iOS 18 is the eighteenth and current major release of

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

operating system for the

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

. It was announced on June 10, 2024, at the 2024

Worldwide Developers Conference The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macO ...

(WWDC). It was made publicly available on September 16, 2024, as a free software update for supported iOS devices. It is the direct successor to

iOS 17 iOS 17 is the seventeenth major release of Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone. It is the direct successor to iOS 16. It was announced on June 5, 2023, at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference alongside watchOS 10, iPadOS 1 ...

and was announced alongside

iPadOS 18 iPadOS 18 is the sixth and current major release of Apple's iPadOS operating system for the iPad. It was revealed at the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). It is the direct successor to iPadOS 17 and was announced alongside iOS 18 ...

macOS Sequoia macOS Sequoia (version 15) is the twenty-first and current major release of Apple Inc., Apple's macOS operating system, the successor to macOS Sonoma. It was announced at Worldwide Developers Conference#2024, WWDC 2024 on June 10, 2024. In li ...

watchOS 11 watchOS is the operating system of the Apple Watch, developed by Apple. It is based on iOS, the operating system used by the iPhone, and has many similar features. It was released on April 24, 2015, along with the Apple Watch, the only device t ...

visionOS 2 visionOS is a mixed reality operating system derived primarily from iPadOS and its core frameworks (including UIKit, SwiftUI, ARKit and RealityKit), and MR-specific frameworks for foveated rendering and real-time interaction. It was developed b ...

, and

tvOS 18 tvOS (formerly Apple TV Software) is an operating system developed by Apple for the Apple TV, a digital media player. In the first-generation Apple TV, Apple TV Software was based on Mac OS X. The software for the second-generation and later Ap ...

. iOS 18 is the final version of iOS that supports the iPhone XS/XS Max and iPhone XR; its successor,

iOS 26 iOS 26 is the nineteenth and the next major release of Apple's iOS operating system for the iPhone. It was announced on June 9, 2025, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and is expected to be released in September. It is the di ...

, dropped support for those models in 2025.

System features

Apple Intelligence

The

Apple Intelligence Apple Intelligence is an artificial intelligence system developed by Apple Inc. Relying on a combination of on-device and server processing, it was announced on June 10, 2024, at Worldwide Developers Conference#2024, WWDC 2024, as a built-in fe ...

platform is available in iOS 18.1 and beyond on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max models as well as the iPhone 16 and

iPhone 16 Pro The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are high-end smartphones developed and marketed by Apple Inc. Alongside the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, they form the eighteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 ...

models. Apple Intelligence adds

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

(AI) capabilities and

large language model A large language model (LLM) is a language model trained with self-supervised machine learning on a vast amount of text, designed for natural language processing tasks, especially language generation. The largest and most capable LLMs are g ...

integrations to

Siri Siri ( , backronym: Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface) is a digital assistant purchased, developed, and popularized by Apple Inc., which is included in the iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, Apple TV, audioOS, and visionOS operating sys ...

and other operating system functions, such as the

Photos A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. The process and prac ...

app and also the image creation tools. Apple's Intelligence features are set to be introduced gradually across several forthcoming updates. These features were not included in the initial release of the iPhone 16 models.

Calculator

iOS 18's Calculator introduces Math Notes, a new feature that allows users to perform and track calculations on separate sheets, solve

mathematical equations In mathematics, an equation is a mathematical formula that expresses the equality of two expressions, by connecting them with the equals sign . The word ''equation'' and its cognates in other languages may have subtly different meanings; for e ...

, and plot functions on graphs. With integrated handwriting recognition, Math Notes automatically evaluates user input and displays the results in their own handwriting. The redesigned Calculator app, now shared between iOS and

iPadOS iPadOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPad line of tablet computers. It was given a name distinct from iOS, the operating system used by Apple's iPhones to reflect the diverging features of the two product lines, suc ...

, marks the first time an official calculator has been available for iPad.

Messages

iOS 18 supports

Rich Communication Services Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a communication protocol standard for instant messaging, primarily for mobile phones, developed and defined by the GSM Association (GSMA). It aims to be a replacement of SMS and Multimedia Messaging Service, ...

(RCS) on supported conversations, including support for read receipts and higher-quality multimedia sharing across various platforms. As with

SMS Short Message Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile phones exchange short text messages, t ...

