warned analysts that recent features, including live voicemail and personal voice, could not exist without these technologies.
Features that have long been a staple of other apps, such as Predictive Text, are constantly getting better at “learning” each user’s preferred vocabulary. Apple generally approaches AI as a way to improve existing apps first.
He expressed little interest in creating a multitude of “AI toys” for users to play with online, as ChatGPT has done.
Apple also had to find a way to combine AI with user privacy and security. This is a concern for Apple and much less so for other companies that have taken advantage of the “AI trends”.
These companies and others are currently being sued by content creators for unlicensed use of their products to “train” their AI engines. Meanwhile, Apple appears to have paid for content used for LLM training and worked with creators to ethically license the content.
Not just for the latest and greatest hardware
Of course, iOS and iPadOS get minor updates every year, as do macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS. However, starting with iOS 18, Apple plans to add big new capabilities along with a new look to excite existing users and attract new ones.
Naturally, Apple’s software advancements work best with the latest hardware. This will certainly be true of the combination of A18 and M4 chips in the latest Apple devices along with iOS and iPadOS 18 and other OS versions.
VisionOS 2.0 is also expected to be released later this year, the first major update to Apple’s latest hardware category. It seems likely that the hardware was built with the use of AI in mind, and that future updates to visionOS will further utilize these capabilities.
All that said, much of what we believe we know about iOS and iPadOS 18, macOS 15, and the rest remains to be seen. The app improvements and updated design should work perfectly on older but still compatible iPhones.
Existing chips from Apple have had Neural Engines built into them for several years. This technology will be used more in iOS 18 and beyond as developers explore more uses for AI.
It is likely that the next release of Apple iOS will continue to support at least the iPhone 11 and later. If you own an iPhone X or related models from this year or earlier, iOS 17 could potentially be the end of the line.
We will learn more about which models will be supported at WWDC in June.
Apple’s advances in artificial intelligence in 2024 should significantly strengthen the company’s legendary emphasis on full integration of hardware with software. Existing apps on the latest iPhones get a new look and new capabilities, paving the way for the next round of powerful new hardware.
