The big day has finally arrived: Apple This is a Glowtime event starting today at 1pm ET (you can see here and follow Engadget Apple event live blogalso). It is expected to announce a new one iPhone 16 lineupas well as new Apple Watch and AirPods models. Those will be phones iOS 18 already installed, so you won’t need to upgrade at purchase – at this time iPhone 16 models are expected to hit stores. But if you’re not upgrading to a new iPhone this year, when Apple releases iOS 18, you may find that your old phone’s operating system is no longer supported.
Generally, every year some older iPhone models are removed from Apple’s iOS compatibility list. For example, last year iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X were left out of the compatibility list. This meant that those iPhone owners could not update to iOS 17 and missed out on some notable features.
We’ll help you find out if your iPhone supports iOS 18, which is expected to be available in about two weeks. Apple Intelligence. Not sure what’s coming with the new update? Here is a summary The biggest announcements from WWDCIncluding an overview of iOS 18.
iPhone compatible with iOS 18
We’ve got good news: If you had a compatible phone when you updated to iOS 17 last year, that device should still be compatible with iOS 18, According to Apple. This means you won’t have to buy a new phone to test most new software features.
In other words, if you have an iPhone 2017 model year or earlier (iPhone 8 or iPhone X), you can’t upgrade to the latest iOS, but your phone should continue to work without the latest bells and whistles.
Is your iPhone compatible with Apple Intelligence?
While your older device may still support the latest iOS, you likely won’t be able to test the Apple Intelligence beta yet. If the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max – the best models of 2023 – your Not compatible with iPhone. It’s safe to say that the new iPhone 16 models will be fully Apple Intelligence compatible, but we’ll have to wait for the official details at the September 9 event.
New features expected in iOS 18
Apple Intelligence is the biggest update though It comes with iOS 18its features will be released in more installments over the next few months. And the more advanced features will not be available on older iPhone models except the iPhone 15 Pro series. However, the remaining features of iOS 18 will touch the phones listed above. Here are some of the things you can expect when you download Apple’s new software later this month.
Passwords program: Keep all your credentials safe in one place, including passwords and security alerts that you can access right in the app. (Although this functionality is currently available in Settings, moving it to the new app should make it easier to find and access.)
Improved Messages app: The new iMessages experience brings the option to make your text bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough. You will also be able to add animations to your text messages. It also brings an update RCS to iPhones to better support Android compatibility.
Organized photo library: The The Photos app is being redesignedit lets you create your own collections and host them in the app — think “wedding photos” or “trip to Aruba.” It removes the current tabbed bottom and bends to a grid layout. Introduced at WWDC was the updated carousel view removed during beta process.
Personalized home screen layout: Finally, you’ll get the option to rearrange your apps – for example, you can leave the middle space open to display your home screen image, and instead keep your apps flush with the screen border. You can also change the appearance of the applications by coloring them with any color, as well as resizing the applications.
There are many other fixes and improvements to core apps like Maps, Calendar, Safari and more. Check out Cherlynn Low’s picks The best hidden features of iOS 18 and its sibling Apple’s operating system updates are based on betas released earlier this year.
Is there an iOS 18 beta?
There is and you can too download now — as long as you’re willing to live with the bugs and hassles of beta software. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, we suggest you just wait for the release of the real deal in a few days.