Apple is set to make significant changes to iOS 18, as per insights from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg.
In a Q&A session for subscribers in his Power On newsletter, Gurman mentioned that iOS 18 is anticipated to be the “biggest” update in the history of the iPhone. “I’ve been informed that the new operating system is seen within the company as one of the most significant changes to iOS – perhaps the most significant – in the company’s history,” he stated. Gurman plans to share more details about the features and upcoming updates of iOS 18, but we are already aware of two potential additions to the update, as described below. iOS 18 will be available in September, with the initial developer beta set to be released at Apple’s annual WWDC conference in June.
RCS Integration
In November 2023, Apple revealed plans to support RCS cross-platform messaging in the iPhone’s Messages app starting in 2024, which indicates its inclusion in iOS 18. Integration of RCS is expected to redefine the communication experience between iPhones and Android devices, with benefits such as high-quality media, audio messages, read receipts, Wi-Fi messaging between the two platforms, enhanced group chats, and the ability for iPhone users to exit conversations involving Android users, all surpassing standard SMS capabilities. These modern features are currently available in iPhone-to-iPhone conversations with the blue bubble, through iMessage, and many of them are also accessible in third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. On the iPhone, RCS support will be identified by green bubbles in the Messages app.
Enhanced Siri
iOS 18 is poised to introduce AI technology that could significantly enhance the capabilities of Siri and the Messages app in generating automatic queries and responses. Additionally, Apple is exploring AI functionalities for several other apps, such as Apple Music, Pages, Keynote, and Xcode. The company aims to expand Siri’s language support to facilitate complex tasks, including deeper integration with the Shortcuts app. This feature is anticipated to be incorporated into the forthcoming iPhone software in 2024, namely iOS 18. In 2022, the advancements in Generative AI were substantial following the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a chatbot capable of processing inquiries and more. Google and Microsoft also unveiled similar chatbots last year, marking a surge in the industry’s development. These chatbots are trained across various languages, enabling them to converse like humans.
