When I finished watching the latest WWDC, it was obvious that Apple finally gave us a bunch of nice features that we’ve been waiting to see on the iPhone for a long time.
However, I can’t help but feel that iOS 18 was missing that flagship feature that has everyone talking about it (for one reason or another). And when I say “headline” feature, I don’t necessarily mean a feature that Apple itself has chosen to promote more actively.
Going back to iOS 17, the fan-favorite new feature was probably StandBy mode, which turns your iPhone into a desk/nightstand clock – simple but practical.
And I know this isn’t related to any iOS version, but the iPhone 14 Pro launch blew everyone away with the “Dynamic Island” and the genius way Apple made the display hole feel like part of the iOS 16 experience. Excellent an example of how Apple can use software to do something exciting that no one else has done.
Is Apple copying Google and Samsung’s homework for iOS 18 without trying too hard?
You may/may not be able to Circle, but iOS 18 will allow iPhone 15 Pro users to search whatever’s on their screen.
- Apple’s version of Google’s writing styles, called Writing Tools, which will rewrite, polish, correct and summarize text for you
- The Image playground feature, which allows you to generate images from prompts, seems to produce cartoonish images, perhaps because Apple doesn’t want them to be “too realistic” and used for “evil purposes”
An exception to the above is the Image wand feature, which Apple talked about briefly. This one should take a rough sketch (made by you) and turn it into a more usable image. For the record, Microsoft has already introduced an identical feature as part of MS Paint on Windows laptops running CoPilot.
- “Genmoji” or the ability to make your own custom emojis ranks very close to “Animoji” and “Slofie” on my list of “silly iPhone features”, so let’s leave it there…
- Then there’s Clean up, Apple’s version of Google’s Magic eraser, which is welcome on my iPhone, but again, nothing groundbreaking here
- While this is pretty subjective, I find the new Photos app too busy and generally confusing; also, swiping through photos now looks unnecessarily animated (because it is) – let me know how you feel about it
All in all, iOS 18 it seems to be missing that special ‘applesauce’ – the moment where Apple makes it ‘later but better’.
And aside from deeper AI integration (more on that below), I didn’t see Tim Cook & Co doing an interesting twist on any of the “AI” features that Google, Samsung, and even Microsoft have already introduced.
Not to mention the lack of home screen customization options that seem to let you choose a universal shade for all your icons, making third-party apps look questionable. There’s a new dark mode for the home screen that’s super basic… It’s very unlike Apple to show a lack of attention to detail in general, but here we are – at least in the iOS 18 beta.
Apple Intelligence’s most impressive features aren’t coming until 2025; some do not come to Europe until further notice; “Apple Intelligence” exclusively for iPhone 15 Pro
Apple Intelligence is exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro, and that should be a crime. Somewhere. But not in this universe.
For one thing, the big one here is the fact that only the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max get the best, most advanced “Apple Intelligence” features.
I’ve already discussed this at length, but I’ll just say that despite Apple’s recent apology for “underpowered iPhones that wouldn’t work with Apple Intelligence as quickly as we’d like,” I still believe this was intentional an oversight on Apple’s part.
After all, Apple has always known that phones like the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 Pro would be expected to get the latest, greatest AI, but a while ago it decided to give them only 6GB of RAM and Apple chips with more few Neural engine cores.
Anyway… To give it credit, Apple really did it the “Apple way” by implementing AI throughout the entire system experience, not just select apps. This is commendable, as it’s exactly what could ultimately put the iPhone ahead of the competition in terms of on-device AI.
However, out of the gate, some of the advanced features in the iOS 18 will be delayed “until 2025”. Not surprisingly, they are the most impressive:
- Personal context – Siri will be able to peer into your photos, emails, messages, calendar events and more to help you with more specific tasks – well, not until 2025.
- App Control – Whenever you need to open a document, move a file or share a web link, Siri will be able to handle specific tasks in your apps – but not until 2025.
- Thanks to ‘On-screen Awareness’ – Siri will be able to see what’s on your screen and thus know exactly what you’re talking about when you ask a specific question – pretty cool, but not coming until 2025.
- Additional languages - Siri only speaks US English for now, but don’t worry – Apple says “more languages are coming in 2025.”
It’s also worth noting that Siri will only support US English at launch, with other languages coming “sometime in 2025.” However, the cherry on top here is that the whole “Apple Intelligence” bag of tricks (as well as features like iPhone Mirroring) won’t be coming to Europe – at least until further notice, which is super disappointing for Europeans… like me (Hi !).
Tim Cook & Co hate ‘rushing things’, but Apple felt compelled to give people ‘AI’: Could this lead to a rough launch for iOS 18?
Spoiler alert – iOS 18 launch is already rough. Well, at least from the first few betas running on my iPhone 15 Pro Max.
As I mentioned, Apple Intelligence’s most powerful features aren’t even coming until 2025, which means that iPhone 15 Pro and the new iPhone 16 series will run what is essentially a “beta version” of Apple’s AI in the device.
Being part of the depper Siri integration, it also remains to be seen if ChatGPT will arrive in time for the public release of iOS 18 and iPhone 16.
ChatGPT will play an important role in Apple’s version of Google’s awesome Circle to Search feature, which makes it possible to search anything on your screen. And, of course, it will do all the other ChatGPT things you’d expect (at least when Siri can’t).
With the delayed launch of the best new AI features; iPhone 15 Pro exclusivity; questionable European availability and a touch of sloppiness, I’m not entirely sure that iOS 18 will be Apple’s smoothest iOS launch yet.
It is clear Tim Cook & Co felt compelled to provide “something” in the field of AI. But was Apple ready?
