iOS 18: News and Expected Price (Free), Release Date, Specs; and More Rumors

iOS 18 could be "the biggest" iPhone OS update in Apple's history. Let's look at what that could mean and when you can look forward to installing it on your iPhone.

iOS 18 Release Date

If we look at the history of iOS, it's clear that Apple refreshes the iPhone operating system with new features and bug fixes every year. 2024 will be no different.

Watch for WWDC 2024 since Apple will officially preview the update. You can try iOS 18 if you sign up for the Apple Beta Software Program, which will likely open in July. Finally, if your iPhone can run iOS 18 (see the list below), you'll be prompted to install it in September.

The newest iOS version will install automatically if your phone is compatible. Another way to get iOS 18 this fall is to update your phone from the Settings app.

iOS 18 Price

Like all iPhone operating system updates, iOS 18 will be completely free.

iOS 18 Features

Artificial intelligence (AI) will take center stage this year. With tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot in the news, Apple appears ready to make its own AI debut. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the company has been working on AI for a while and will integrate some of those new features into iOS 18.

Two areas that make sense for AI enhancements on the iPhone are Siri and Messages. Gurman says Apple's AI should improve how both handle questions. Generative AI from Google and OpenAI have already proven successful in the short time they've been around, so we expect similar functionality to show up in iOS 18. This likely means human-like conversations with Siri and smarter autocomplete when you're writing messages.

AI-powered Siri could be game-changing. If you're familiar with ChatGPT, then you know it does a pretty decent job of conversing like a real person and understanding context. Siri, however, is built into the iPhone, which means it has easy access to all your apps, including your calls and texts, notes, calendar, and everything else.

We're hoping, possibly in time for iOS 18, you can control anything you want on your phone by simply talking to Siri like you would a human. I can see the assistant replacing, or at least massively improving, the Shortcuts app by handling complex spoken commands without hesitation. According to Gurman, Siri will be able to control specific functions within apps, letting you do things like delete emails and open documents.

Who knows how far this could go? After the "Hey" trigger was removed to summon Siri just last year, it's not a stretch to take it a step further: your powerful AI assistant will know when you're talking to it and perform all kinds of advanced tasks without ever leaving your pocket (admittedly, that could be awkward in some situations).

AI won't stop with Siri. According to Gurman, Apple's SVP of Services, Eddy Cue, wants AI all over your iPhone. Here's some of what could be coming:

• AI-generated playlists based on your listening habits could be worked into Apple Music.
• In any app, AI could generate whole paragraphs, provide outlines, and generate images.
• Text summarization, one-touch image and video editing, and better audio transcription could also be on the horizon.

iOS 18 is also expected to introduce RCS support. This news is from late last year when an Apple spokesperson told 9to5Mac that RCS is coming to the iPhone in 2024. RCS, or Rich Communication Services, works over a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection and supports features like typing indicators and read receipts

iMessage isn't going anywhere, though; this change is relevant when iMessage is unavailable, like when a text is exchanged between an Android and an iPhone.

iOS 18 is also expected to enhance AirPods Pro. In one of Mark Gurman's recent newsletters, picked up by 9to5Mac, he says that iOS 18 will introduce a new hearing aid mode. We don't know the details yet, but it'll absolutely be beneficial.

We've also learned (again, from Mark Gurman) that when you update your iPhone to iOS 18, you'll have greater control over where your Home Screen apps can go. The specifics aren't clear yet, but it sounds like Apple will finally quit forcing apps to snap to the grid, meaning icons can be placed anywhere on the screen (much like Android).

Remember, most of what's been discussed are rumors. They come from reliable sources, but they're still unofficial now. RCS could arrive sooner than the iOS 18 launch, and the AI features might not be fully realized until a subsequent iOS 18 update or even later.

We should know much more about what's to come at the Apple Worldwide Developer's Conference this summer, so be sure to check back for updates.

iOS 18 Supported Devices

Apple hasn't released this information yet, but we bet the same phones that can run iOS 17 will also be compatible with iOS 18. This means the iPhone XR and newer.

The newest iPhone will support all the latest and greatest features of iOS 18. Older devices will also be able to install iOS 18, but the more advanced, hardware-intensive capabilities might be reserved for the newest models.

The Latest News About iOS 18

You can get more smartphone news from Lifewire. Here are some stories about iOS 18 and AI specifically: