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Posts tagged with "iOS 18"

iOS and iPadOS 18 Review Extras: eBooks, Wallpapers, Screen Saver, and a Special Edition of MacStories Weekly

A short time ago, Federico published his annual iOS and iPadOS 18 review. As in past years, we’re releasing a wide variety of perks exclusively for Club MacStories members throughout the week, but this year, the perks are a little different – just like the review.

Here’s our friend Chris Lawley with the details:

First of all, we’re releasing this week’s episode of AppStories+ to everyone who listens to the show for free.

AppStories+ is the extended version of our flagship podcast that’s typically released a day early and ad-free in high-bitrate audio. The show is part of a Club Premier or AppStories+ subscription, but this week, everyone gets the extended version of the show. If you’re not a subscriber, you’ll still get an ad with the episode (we do have bills to pay), but you’ll also get the full extended version of the episode in high bitrate audio, just like subscribers. It’s our way of saying thanks to everyone who has listened to AppStories through the years and share why this year’s review is not just different, but part of an editorial evolution of MacStories.

As Chris explains in his video, we have an eBook version of the review for all Club members. We’ll also publish a special making-of edition of MacStories Weekly, our Club newsletter, on Saturday.

If you’re not already a member, you can join Club MacStories for $5/month or $50/year using the buttons below:

A short sample of one of the six screen savers for Club Plus and Premier members.

A short sample of one of the six screen savers for Club Plus and Premier members.

Also, this year, there will be even more perks than ever for Club MacStories Plus and Premier members, including:

  • More eBooks of my macOS Sequoia review, Jonathan Reed’s watchOS 11 review, and Devon Dundee’s visionOS 2 review;
  • A bonus eBook that collects tips and tricks from Federico’s iOS and iPadOS 18 review;
  • High-res wallpapers of the delightful illustrations created for Federico’s review by Scout Wilkinson; and
  • A screen saver developed by James Thomson that brings Scout’s artwork to life on your Mac.

To unlock all of these additional perks, use the buttons below to join Club MacStories Plus:

or Club Premier:

Now more than ever, an indie publication like MacStories depends on income from members who want to directly support what we do and our ability to collaborate with people like Scout and James more often. As always, though, we aim to provide as much value as we can to Club members, so we have more details after the break, for anyone who wants to learn more about this year’s perks and Club MacStories before joining.

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iOS and iPadOS 18: The MacStories Review

There is still fun beyond AI.

There are two versions of iOS 18 coming out this year.

Or, think about it this way:

Inside Apple, there are two versions of iOS 18. The version I’ve been able to test since June, and which will be the focus of this review, is the debut of iOS 18, which emphasizes user customization and smaller app updates. The other one – and, arguably, the version most are anticipating since WWDC – is iOS 18.1, which will mark the launch of Apple Intelligence in the United States later this year as well as the beginning of a process to roll out more AI features over time.

Technically, iOS 18.1 is going to be a major update to iOS 18.0, which will introduce the first slate of AI features on iPhones and iPads; in spirit, it might as well be the version of iOS 18 that is going to steal the spotlight and become The Conversation in our community for months to come.

However, due to a mix of legal and political reasons, as an Italian citizen, I won’t be able to participate in that discourse just yet. Thankfully, there’s plenty to like in iOS 18 even without Apple Intelligence, especially if, like yours truly, you’re the kind of MacStories reader who cares about apps, minor system tweaks, and making your Home Screen look nice.

This is what my review will focus on this year. There are two versions of iOS 18: I’m going to cover the fun, nerdy one.

I’ve been writing annual reviews of iOS (and later iPadOS too) for ten years now. During this time, I’ve seen my fair share of mobile OS trends, and I’ve observed how Apple judiciously iterated on their post-iOS 7 design language and stoically ignored the majority of the tech industry’s fads, staying the course of their vision for what their ecosystem of devices and OSes should empower people to do.

Never have I been in the position to witness the company finding itself unable to ignore a major industry shift. That’s exactly what is happening with AI. As we saw back in June, Apple announced a roadmap of AI features that will be gradually doled out to users and developers over the iOS 18 cycle. Most of them won’t even be launching this year: I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them just in time before the debut of iOS 19 at WWDC 2025.

What’s even more fascinating is realizing just how much of a priority Apple Intelligence must have been for the iOS, iPadOS, and macOS teams. Let’s face it: if it weren’t for the handful of additions to iOS, which are also cross-compatible with iPadOS, I wouldn’t have much to cover today without Apple Intelligence. This is quite apparent in macOS Sequoia: as John will cover in his review, with no Apple Intelligence, there are only two main features worth analyzing in detail.

Thus, dear reader, don’t be surprised if this will be my shortest annual iOS review to date. Plus, it’s not like I was particularly looking forward to Apple Intelligence anyway.

In any case, as I argued in my preview story back in July, the smaller features that found their way onto iOS and iPadOS this year are still interesting enough to justify a “traditional” review. And it’s not just that these are good features: they’re also my favorite kind, for they’re primarily about customization and apps. From more flexible Home Screens to Control Center finally becoming extensible with third-party controls, some big improvements to Notes and Journal, plus a brand new Passwords app, how could I not be excited about iOS 18?

This intrinsic duality of iOS 18 is the reason why I’ve never felt so ambivalent about a new version of iOS. Or, think about it this way:

Inside me, there are two takes. I fundamentally dislike generative AI tools and, from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think I’m ever going to take advantage of Apple’s features that modify text or create images. At the same time, I’m excited about the prospect of a smarter Siri that is better integrated with apps; and today, with the version of iOS 18 that is shipping to customers, I think there are plenty of smaller features worth appreciating, especially if you’re into customization.

Today, we don’t need to reconcile those two takes. We don’t have to be grownups for this one. We’re just going to dive into what makes iOS 18 a smaller update than previous years, but a fun one nonetheless.

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    iOS 18 After One Month: Without AI, It’s Mostly About Apps and Customization

    iOS 18 launches in public beta today.

    iOS 18 launches in public beta today.

    My experience with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, launching today in public beta for everyone to try, has been characterized by smaller, yet welcome enhancements to Apple’s productivity apps, a redesign I was originally wrong about, and an emphasis on customization.

    There’s a big omission looming over the rollout of these public betas, and that’s the absence of any Apple Intelligence functionalities that were showcased at WWDC. There’s no reworked Siri, no writing tools in text fields, no image generation via the dedicated Image Playground app, no redesigned Mail app. And that’s not to mention the AI features that we knew were slotted for 2025 and beyond, such as Siri eventually becoming more cognizant of app content and gaining the ability to operate more specifically inside apps.

    As a result, these first public betas of iOS and iPadOS 18 may be – and rightfully so – boring for most people, unless you really happen to care about customization options or apps.

    Fortunately, I do, which is why I’ve had a pleasant time with iOS and iPadOS 18 over the past month, noting improvements in my favorite system apps and customizing Control Center with new controls and pages. At the same time, however, I have to recognize that Apple’s focus this year was largely on AI; without it, it feels like the biggest part of the iOS 18 narrative is missing.

    As you can imagine, I’m going to save a deeper, more detailed look at all the visual customization features and app-related changes in iOS and iPadOS 18 for my annual review later this year, where I also plan to talk about Apple’s approach to AI and what it’ll mean for our usage of iPhones and iPads.

    For now, let’s take a look at the features and app updates I’ve enjoyed over the past month.

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    Apple Executives on the Photos Overhaul in iOS 18→

    Alvin Cabral, writing for The National, got a nice quote from Apple’s Billy Sorrentino on the redesigned Photos app in iOS 18:

    “As our features, users and libraries have grown, so has the density of the [Photos] app. So rather than hunt and peck throughout, we’ve created a simple streamlined single view photos experience based on deep intelligence,” Billy Sorrentino, senior director at Apple’s human interface design unit, told The National.

    “Ultimately, we wanted to remove friction” in how Photos is used, he added.

    It’s been a few weeks since I installed iOS 18 on my primary iPhone, and I feel pretty confident in saying this: I was wrong about the new Photos app at first.

    I’ll reserve more in-depth comments for the public beta and final release of iOS 18; of course, given the drastic redesign of the app, there’s also a chance Apple may scrap their plans and introduce a safer update with fewer structural changes. However, over the past few weeks, I noticed that not only do I find myself discovering more old photos in iOS 18, but the modular approach of the more customizable Photos app really works for me. I was able to fine-tune the top carousel to my liking, and I customized pinned collections with shortcuts to my favorite sections. Put simply, because of these changes, I use the Photos app a lot more and find navigating it faster than before.

    Anecdotally, when I showed my girlfriend the new Photos app, she argued that the single-page design should be nicer than iOS 17 since she never used the other tabs in the app anyway. I don’t think she’s alone in that regard, which is why I believe Apple should stick with this major redesign this time around.

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    Designing Dark Mode App Icons→

    Apple’s announcement of “dark mode” icons has me thinking about how I would approach adapting “light mode” icons for dark mode. I grabbed 12 icons we made at Parakeet for our clients to illustrate some ways of going about it.

    Before that though, let’s take some inventory. Of the 28 icons in Apple’s preview image of this feature, only nine have white backgrounds in light mode. However, all icons in dark mode have black backgrounds.

    Actually, it’s worth noting that five “light mode” icons have black backgrounds, which Apple slightly adjusted to have a consistent subtle black gradient found on all of their new dark mode icons. Four of these—Stocks, Wallet, TV, and Watch—all seem to be the same in both modes. However, no other (visible) icons are.

    Fantastic showcase by Louie Mantia of how designers should approach the creation of dark mode Home Screen icons in iOS 18. In all the examples, I prefer Mantia’s take to the standard black background version.

    See also: Gavin Nelson’s suggestion, Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines on dark mode icons, and the updated Apple Design Resources for iOS 18.

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    iOS and iPadOS 18: The MacStories Overview

    Image: Apple.

    Image: Apple.

    At its WWDC 2024 keynote held earlier today online and with an in-person event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California, Apple officially announced the next versions of the operating systems for iPhone and iPad – iOS and iPadOS 18.

    As widely speculated in the lead up to the event, Apple’s focus for both OSes largely revolves around artificial intelligence, or as the company likes to refer to the AI acronym now, “Apple Intelligence”. The new AI features in iOS and iPadOS promise to make both operating systems, well, more intelligent than before thanks to a completely revamped Siri and proactive functionalities that learn from users’ habits and apps. Presented as a fast, private, and personal set of features that draws from the user’s context and combines it with generative models, Apple Intelligence – which will debut in U.S. English only later this year, with a beta expected later this summer – will power a variety of new system features and experiences, starting from a revamped Siri and text analysis features to image creation, performing actions inside apps, and more.

    But AI-related improvements aren’t the only new features Apple announced today. From a renewed focus on Home Screen customization and redesigned Control Center to a new design for tab bars on iPad and expanded Tapbacks in Messages, Apple has showed that, while they can follow the rest of the tech industry in rethinking how AI can enhance how we use our devices, they can continue shipping other functionalities for iPhone and iPad, too. Or, at the very least, they certainly can for the iPhone and iOS.

    We’ll have in-depth overviews for both iOS and iPadOS 18 when the public betas for each OS come out next month, and, of course, we’ll continue diving into the announcements later this week on MacStories via our WWDC 2024 hub as well as AppStories. We’ll also have a dedicated story about Apple Intelligence coming later on MacStories with the highlights of all the AI-infused features announced by Apple today.

    In the meantime, here’s a recap of everything else that Apple showed today for iOS and iPadOS 18.

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