, it is designated with green message bubbles and buttons to distinguish it from blue

iMessage iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. and launched in 2011. iMessage functions exclusively on Apple platforms – including iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS – as part of Apple ecosystem, Apple's approach t ...

conversations. Availability of RCS messaging varies by carrier availability and compatibility. Apple previously refused the adoption of RCS in iOS. In 2022, after being questioned about RCS potentially coming to iPhone to increase compatibility with Android,

Tim Cook Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive who is the current chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Cook had previously been the company's chief operating officer under its co-founder Steve Jobs. Cook joined ...

said that iPhone users were not expressing interest in RCS and instead suggested that a solution would be to switch to an iPhone to use iMessage. The person who asked the question followed up, explaining that they use an iPhone while their mom uses an Android phone, to which Tim Cook jokingly replied "Buy your mom an iPhone" to large controversy. The quote was later cited in an

anti-trust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust ...

lawsuit against Apple Inc. filed by the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

. 18.4 added RCS support for more carriers. In iMessage, Animated effects can be applied to any letter, word, or phrase, and text formatting such as bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough can be applied to any part of the text as well. Both can be used simultaneously but cannot be used with the same selected text, however.

Photos

iOS 18 includes a significant redesign of the Photos app. Slideshows known as collections are now automatically generated and visible at the top of the screen. Support for encoding/decoding the

ISO The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Me ...

21496-1 gain map standard for HDR images was added, which allows for cross-platform HDR compatibility while remaining backwards compatible with SDR displays. This redesign has led to backlash from many users who find it too confusing and is said to be the most controversial change in iOS 18.

Home screen

iOS 18 allows users to customize the icon color as well as the icon position and size on the home screen. A toggle to activate dark mode icons for first-party apps and many third party ones was implemented. Previous iOS versions arranged icons on a preset grid, but now users can place them anywhere. In iOS 18, App Widgets and some apps can now be enlarged or reduced as desired. Many system icons were given gradients or had them removed. In iOS 18, applications can now be locked or hidden. Locked apps require passcode/biometric authentication to run. Hidden apps are moved to a designated 'Hidden' folder in the App Library; accessing that folder requires passcode/biometric authentication. Hidden apps do not show in other places on the phone such as Siri Suggestions and the Settings app. In iOS 18.1, a new feature was introduced which enables users to edit the iPhone home screen through iPhone Mirroring.

Control Center

iOS 18 comes with a redesign to the Control Center, allowing for multiple pages of controls, resizable buttons, and third-party controls.

Passwords

Apple introduced

Passwords A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of password-protected services ...

, a

password manager A password manager is a software program to prevent password fatigue by Random password generator, automatically generating, Autofill, autofilling and storing Password, passwords. It can do this for Application software, local applications or web ...

aimed at simplifying password management for websites, applications,

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

, and verification codes. This new app is heavily inspired by and replaces the Passwords section that was previously found in Settings, with the addition of Wi-Fi passwords. All existing passwords and codes in Settings are automatically moved to the Passwords app upon updating.

recoveryOS

iOS 18 includes recoveryOS for the iPhone 16 series that allows users to restore

firmware In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computer, computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and the development of both computer hardware, h ...

wirelessly from another iPhone 16. While all iPhone devices running iOS 18 are able to recover and restore firmware for an iPhone 16 device, wireless firmware recovery can only work between iPhone 16 devices.

Others

With iOS 18.1, iOS allows the detection and display of battery health information of a non-Apple battery. On devices with an

OLED An organic light-emitting diode (OLED), also known as organic electroluminescent (organic EL) diode, is a type of light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is an organic compound film that emits light in respon ...

display, there is a bulge animation when a hardware button is pressed. With iOS 18.2, users are able to share a link with others or airlines to track the location of

AirTags AirTag is a tracking device developed by Apple Inc., Apple. AirTag is designed to act as a key finder, which helps people find personal objects such as keys, bags, apparel, small electronic devices and vehicles. To locate lost or stolen items, ...

or other accessories in the

Find My Find My is an asset tracking service made by Apple Inc. that enables users to track the location of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS devices, AirPods, AirTags, and a number of supported third-party accessories through a connected iC ...

app. Reports from law enforcement suggested that a new security feature was added that would reboot iPhones after 72 hours of inactivity to make it harder to break into, something that researchers were able to confirm while looking at the code for iOS 18.1. 18.2 allowed app developers like Truecaller to add real-time Caller ID and spam-blocking. With iOS 18.5, Apple introduced the 2025 Pride wallpaper.

Supported devices

iOS 18 requires a device with an Apple A12 Bionic processor or newer, all iPhones that support iOS 17 are also compatible with iOS 18. The

feature requires an Apple A17 Pro processor or newer.

Release history

Notes

References

{{Apple *18 2024 software Applications of artificial intelligence Mobile operating systems Products introduced in 2024 Proprietary operating systems