Apple executives always Describe new hardware and software as the “best” or “biggest” ever, but delivery is usually not in line with the hype (see last year’s iPad). However, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 may be worth some of these adjectives. The latest version of the operating system has a certain degree of usually year-on-year quality of life, but Apple Intelligence has stolen the spotlight.
This is an AI-powered mission Apple has implemented in the past few years. Even Siri has been upgraded, although we are still waiting for many promised features to arrive. Here are all the new iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 features, how to download the current version, and what you will encounter in Apple Intelligence.
Table of contents
Updated May 2025: We added details about iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5.
Is your iPhone or iPad compatible?
Good news! Every iPhone that can install iOS 17 can run iOS 18. Apple has not removed any iPhone from the list of supported devices. If you have 2018 iPhone XR and iPhone XS or newer (including the second-generation iPhone SE), you can download and run iOS 18. If you are not sure which iPhone model you have, go to the Settings app and click General > about have a look Model name. This doesn’t mean that every feature can be used, as some require more modern processors. (For example, Apple Intelligence is iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 unique Model; more information about the following. )
This is a bit more complicated for iPads, because the naming scheme depends on hardware generation, not on the specific device name. Here are several generations that support iPados 18 (unlike iPhones, some iPads are no longer supported). You can figure out which model is by following the instructions here.
- iPad: The seventh generation, later
- iPad mini: The fifth generation, later
- iPad Air: The third generation and later (including M2 and M3)
- iPad Pro 11-inch: The first generation, later
- iPad Pro 12.9 inches: Third generation and beyond (including M4)
Check out our guide to the best iPhone and the best iPad to learn more about the current model.
Before installing the new operating system, I high We recommend that you back up the device. You can do this with iCloud – settingsclick on the name at the top and select iCloud. Then, click iCloud backupswitch it and click Backup now Start a new backup. On the previous iCloud page, you also have the option to toggle certain applications that you do not want to include in the backup. Don’t have enough iCloud storage, or want to use another method? Check out our guide on how to back up your iPhone or iPad for alternative options.
After backup, you can install iOS 18. Since this is a major update, you should plug the device into the charger and make sure to connect it to Wi-Fi before the update starts. Go now Settings > General > Software Updates. You will see the option to download updates. Tap Download and install And, after the download is complete, click Install now Start updating. When your device restarts, you will know that the update is complete.
New iOS/iPados 18 version update
All the highest features in iOS and iPadOS 18 are highlighted below, but Apple releases additional updates throughout the year. These include new features, bug fixes, and security patches that are not available at startup. To update your iPhone, go to settings > General > Software Update And follow the instructions above.
iOS/iPados 18.5: This update includes support for satellite features on all iPhone 13 models, screen time password notifications, “Buy with iPhone” on the Apple TV app via third-party devices, and Carplay Ultra (starting with Aston Martin Martin vehicles).
iOS/iPados 18.4: This update includes priority notifications in Apple Intelligence, Visual Intelligence for iPhone 15 Pro, standalone Vision Pro app, new emojis, sketch mode in the image playground, recipes for Apple News+, new organization features in the photo app, pre-authorized payments in Apple Wallet, lossless audio with AirPods Max, and lossless audio from Apple Intellipods Max, access to features in the Apple Intelligence Control Center center.
iOS/iPados 18.3: This update includes an improved notification summary, a visual intelligence upgrade for the iPhone 16 model, and a minor feature added in the calculator app. By default, Apple Intelligence can now be enabled (although you can turn it off).
iOS/iPados 18.2: This update brings Genmoji, Image Playground, Image Wand, Chatgpt in Siri, Visual Intelligence, AirTag shared location tracking, Find My New Mail App Features, and new settings for camera control. In addition, writing tools have also been improved from Chatgpt and have the ability to write messages. Easily use Apple Intelligence without having to join the waitlist.
iOS/iPados 18.1: Apple officially released Apple Intelligence in this version. Initially, you have to go Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Join the waitlist register. It took several hours to wait for the list. Apple said this is to ensure sufficient server capacity. Apple Intelligence launches the following smart features: writing tools, clean up in memory movies and Apple photos, priority emails in emails, smart replies, summary and call records in transcription summary and notes, notification summary, and new focus on reducing disruptions.
What is Apple Intelligence?
From Google and Samsung to Microsoft, every major tech company integrates artificial intelligence into its hardware and software. Apple Intelligence is Apple’s version, a term you’ll see the company throw away in the coming years. It powers many of the new AI features in its devices.
It is powered by Apple’s large language model (partially trained through data from public networks according to Axios’ ina fried). It requires the company’s custom chip Apple Silicon, which is a hybrid architecture designed to run AI tasks. Even devices running on the device Apple Intelligence can complete the device processing required to complete the AI tasks, but sometimes the task is too large and needs to be sent to the cloud. When the task requires more processing, it will be sent to a secure data center with a computer running Apple Silicon. Although this computing method is often less private, Apple claims its private cloud computing platform focuses on ensuring data privacy for every user. Only data related to the query is sent to these servers, and the data is only used for your request and is never stored.
Apple smart compatible devices
Before you get excited, Apple Intelligence is not for every device that supports iOS 18. It is only supported on selected processors (and languages).
What exactly is Apple Smart? Apple divides its key functions into three buckets: language, images, and actions.
Apple Smart: Language
In Apple’s hardware and software, you’ll find new writing tools that can leverage the power of generating AI to help your writing. This includes rewriting, which can help you change the tone of the text to sound more friendly or professional (e.g. in an email) and proofreading, which more or less illustrates what the name suggests. You can also use TAP to summarize selected text.
These text-based improvements are more than just writing. It also provides priority notifications for priority notifications that appear at the top of your notification list and are aggregated so you can get a more digestible summary at a glance. You can turn on the function by going to Settings > Notifications > Priority Notifications. Likewise, the mail app provides priority messages, which means important emails will float to the top of your inbox. You can also get a summary of long emails, and the smart reply feature allows you to quickly respond to emails (or even answers to multiple questions asked in emails), unlike what you have in Gmail.
However, Apple has suspended notification summary for the news app in several instances that failed to accurately summarize articles. Notifications summarized by Apple Intelligence will now appear in italic text.
In the comments, voice memos, and phone apps, you can click the record button (yes, even on a call) to get a recording with a transcript, and Apple Intelligence can create a summary of that transcript. Apple said that in states that require bipartisan consent to be recorded, people on the other end of the bank will realize the call is being recorded.
Finally, there is a new focus mode called “reducing interrupts” that understands your personal context, so while it hides information that can distract you, it is enough to understand what you have done to allow the text of the babysitter to pass.
Apple Smart: Images
Apple Intelligence images revolve a lot around generating new images through artificial intelligence. Most of this happens in the image playground, which is the experience of baking in other applications (although it also exists as a standalone application). You can generate images based on descriptions, suggested concepts, and even people from your photo gallery. You can control the styles and can adjust them to match anything that happens in the app you are using. You can also choose between different styles, including illustrations, animations, and (recent) (recent) Sketch, which gives the image a more natural hand-drawn look.
Genmoji is probably just the most anticipated feature of everything Apple announced. It allows you to generate emojis directly from the keyboard with text prompts. You can also take a photo of a person from your photo gallery to create emojis based on their appearance. You have to provide a description first, but you can adjust the description until it fits your goal.
Image wand is another image generation system that works specifically in Notes applications. With the help of a finger or an apple pencil, you can wrap around the sketch to make Apple Intelligence create something that looks more refined, but you can also circle a space and it will generate an image based on the surrounding text. This is an easy way to add more visual variety to your notes.
The Photos app gets some AI features. You can make a memory movie by typing out a description like “All the desserts I ate last summer, playing pop songs,” Apple’s AI will find the right images and videos, put them into songs, and then make a shareable movie from it. Searching for specific photos will also be easier – just describe what you want, it will find it, even moments in video clips (similar to Google’s Ask Photos feature). Finally, you can use the new cleaning tool in the photo editor to erase unwanted objects in the background of the photo, just like the magic eraser on a pixel phone and Samsung’s object eraser.
Apple Intelligence: Operation
The last part of Apple Smart is arguably the most commonly used, and it involves Siri. The Assistant has a new look – when activated, the edges of the screen glow – you can now enter requests to Siri instead of using voice (things you were able to do with Google Assistant for several years).
.jpg)
Photo: Julian Chokkattu
