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iOS 18 rumours and release date: Everything we know so far about Apple’s ‘biggest’ iPhone update ever
iOS 18 will be brimming with new features - but when will it be officially announced and released?
THE upcoming iOS 18 update is slated to be 'the biggest' in the iPhone maker's history when it arrives in autumn.
Leaks and rumours are abound, and The Sun has gathered them all in one place, including a potential release date and if your iPhone will be eligible to download it.
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What AI features will be in iOS 18?
Apple's iOS 18 - codenamed Crystal - "will have ambitious changes all around," Apple’s head of software engineering, Craig Federighi, told employees, per a Bloomberg report.
And much of those ambitious changes centre around new features powered by artificial intelligence (AI) - according to rumours.
A new-and-improved Siri that uses generative AI is one of the most anticipated updates in iOS 18.
This is the same AI technology that is used in the likes of ChatGPT that allows the chatbot to respond to questions like it is a human.
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It means Siri - like ChatGPT - will be trained how to communicate with large language models, which include a billion or more pieces of language data.
Generative AI technology "should improve how both Siri and the Messages app can field questions and auto-complete sentences," according to Gurman, who has a strong track history with Apple leaks.
A separate report from The Information said this feature is expected to be released in an iPhone software update coming in 2024, which would likely be iOS 18.
Apple has also reportedly explored generative AI features for other apps, including Apple Music, Pages, Keynote, and Xcode.
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In Apple Music, AI could be used to create “auto-generated playlists”, according to the report.
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There's also talk of new accessibility features, according to , including adaptive voice shortcuts that can be sorted into categories as well as custom font sizes for a wider variety of apps.
These apps may include Apple's native Calendar, Finder, Mail, Messages, Notes, Books, News, Stocks, Tips and Weather.
Another, more secretive, adaptive feature will use on-device eye tracking - but more on that is expected to be revealed in the coming months.
What will iOS 18 look like?
iOS 18 is thought to involve some design changes which could be inspired by visionOS, the software for Apple's new Vision Pro, according to a Bloomberg report in late February.
While the report noted that this won't be a "total overhaul", the first potential glimpse of what this might look like has been exposed by a source.
MacRumors published what they describe as an “iPhone frame template from an anonymous source who claims they obtained it from an iOS engineer."
Although this early on in the game, it's advised to proceed with a dose of caution when it comes to photographic or CGI leaks.
Will iOS 18 include RCS Support?
In October last year, Apple made the surprise bulletin that RCS Support is coming to iPhones sometime in 2024.
RCS, or Rich Communication Services, is the successor to SMS and MMS.
It will bring a number of iMessage-style features to texts between iPhone and Android users, including:
- Higher-resolution photos and videos
- Audio messages
- Typing indicators
- Read receipts
- Wi-Fi messaging between iPhones and Android devices
- Improved group chats, including the ability for iPhone users to leave a conversation that includes Android users
- Improved encryption compared to SMS
- Share location with people inside text threads
These modern features are already available for blue-bubble iMessage users in iPhone-to-iPhone conversations.
But they are not available when texting Android devices from an iPhone.
When will iOS 18 be released?
iOS 18 is expected to be announced at Apple's WWDC, which typically occurs in the first or second week of June.
The timeline from announcement to release varies.
After its official unveiling, the sparkly new operating system be released to developers for beta testing.
A public beta will likely be released in July 2024, followed by a release to the general public in September.
When it goes live in September is another mystery.
But here’s a rundown of recent iOS release dates for inspiration:
- : September 17, 2023
- : September 12, 2022
- : September 20, 2021
- : September 16, 2020
- : September 19, 2019
- : September 17, 2018
Is my iPhone eligible for iOS 18?
A post on X (formerly Twitter) from an anonymous account with a track record of accurate leaks in late February revealed a list of all the iPhones that will be eligible for the update.
Apple typically gives iPhones five years worth of updates.
But the now deleted tweet reckons iPhone's as much as eight years old could be compatible with iOS 18.
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Here's the full list:
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone XS
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone SE (2nd generation)
- iPhone SE (3rd generation)
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