At its iPhone event on Monday, Apple showed off the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, as well as new Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4 devices (see everything Apple announced at the iPhone 16 launch event). When these smartphones hit stores on September 20, they’ll already have iOS 18 installed, so there’s no need to update them out of the box. Those with older iPhones can try out iOS 18, which will be available as a free download on September 16. However, not all iPhones will be able to run iOS 18, and those that can won’t have all of the new Apple Intelligence features.
Tiered updates mean nothing now. Typically, every year, some older iPhone models are removed from Apple’s iOS compatibility list. For example, last year, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X were removed from the compatibility list. This meant that those iPhone owners couldn’t update to iOS 17 and missed out on some notable features.
We’ll help you find out if your iPhone supports iOS 18 and what Apple Intelligence is up to. Still not sure what the new update has to offer? Here’s a rundown of the biggest announcements from WWDC, including a rundown of iOS 18.
Which iPhones are compatible with iOS 18?
The good news is, if you had an eligible phone when it updated to iOS 17 last year, your device should still be compatible with iOS 18. According to AppleThis means you don’t need to buy a new phone to try out most of the new software features.
In other words, if you have an iPhone, 2017 and earlier models (iPhone 8 or iPhone X), you won’t be able to upgrade to the latest iOS, but your phone should still work, even though you won’t have the latest and greatest features.
Is your iPhone compatible with Apple Intelligence?
Older devices will still support the latest iOS, but they might not be able to try out the Apple Intelligence beta next month unless you have an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max (the higher-end 2023 models) or one of the new iPhone 16 models. iPhones are not eligible.
When will Apple Intelligence features be available?
If your device is compatible with Apple Intelligence, you’ll be able to start trying out some of these features when they arrive on your new iPhone in an update starting in October.
Apple Intelligence will be available in English in the US in October of this year, followed by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK in December. Support for additional languages, including Chinese, French, Japanese and Spanish, will be available over the next year. Apple says.
As previously reported, Apple Intelligence is not expected to be rolled out to EU countries anytime soon, as the American tech giant is still battling European regulators over the details of implementing the EU’s digital markets law.
What to expect in iOS 18
Apple Intelligence is the biggest update yet Coming to iOS 18Its features will be released in a more piecemeal fashion over the coming months, and the more advanced features won’t be available on older iPhone models outside of the iPhone 15 Pro series. However, the rest of iOS 18’s features will be available on the devices listed above. Here are some of the highlights you can expect when you download Apple’s new software later this month:
Password App: Securely store all your credentials in one place, including passwords and security alerts that you can access directly within the app. (This feature is currently[設定]but moving to the new app will make it easier to find and access.)
Messages app improvements: The new iMessage experience adds options to make text bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough. You can also add animations to your text messages. The update also brings RCS to iPhone to better support Android compatibility.
Organized Photo Library: The Photos app has been redesigned, allowing you to create and pin your own collections within the app, for example “Wedding Photos” or “Trip to Aruba.” The current tabbed bottom will be removed in favor of a grid layout. The updated carousel view that was advertised at WWDC has been removed during the beta process.
Personalized home screen layout: You finally get the option to rearrange your apps. For example, you can leave the center space free for your home screen photos and instead place only apps on the screen borders. You can also change the look of your apps by tinting them in any color or making them larger.
There are plenty of other tweaks and improvements to keystone apps like Maps, Calendar, and Safari.Here’s Cherlynn Low’s picks for the best hidden features of iOS 18 and its sister Apple operating system updates, based on the betas released earlier this year.
Is there an iOS 18 beta?
Yes, you can download it now, but only if you can live with the glitches and issues that come with beta software. If you haven’t downloaded it yet at this point, we recommend waiting for the official release, which will be released in less than a week.
What about MacOS Sequoia, iPadOS 18, WatchOS 11, and tvOS 18?
Here’s when the latest software updates will be available for your other Apple devices.
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MacOS Sequoia: September 16
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iPadOS 18: September 16
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WatchOS11: September 16
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tvOS 18: Apple hasn’t announced an official date for the latest tvOS software update, which is still in public beta testing at the moment but is nearing the final stages. From MacRumors:.
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Vision OS2: September 16
Update, Sept. 10, 9:54 a.m. ET: Added release dates for additional Apple OS software updates.
Updated September 9th, 5pm ET: Added details about Apple Intelligence not being available in EU countries.
Update September 9, 3:37pm: This story has been updated with the release dates for iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence.
