The iOS 18 launch date is days away however is your iPhone appropriate? These are the eligible gadgets and new options

The massive day is lastly right here: Apple’s It’s Glowtime event is beginning at the moment at 1PM ET (you can watch it here and observe Engadget’s Apple event liveblog, too). It is anticipated to announce the brand new iPhone 16 lineup, in addition to new Apple Watch and AirPods fashions. These telephones could have iOS 18 already put in, so you will not need to improve at buy — this is when the iPhone 16 models are expected to hit stores. However when you’re not upgrading to a brand new iPhone this yr, when Apple releases iOS 18, you might discover that your older telephone’s working system is not supported anymore.

Usually every year, some older iPhone fashions are faraway from Apple’s iOS eligibility listing. Final yr, as an example, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X have been left off the compatibility listing. That meant these iPhone homeowners could not replace to iOS 17 and missed out on some notable features.

We’ll assist you discover out in case your iPhone will assist iOS 18 — which is predicted to develop into obtainable in roughly two weeks — in addition to Apple Intelligence. Unsure what’s coming with the brand new replace? Here is a abstract of the biggest announcements from WWDC, together with an summary of iOS 18.

iPhones appropriate with iOS 18

We have now excellent news: When you had an eligible telephone final yr while you up to date to iOS 17, that system ought to nonetheless be appropriate with iOS 18, according to Apple. Meaning you will not have to purchase a brand new telephone to take a look at a lot of the new software program options.

Put one other means, if in case you have an iPhone from the 2017 model year or earlier (iPhone 8 or iPhone X), you possibly can’t improve to the newest iOS, however your telephone ought to proceed to work — albeit with out the newest bells and whistles.

Is your iPhone appropriate with Apple Intelligence?

Whereas your older system will nonetheless be capable to assist the newest iOS, likelihood is that you simply will not get to attempt the Apple Intelligence beta but. Except you have got an iPhone 15 Professional or iPhone 15 Professional Max — the top-end 2023 fashions — your iPhone isn’t eligible. It is a protected wager that the brand new iPhone 16 fashions shall be totally Apple Intelligence appropriate, however we’ll need to await the official particulars on the September 9 occasion.

iOS 18 new options to anticipate

Whereas Apple Intelligence is by far the largest replace coming with iOS 18, its options are going to be launched extra piecemeal over the following few months. And the extra superior options will not be obtainable on older iPhone fashions other than the iPhone 15 Professional sequence. However the remainder of the iOS 18 options will hit the handsets listed above. Listed here are simply a few of the highlights you possibly can anticipate while you obtain Apple’s new software program later this month.

Passwords app: Securely retailer all of your credentials in a single place, together with passwords and safety alerts you can entry immediately within the app. (Whereas this performance at the moment exists in Settings, shifting it to a brand new app ought to make it simpler to find and entry.)

Improved Messages app: A brand new iMessages expertise is bringing the choice to daring, italicize, underline and strikethrough your textual content. You will additionally be capable to add animations to your textual content messages. The replace can also be bringing RCS to iPhones to better support Android compatibility.

An organized pictures library: The Photos app is getting a redesign, which lets you create and pin your personal collections within the app — assume “wedding ceremony pictures” or “journey to Aruba.” It removes the present tabbed backside and leans right into a grid structure. The up to date carousel view that was touted at WWDC was removed during the beta process.

Customized dwelling display structure: You will lastly get the choice to rearrange your apps — as an example, you possibly can go away the center house open to show your private home display photograph, and as an alternative have your apps alone the border of the display. It’s also possible to change the looks of the apps by tinting them with any shade, in addition to making the apps bigger.

There are many different tweaks and enhancements to keystone apps like Maps, Calendar, Safari and extra. Try Cherlynn Low’s selections for the best hidden features of iOS 18 and its sibling Apple working system updates, primarily based on the betas launched earlier this yr.

Is there an iOS 18 beta?

There’s, and you may download it now — as long as you are keen to stay with the glitches and challenges of beta software program. If you have not already downloaded it at this level, we would counsel simply ready for the true deal to be launched in just some days.