Apple has major plans for iOS 18 thanks to AI, will be its most ‘ambitious’ update in years

Apple has some major plans for iOS 18 and plans to make it one of the biggest and most significant updates it has released in years, a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says. The update, which is about a year away will leverage AI in a massive way. In a recent update, Bloomberg disclosed that Apple has temporarily halted the introduction of new features for the upcoming iOS 18 to address existing bugs. Despite this brief pause, Apple remains steadfast in its ambitious plans for the next iPhone software update. According to the latest Power On newsletter from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, internal discussions at Apple have labelled iOS 18 as both “ambitious and compelling.” The objective is to deliver the update with “major new features and designs,” coupled with substantial enhancements to performance and security. While specific details regarding these new features remain undisclosed, Gurman highlights that iOS 18 follows a series of relatively modest updates for iPhone and iPad users over the past few years. Notably, the last significant update was iOS 14 in 2020, which introduced support for Home Screen widgets. Gurman elaborates that Apple is mounting a formidable challenge with its 2024 software. Following a period of incremental updates to iOS, the forthcoming version of iPhone and iPad software is anticipated to be groundbreaking, with internal leadership describing it as “ambitious and compelling,” emphasizing major new features, designs, and improvements in security and performance. Addressing concerns about the one-week pause in iOS 18 feature development, Gurman reassures that it is unlikely to significantly delay the eventual release of the software. In the worst-case scenario, he suggests that Apple might have “a little less time at the end of the development cycle to eliminate any last-minute glitches.” However, it’s important to note that the release of iOS 18 is still approximately seven months away, scheduled for introduction at WWDC 2024. Given the extended timeline, there remains ample room for changes and developments before the software is released to the general public next fall.