You didn’t follow the presentation of iOS 18 this Monday and are afraid of missing the most important points? Here is a brief summary.
For months, rumors have been saying that iOS 18, the new update for the iPhone, would be the biggest and most ambitious of those offered by Apple in years. And this Monday evening, we can say that Apple did not disappoint. For nearly 45 minutes, Craig Federighi, head of Apple’s software team, and his team presented what the iPhone would look like this fall.
A complete overhaul of the home screen
If Apple has gradually agreed to give more customization freedom to the user over the course of updates with, in particular, the introduction of widgets on the home screen, it must be admitted that this has not has evolved very little over the years. But with iOS 18, Apple intends to shake up the look of the home screen.
First of all, say goodbye to applications that are positioned one after the other in a grid, from left to right and bottom to top. Now you can choose to distribute all your applications on one side of the screen or at the top and bottom, leaving a gap in the middle. This is also the case for widgets, in short, you can finally configure the screen as you wish and can also display larger and therefore more readable icons for people who need glasses.
Another new feature: the ability to change the color of application icons. They all (at least, Apple’s apps) have a dark appearance, and can even be colored in any color, which is the case here for all apps, without exception. This will allow the apps to match the color of the wallpaper.
Finally, the two widgets located at the bottom of the lock screen can (finally!) be replaced by a slew of commands, such as Shazam recognition, Translate or any Shortcut created.
The revised and improved Photos application
It’s been a few years since Apple last overhauled its Photos application. The developers worked hard to offer a “new” app “designed to help users easily find and relive their most beautiful moments”.
Thus, upon opening the app, we find a preview of the usual grid of our photos in the upper half of the screen and, in the lower half, a set of categories offered by the app that we can browse by swiping the screen upwards. “People and animals”, “Pinned collection”, “Memories” or even “Travels” are all suggestions made by the app.
Apple announces that the proposals made in this category will be reviewed every day.
A more versatile and compatible Messages app
Along with the Photos app, it is probably the Messages application that will experience the most changes with iOS 18. We have been talking about it for months, it is now confirmed with this update, RCS chat is arriving on iPhone. Offered by Google on Android phones for years, RCS allows text messages to turn into instant messaging conversations. Read confirmation, response in progress, multimedia files in HD, operation with Wi-Fi…
Beyond RCS, we find completely new options in iMessage such as new emojis for reactions to messages, the possibility of scheduling the sending of messages or effect options for messages, such as bold, italics, “Explosion” or “Blooming”.
A control center sorted by categories
The control center, also improved over time, benefits here from a very important revision. Gone is the single window with the controls that can be defined, iOS now classifies the control center by categories: Favorites, Music, Home (connected), connections and a personalized window.
It is now more complete and clear, especially for the Connections aspect. You can always add the commands you want and modify their size using a small slider located at the bottom right of the command. Finally, Apple added a button to turn off the iPhone at the top right.
A complete password manager
Until now, Apple did not have a real independent password manager, other than the one integrated into the iPhone settings. From now on, it is a complete application specially designed for this use that iOS 18 brings to users.
Concretely, the application includes everything that was previously offered in the settings, with some subtle new features. Among these, the possibility of sharing passwords and access keys with loved ones, a catalog of all saved passwords for WiFi networks and even those that have been recently deleted. And of course, all of this syncs with iCloud.
_
Follow Belgium-iphone on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram so you don’t miss any news, tests and good deals.
Receive our latest news directly on your WhatsApp by subscribing to our channel.
