iOS 18 Speculation Thread

[Channelsurfer63]

If my trusty old XS Max is supported with iOS18, then I will be installing the beta build after a week or so. I doubt that I will be able to hold out for that long, but I will hold off on my 15 which is my daily until longer into the beta cycle.
That is my honest intention, but if reams of glowing reports are posted, my resolve could diminish. The same applies to my Ultra 2, the older watches will get to test, but my Mac will have to wait longer as I only have one in service at this time.
I am looking forward to the unveiling.
And please forgive me for posting these thoughts, as I do love the fun of the new betas and very much like to install them right away. I type this as much as a public reminder to myself to keep responsible and avoid messing with my daily drivers.

 

[gwhizkids]

If my trusty old XS Max is supported with iOS18, then I will be installing the beta build after a week or so. I doubt that I will be able to hold out for that long, but I will hold off on my 15 which is my daily until longer into the beta cycle.
That is my honest intention, but if reams of glowing reports are posted, my resolve could diminish. The same applies to my Ultra 2, the older watches will get to test, but my Mac will have to wait longer as I only have one in service at this time.
I am looking forward to the unveiling.
And please forgive me for posting these thoughts, as I do love the fun of the new betas and very much like to install them right away. I type this as much as a public reminder to myself to keep responsible and avoid messing with my daily drivers.

Very good post and I’m right there with you. I will almost certainly hold off for at least a few days on my phone. The key is making sure you have an archived backup so you can always get back to iOS 17 if need be.

 

[Channelsurfer63]

Very good post and I’m right there with you. I will almost certainly hold off for at least a few days on my phone. The key is making sure you have an archived backup so you can always get back to iOS 17 if need be.

Always have current iCloud and iTunes archived backups, along with IPSW files for my devices.
Still, as I agree with you that this will be a major update, I also agree that caution is advised this time around.

 

[LouisOscar17]

I'm buzzing for iOS 18. I really hope we get - without having to use Shortcuts - the neumorphic Mac OS app icons. It's a bit odd that each product now has different icons/shapes.

 

[Kal Madda]

I'm buzzing for iOS 18. I really hope we get - without having to use Shortcuts - the neumorphic Mac OS app icons. It's a bit odd that each product now has different icons/shapes.

Yes, this! 👍🏻. Honestly, one of the biggest things on my iOS 18 wishlist is either better app icon customization (so I can change them to the Mac ones myself) or the pneumorphic macOS app icons.

 

[gwhizkids]

I suspect Apple will not allow app icons to be changed to resemble Mac icons. That's branding, and I think they will want to maintain that as a differentiator.

 

[Kal Madda]

I suspect Apple will not allow app icons to be changed to resemble Mac icons. That's branding, and I think they will want to maintain that as a differentiator.

They already can be changed to resemble Mac app icons, using the Shortcuts app. Better app icon customization would allow people to make them look like Mac app icons, or something completely different.

 

[jpdunn13]

Way back when, I used resEdit to change the Mac icons to resemble Star Trek ships, and the trash can to be a toilet, even changed empty trash to Flush Toilet and play a sound of a flushing toilet.

 

[Reverend Benny]

I hope Apple feels the pressure from Google and will continue to support older devices such as the iPad pro 10.5 and iPhone XS. I'm fine with Apple not offering the latest features, my device didn't have those anyway.

 

[dannyyankou]

I know there isn't as much need for this because you can run iPhone apps on the iPad, but I wish you could add widgets from iPhone apps to your iPad's Home Screen just like you can with Mac. Sure I could download the shrunken down iPhone app, but maybe I don't want to take up storage and just want the widget from that app.

A perfect example- the activity rings from Apple Watch. You can't even download the activity app to your iPad. It's funny, you can add the activity rings widget to your Mac's Home Screen but not iPad lol.

 

[dannyyankou]

I hope Apple feels the pressure from Google and will continue to support older devices such as the iPad pro 10.5 and iPhone XS. I'm fine with Apple not offering the latest features, my device didn't have those anyway.

View attachment 2375583

They don't need pressure, they're already doing this. iOS 18 is rumored to keep support for iPhone XS, which is 6 years old. iOS 18 will continue to get updates through 2025, so that'll be 7 years of updates.

And Apple has them beat on security updates. They recently released iOS 15.8.2 for iPhone 6s, a 9 year old phone. Last January, they released an update for iPhone 5s, a 10 year old phone at the time.

Anyway, I hope Google keeps their word on this because better security is better for everyone. But they don't have the best track record with committment

Killed by Google

Killed by Google is the open source list of dead Google products, services, and devices. It serves as a tribute and memorial of beloved services and products killed by Google.

killedbygoogle.com

 

[gwhizkids]

They don't need pressure, they're already doing this. iOS 18 is rumored to keep support for iPhone XS, which is 6 years old. iOS 18 will continue to get updates through 2025, so that'll be 7 years of updates.

And Apple has them beat on security updates. They recently released iOS 15.8.2 for iPhone 6s, a 9 year old phone. Last January, they released an update for iPhone 5s, a 10 year old phone at the time.

Anyway, I hope Google keeps their word on this because better security is better for everyone. But they don't have the best track record with committment

Killed by Google

Killed by Google is the open source list of dead Google products, services, and devices. It serves as a tribute and memorial of beloved services and products killed by Google.

killedbygoogle.com

You beat me to it: Apple has always been the one pressuring Google and other Android phone manufacturers on this. But this is still good as it removes any incentive Apple may have to shorten up the support timeframe.

Competition is good!

 

[Reverend Benny]

I know they support older OS but its nothing official from Apple that they are doing this and it feels like patches for older releases are dragging behind sometimes.
I guess they have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to functionality and this whole idea of releasing a "new" OS is something I hope they do ditch at some point. It was one thing when all the functions was released day one, but that's not the case today.

I hope they do keep supporting the older OS with security updates, not just only iOS/iPadOS but also the Macs.
These old devices are still powerful enough.

 

[dannyyankou]

I know they support older OS but its nothing official from Apple that they are doing this and it feels like patches for older releases are dragging behind sometimes.
I guess they have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to functionality and this whole idea of releasing a "new" OS is something I hope they do ditch at some point. It was one thing when all the functions was released day one, but that's not the case today.

I hope they do keep supporting the older OS with security updates, not just only iOS/iPadOS but also the Macs.
These old devices are still powerful enough.

I mean sure, they can put out an ironclad official statement that they'll support devices for x years. But we're now on year 18 with the iPhone. I think it's clear at this point that if you buy the latest iPhone, you'll get updates for 7 years.

 

[Paddle1]

I think there's a chance of the XS getting iOS 19 as well. There's been a history of each S model getting 1 extra year of support to the one prior.

 

[gwhizkids]

I mean sure, they can put out an ironclad official statement that they'll support devices for x years. But we're now on year 18 with the iPhone. I think it's clear at this point that if you buy the latest iPhone, you'll get updates for 7 years.

Yeah I’m going to look to actions more than words. And Apple has the actions.

 

[redbeard331]

Just one month until iOS turns 18, no longer under the strict control of Apple, iOS will finally be free to choose its own path!

 

[iOS Geek]

Just one month until iOS turns 18, no longer under the strict control of Apple, iOS will finally be free to choose its own path!

You do realize that due to the incessant meddling by the EU, that iOS is actually NOT able to "be free to choose its own path". It is now beholden to what the EU dictates. That is the exact opposite of what you're saying here. iOS WAS "free to choose its own path". It's not anymore.

Between having to accommodate the EU...and also including all of the supposed AI additions...I wouldn't be surprised if the first few iOS 18 betas are unbelievably buggy. I think this is going to be a rough one.

 

[HouseLannister]

You do realize that due to the incessant meddling by the EU, that iOS...

Did you not get the joke? As when you turn 18 years old, you can vote and buy cigarettes and porn... maybe even some cannabis or alcohol depending on where you live.

 

[gwhizkids]

So, today, there are two sizeable rumors about iOS 18 and AI: one about revamping Siri and the other about audio transcriptions for Notes and Voice Memos.

My question is, will this be the standard 2-hour keynote at WWDC, or will they devote more time to feature reveals than normal? This could possibly consist of pre-empting the time normally occupied by the Platforms State of the Union presentation that normally comes after the attendees have lunch following the keynote.

 

[Preclaro_tipo]

I realize all of the features of iOS 18 are long established but I thought I'd create thread for wishlist items to be fixed or added to future iOS builds.

I'll start with this annoying thing I want fixed:
-Family-aware device tracking notifications. -I'm regularly warned that my kid's devices (AirPods Pro) are traveling with me and I can only dismiss these warning for the day. The system should be smarter and not tell me that I may be tracked .... by my kids devices. At minimum I'd like to be able to flag certain devices as a family members device.

 

[redbeard331]

I realize all of the features of iOS 18 are long established

What??

 

[Kal Madda]

So, today, there are two sizeable rumors about iOS 18 and AI: one about revamping Siri and the other about audio transcriptions for Notes and Voice Memos.

My question is, will this be the standard 2-hour keynote at WWDC, or will they devote more time to feature reveals than normal? This could possibly consist of pre-empting the time normally occupied by the Platforms State of the Union presentation that normally comes after the attendees have lunch following the keynote.

I think the rumors aren’t as numerous because Apple is doing a better job of keeping things from leaking. Ever since Apple cracked down on some of the leaks before the Vision Pro last year, leaks and rumors have been pretty few and far between.

 

[Populus]

Seems like the Accessibility features that Apple introduces in May are becoming a sneak peak of what we will see in WWDC.

While controlling the iPad with the eyesight is really cool, there are actually many more features! One of them I’d aimed at helping motion sickness when you try to read while being in a vehicle (one you’re not driving yourself, I assume).

Another one is trying to make deaf people feel the music.

But there are more that are especially interesting, such as Vocal Shortcuts. I think this one has the potential of stretching even further what you can do by just talking to your phone.

Other small but promising new features include Shortcuts with the option to trigger Calming Sounds (already available through the Control Center since iOS 16), or the new hover typing feature:

• For users with low vision, Hover Typing shows larger text when typing in a text field, and in a user’s preferred font and color.

 

[gwhizkids]

I think the rumors aren’t as numerous because Apple is doing a better job of keeping things from leaking. Ever since Apple cracked down on some of the leaks before the Vision Pro last year, leaks and rumors have been pretty few and far between.

Apple has always been much better at controlling leaks around its software than its hardware. They have much greater control over who sees it. Last year's more spectacular "leaks" from user "941" were the result of a sting operation by Apple, and that poster (and allegedly their formerly Apple-employed sister) was busted. But beginning in about February or March each year, Mark Gurman (and others, but principally Gurman) starts learning details about the new OS, likely from "trusted" Apple partners who get to give it an early test drive.

That said, the rumors this year are actually numerous. and likely because Apple itself is leaking some of them to get Wall Street off its back in terms of AI deployment. So we now have a pretty good idea that we're going to see some robust incorporation of AI/Machine Learning into Siri, Spotlight, and at least a number of Apple's productivity apps.