Apple Releases iOS 18 Public Beta for iPhone — Here’s What’s Coming

Apple on Monday released a preview of a major update for the new iPhone.

The iOS 18 public preview is a beta version of the software that will be released alongside new iPhone models this fall. It will allow Apple fans and developers to test out the latest features before they are officially released and identify bugs before all iPhone users install the new software.

This year, however, the most important new service isn’t in public beta: Apple Intelligence. In June, Apple announced that some of its newer devices would be able to access Apple’s AI service, which can intelligently answer questions, control your iPhone, and even generate images.

Apple says Apple Intelligence will be released in beta this fall, and users will be able to try it out this summer. Some of the promised Apple Intelligence features, like ChatGPT integration and some Siri improvements, aren’t expected to be released until the end of this year.

But there are still a lot of changes in this version of iOS that will change the look and feel of iPhones and may surprise users when they first install the software. Apple has updated several core elements of the device’s user interface, including the Lock screen, Home screen, and Control Center, to support a wider range of colors and personalization options.

Top apps like Photos have been redesigned. Messages are more colorful and support emoji reactions. Users can even change all app icons to the same color.

Many of these look-and-feel features have been available to Android users for years, but they’ll be new to longtime iPhone users and are part of a multi-year process in which Apple is opening up the previously rigid iPhone software design to greater visual personalization after overhauling the device’s lock screen in last year’s release.

• Users can now place icons anywhere on their home screen – for example, you can place all your apps along the edge of the screen so users can see their wallpaper better.
• App icons can be changed to dark mode, and iOS can also change all app icons to the same color.
• The Apple Control Center menu — accessible by swiping down from the top right corner — is more customizable, includes multiple pages of screens, and offers new types of controls.
• Users can replace the camera and flashlight shortcuts on the lock screen with shortcuts to other apps.
• Apple’s Photos app is getting a big update with a new look. The app now uses AI to organize your photos into travels or albums, which are the first page when you open the app.
• Apple’s Messages app can now add bold or italics to text. Users can also respond to messages with any emoji. These so-called “tapbacks” now appear in color in the Messages app.

• Users with newer iOS 18 devices can send text messages via satellite if they don’t have access to Wi-Fi or cellular coverage.
• Safari will summarize news and other web articles, including generating tables of contents. These features can be accessed using the button on the left side of the URL bar in Safari.
• Apple has put all of its password management features into the new Passwords app.
• Users can tap one iPhone against another iPhone to quickly transfer digital money.
• iPhones can now generate transcripts of calls and recordings.
• Siri animation now covers the entire iPhone screen.

• Make sure your phone can run the latest software. It must be released in 2018 or later.
• Update to the latest public version of iOS.
• Go to Settings > General > Software Update. Select iOS 18 public beta from the drop-down menu.