Industry experts are eagerly anticipating Apple’s iOS 18 operating system release even more than the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup.
Apple’s new iOS updates always garner significant attention from the tech world. And this year, iOS 18 is generating even more buzz than usual due to the company’s anticipated integration of powerful AI features.
iOS 18 is scheduled to be unveiled during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024, kicking off on June 10th
In the realm of generative AI, Apple has noticeably been playing catch-up. While Samsung and Google have partnered to bring features like Circle to Search to Android phones, Apple has remained relatively quiet about its AI advancements.
However, Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted at the company’s big plans for AI. In a Q1 2024 earnings call, he stated, “I think Apple has a huge opportunity in GenAI and AI.”
Here are some of the reasons why iOS 18 is shaping up to be more exciting than the iPhone 16 Series, according to tech publication Cnet:
AI in iOS 18
According to Bloomberg, Apple’s iOS 18 update will be a significant upgrade over iOS 17, largely due to AI.
Bloomberg reports that Apple’s upcoming software updates for iPhones and iPads will be packed with new AI features, marking the biggest updates in years. The company’s software engineering teams have been tasked with creating a slew of AI-powered features for the new software.
Bloomberg also suggests that Apple plans to integrate AI into existing apps and apply it more broadly across iOS for tasks like summarizing notifications and articles in Safari, as well as generating text.
The Information and Bloomberg have also reported that Apple is developing a more sophisticated version of Siri. According to reports from Bloomberg, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, Apple is in talks with Google and OpenAI to use their respective AI models to power new iPhone features.
Current Samsung and Google phones have already begun to integrate AI. Samsung’s Galaxy S24 lineup and Google’s Pixel 8 phones have tools to remove or move objects in photos and can even generate new scenery to fill in the remaining gaps.
Apple may take a similar approach.
Incremental Upgrades for the iPhone 16 Lineup
While the iPhone 16 is expected to be a minor upgrade over the iPhone 15, the iOS 18 operating system will be the major update to watch this year.
According to reports from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities, one of the biggest expected changes is the addition of a dedicated new button for video recording and a quad-lens telephoto lens on the iPhone 16 Pro.
MacRumors reports that Apple’s next iPhones will feature a new processor, with analyst Jeff Pu predicting that all four new iPhone models will have the A18 chip. Additionally, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are also expected to have slightly larger displays.
These upgrades, however, are relatively uninspired. This is why many iFans believe that iOS 18, with its anticipated AI enhancements, will be the bigger draw than the iPhone 16.
Furthermore, the role of software compared to hardware is becoming increasingly important.
Major software changes have the potential to completely change how we use our phones — for better or worse. For example, the ability to move the Safari search bar in iOS 15 or the customizable lock screen coming with iOS 16.
Apple typically supports new iOS software updates for older iPhones. So, the new features of iOS 18 will be widely available on older iPhones alongside the iPhone 16 lineup. Of course, some of the new AI features may be exclusive to the iPhone 16 as they may require the new chip – which has more advanced on-device processing capabilities.
For now, the AI features from Samsung and Google are already impressive enough for some users to upgrade their phones. But all of this is just the beginning of a very exciting direction for smartphones, making them even smarter. And with iOS 18, the iPhone is poised to become even more impressive.
