Apple has announced the schedule for WWDC 2024 which has begun the countdown for upcoming major software updates. According to noted Apple analyst Mike Gurman, iOS 18 will be the biggest update since the first version. “I’m told that the new operating system is seen within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates — if not the biggest — in the company’s history.”

iOS 18 will reportedly include higher use of artificial intelligence (AI) backed features. As a result, people are excited to see what new changes are in the pipeline. Along with the introduction of new features, a radical change in terms of UI/UX is also being rumored. The home screen of iOS has not changed since the first version of the operating system. It would be interesting to see a major overhaul of the iOS design language.

Universal messaging platform support

Another interesting aspect of iOS 18, according to Google’s recent posts, would be the introduction of RCS (Rich Communication Services) chat support on iPhone. Google has been bullish about making RCS, which is touted as a replacement to SMS, as a universal standard for messaging. However, Apple has been reluctant on bringing RCS to iPhone, as that would hamper the iMessage exclusivity and lock-in.

Siri has not received major upgrades in the past couple of years. While the improvements have been incremental, they have not been substantial to drastically improve the experience of using the virtual assistant. Nonetheless, as iOS 18 is expected to introduce AI-heavy features, it would essentially result in an improved Siri experience.

Taking the Android route: It has become fairly common for Apple and Google to borrow ideas from each other. This time around, iOS 18 is expected to bring an higher level of customization to the home screen. While it is not exactly, as of now, as to which elements of the home screen would be customizable, it is a welcome move.

Apple is scheduled to host the worldwide developers conference (WWDC) on June 10, 2024 through June 14, 2024.