New Delhi: Tim Cook-led company Apple unveiled iOS 18 at its WorldWide Developer Conference 2024 (WWDC) with a host of new features which include its debut into the world of AI with Apple Intelligence, a major AI-powered revamp of Siri, and the introduction of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, VisionOS 2, macOS Sequoia and WatchOS11.
Moreover, the tech giant also announced a partnership with OpenAI, bringing ChatGPT to its devices. With the launch of iOS 18, the iPhone now becomes smarter and customise as per your requirements. These include customizing the iPhone to your liking, new ways to manage the inbox in the Mail app, using satellites to send messages, and more. One standout feature is the ability for users to ignore phone calls by shaking their heads.
Nod Your Head to Accept or Ignore Phone Calls on AirPods Pro
At Apple’s WWDC 2024 mega event, a new and dynamic feature has been introduced with the iOS 18 update. If you are wearing the second generation of AirPods Pro, you’ll be able to interact with Siri by nodding or shaking your head. So, if you don’t want to answer a phone call, you can simply shake your head to do so.
Moreover, if you need to be quiet because the baby is sleeping, or your partner is on an important phone call, you can keep Siri working without saying a word. Hence, you can command Siri to ignore the phone call by shaking your head. This feature can be very useful for people who are very busy and don’t have time to check their phones repeatedly. With this feature, they can easily ignore unnecessary calls without wasting their time.
Notably, the tech giant Apple is branding this as a “new era” for its smart assistant Siri, which was launched 13 years ago. The Cupertino-based tech giant says that Siri will now have more richer language-understanding capabilities, making it more contextually relevant and personal. Apple Intelligence will also allow Siri to take several new actions across Apple and third-party apps.
What’s New in iOS 18?
ChatGPT Integrated Into Siri
Access to ChatGPT is integrated into Siri and systemwide Writing Tools across Apple’s platforms, allowing users to access its expertise — as well as its image- and document-understanding capabilities — without needing to jump between tools.
iMessage receives all-new text effects
Users can better express tone by adding formatting like bold, underline, italics, and strike through.
Messages via satellite
iOS 18 introduces Messages via satellite for the times when cellular and Wi-Fi connections aren’t available.
Customization
iPhone users have new ways to customise the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Control Center. Now you can arrange apps and widgets in any open space on the Home Screen.
Unified View For Photos
A simplified, single view displays a familiar grid, and new collections help users browse by themes without having to organise content into albums. Plus, collections can be pinned to keep favourites easily accessible.
Enhancements to Mail
Mail also features a new digest view that pulls together all of the relevant emails from a business, allowing users to quickly scan for what’s important in the moment. Apple said, later this year, Mail will introduce new ways for users to manage their inboxes and stay up to date.
Major Updates to Safari
Safari can surface key information about a webpage. Users. for example, can review a summary to get the gist of an article; quickly see the location of a restaurant, hotel, or landmark; or listen to an artist’s track right from an article about the song or album.
Passwords App
Passwords app makes it easy for users to access their passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes.
New Privacy Features
iOS 18 gives users even more control with tools to manage who can see their apps, how contacts are shared, and how their iPhone connects to accessories. iOS 18 puts users in control by letting them choose to share only specific contacts with an app.
Apple Intelligence
With brand-new systemwide Writing Tools built into iOS 18, users can rewrite, proofread, and summarise text nearly everywhere they write, including Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps.