According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, Apple is planning to bring a major upgrade to its mobile operating system iOS 18. iOS 18 is expected to become the “most important update in the history of the iPhone software update. Gurman said in the Q&A session of the latest Power On newsletter that iOS 18 is regarded within Apple as one of the most important iOS updates in the company’s history, or perhaps even one of them. He revealed that more details about iOS 18 feature updates will be shared in the future, but we know that the following two new features may be included in the update.
Two features likely to launch with iOS 18
1. RCS message support
In November 2023, Apple announced that it would support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS in the iPhone Messages app later in 2024. Therefore, RCS support is likely to become an important feature of iOS 18.
RCS support will bring the following improvements:
- Higher-resolution pictures and videos
- voice message
- Entering prompt
- Read receipt
- Wi-Fi messaging between iPhone and Android devices
- Improved group chat functionality, including the ability for iPhone users to exit conversations that include Android users
- Stronger encryption compared to SMS
These modern features are already available through iMessage for iPhone-to-iPhone communication using blue bubbles. Many are also present in third-party messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram. The addition of RCS will extend these features to green bubble conversations in the Messages app. This will bridge the information experience gap between iOS and Android.
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2. Smarter Siri
Gurman predicts that iOS 18 will use generative AI technology to significantly improve the capabilities of Siri and Messages apps in question and answer and automatic sentence completion. He also said that Apple has also explored applying generative AI capabilities to other apps on its platform, including Apple Music, Pages, Keynote and Xcode.
The Information reports that Apple plans to integrate large-scale language models into Siri to allow users to automatically perform complex tasks. This feature will be more deeply integrated with shortcut apps. According to reports, this feature is expected to appear in an iPhone software update released in 2024, most likely iOS 18.
Generative AI technology became popular after OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022. Google and Microsoft also released similar chatbots last year, and more companies are pouring into this field. These chatbots are trained with large language models to respond like humans.
Conclusion
iOS 18 promises to be a groundbreaking update for Apple’s mobile operating system, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. With anticipated features like RCS message support and smarter Siri integration, iOS 18 is poised to revolutionize iPhone user experiences. The addition of RCS support brings modern messaging features to iPhone users, bridging the gap between iOS and Android. Moreover, the integration of generative AI technology into Siri opens doors to enhanced question-and-answer capabilities and automated tasks. This reflects Apple’s commitment to innovation. As technology continues to evolve, iOS 18 positions itself at the forefront of mobile software advancements, setting new standards for user interaction and convenience.
