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iOS 18 Speculation Thread

Kylo83

Kylo83

macrumors 601
Original poster
Apr 2, 2020
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Welcome

I know this is early but as iOS 17 isnt getting much more until iOS 18 release in June, lets start this chat with what we would like to see and what think iOS 18 will bring, its going to be a big release and very exciting.
Once the first beta in June is released we will use this chat to talk about regular beta releases :)

Enjoy guys
 
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Here’s my early-stage wishlist for iOS/iPadOS 18. Some of these may be unlikely to happen. But some of these I think make a lot of sense and are fairly likely. Most of these are for iPadOS, but some would also be applicable for iOS as well.

iPadOS 18 Wishlist:

  • Better app icon customization and theming.
  • A more capable Status Bar, and/or an improved Control Center that could house Control Center applets, similar to macOS Menu Bar applets.
  • A File Edit View menu that doesn’t require an attached keyboard to access. This wouldn’t have to take up the entire Status Bar, but could be expanded from a small button or activated by a swipe gesture. It would also likely be similar to the one that opens when hold-pressing the command key.
  • Formatting options for external drives.
  • App sideloading with the Alternative App Marketplaces system Apple just introduced in the EU.
  • Clamshell mode for Stage Manager.
  • Use an iPad as a secondary display for another iPad, similar to SideCar and Universal Control.
  • Updated Settings app with more of the features from the macOS System Settings app, including more glyph symbols like on the Mac.
  • Better theming options for things like highlight color in apps.
  • Save backups to trusted and encrypted external drives like Time Machine.
  • Save shortcuts to files, folders, playlists, notes, etc. to the Home Screen. And add more options for app icon and widget arrangement on the Home Screen to make it more similar to the desktop.
  • More Apple apps such as Journal, Calculator, and possibly Font Book, Activity Monitor, and/or Disc Utility?
  • Better integration of system apps in the Files app, such as accessing iCloud Photos library from the Files app.
  • Improved photo editing features in the Photos app, with AI enhancements.
  • Catalyst 2.0 or similar for easier porting of Mac apps to iPad. This could use AI tools to automatically replace portions of code that are incompatible, and refine the UI layout for better touch optimization.
  • Multiple audio streams support.
  • iPad as AirPlay Receiver for devices other than just Vision Pro such as iPhones and other iPads
  • Battery health section in Settings to see battery health of iPad.
  • Button for ejecting external drives in Files app (though I don’t think this is actually necessary).
  • Better breakdown of iPad Storage in Settings app that includes exact numbers for how many GBs of storage each category is using.
 
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Kal Madda said:
Here’s my early-stage wishlist for iOS/iPadOS 18. Some of these may be unlikely to happen. But some of these I think make a lot of sense and are fairly likely. Most of these are for iPadOS, but some would also be applicable for iOS as well.

iPadOS 18 Wishlist:

  • Better app icon customization and theming.
  • A more capable Status Bar, and/or an improved Control Center that could house Control Center applets, similar to macOS Menu Bar applets.
  • A File Edit View menu that doesn’t require an attached keyboard to access. This wouldn’t have to take up the entire Status Bar, but could be expanded from a small button or activated by a swipe gesture. It would also likely be similar to the one that opens when hold-pressing the command key.
  • Formatting options for external drives.
  • App sideloading with the Alternative App Marketplaces system Apple just introduced in the EU.
  • Clamshell mode for Stage Manager.
  • Use an iPad as a secondary display for another iPad, similar to SideCar and Universal Control.
  • Updated Settings app with more of the features from the macOS System Settings app, including more glyph symbols like on the Mac.
  • Better theming options for things like highlight color in apps.
  • Save backups to trusted and encrypted external drives like Time Machine.
  • Save shortcuts to files, folders, playlists, notes, etc. to the Home Screen. And add more options for app icon and widget arrangement on the Home Screen to make it more similar to the desktop.
  • More Apple apps such as Journal, Calculator, and possibly Font Book, Activity Monitor, and/or Disc Utility?
  • Better integration of system apps in the Files app, such as accessing iCloud Photos library from the Files app.
  • Improved photo editing features in the Photos app, with AI enhancements.
  • Catalyst 2.0 or similar for easier porting of Mac apps to iPad. This could use AI tools to automatically replace portions of code that are incompatible, and refine the UI layout for better touch optimization.
  • Multiple audio streams support.
  • iPad as AirPlay Receiver for devices other than just Vision Pro such as iPhones and other iPads
  • Battery health section in Settings to see battery health of iPad.
  • Button for ejecting external drives in Files app (though I don’t think this is actually necessary).
  • Better breakdown of iPad Storage in Settings app that includes exact numbers for how many GBs of storage each category is using.
Click to expand...
Great list, thanks for that
 
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aj8690 said:
I really just want them to fix the bugs (such as square notifications) that have persisted since iOS 16. Other than that, expansion of the Dynamic Island functionality and AI integration.
Click to expand...
That’s odd. I’ve never experienced that bug. Hopefully it’s fixed for you. 👍🏻. And expansion of the Dynamic Island’s functionality would be great! 👍🏻
 
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Populus said:
Good, thank you @Kylo83. It would have been cool to have an iOS 18 sub-forum, but I guess that’s not coming until the official announcement of iOS 18.

In the meantime, we’ll use this thread instead.
Click to expand...

That is how this was done for the iOS 17 Speculation thread as well. That thread (also thanks to @Kylo83) was started on February 27, 2023. It makes sense to start this now in light of all the rumors that have been flying. This will be a banner year, I believe.
 
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Kal Madda said:
Here’s my early-stage wishlist for iOS/iPadOS 18. Some of these may be unlikely to happen. But some of these I think make a lot of sense and are fairly likely. Most of these are for iPadOS, but some would also be applicable for iOS as well.

iPadOS 18 Wishlist:

  • Better app icon customization and theming.
  • A more capable Status Bar, and/or an improved Control Center that could house Control Center applets, similar to macOS Menu Bar applets.
  • A File Edit View menu that doesn’t require an attached keyboard to access. This wouldn’t have to take up the entire Status Bar, but could be expanded from a small button or activated by a swipe gesture. It would also likely be similar to the one that opens when hold-pressing the command key.
  • Formatting options for external drives.
  • App sideloading with the Alternative App Marketplaces system Apple just introduced in the EU.
  • Clamshell mode for Stage Manager.
  • Use an iPad as a secondary display for another iPad, similar to SideCar and Universal Control.
  • Updated Settings app with more of the features from the macOS System Settings app, including more glyph symbols like on the Mac.
  • Better theming options for things like highlight color in apps.
  • Save backups to trusted and encrypted external drives like Time Machine.
  • Save shortcuts to files, folders, playlists, notes, etc. to the Home Screen. And add more options for app icon and widget arrangement on the Home Screen to make it more similar to the desktop.
  • More Apple apps such as Journal, Calculator, and possibly Font Book, Activity Monitor, and/or Disc Utility?
  • Better integration of system apps in the Files app, such as accessing iCloud Photos library from the Files app.
  • Improved photo editing features in the Photos app, with AI enhancements.
  • Catalyst 2.0 or similar for easier porting of Mac apps to iPad. This could use AI tools to automatically replace portions of code that are incompatible, and refine the UI layout for better touch optimization.
  • Multiple audio streams support.
  • iPad as AirPlay Receiver for devices other than just Vision Pro such as iPhones and other iPads
  • Battery health section in Settings to see battery health of iPad.
  • Button for ejecting external drives in Files app (though I don’t think this is actually necessary).
  • Better breakdown of iPad Storage in Settings app that includes exact numbers for how many GBs of storage each category is using.
Click to expand...
lol i can easily tell you are new user of Apple products.
95% of you whishes will be ignore by Apple because they make no sense or they are completely un-appropiate/useless for iOS.
 
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Here's hoping we can place empty spots on our Home Screens without some folder hack thing. And more robust widgets would be great, too. I've seen a lot of great interactive widgets lately, but would be great to see even more.

I'm also wondering, with all the buzz on iOS 18 being very AI integrated, what the iPhone 16 will look like when it's released. There's a lot of folks that simply don't want a lot of extra AI "stuff" built into their apps. I can understand that, but Apple's always had a better stance on privacy than nearly anyone else. Personally, I don't care? And I like the apps that I like and will continue to use them as I do. I don't need a new device for that...
 
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gank41 said:
Apple's always had a better stance on privacy than nearly anyone else. Personally, I don't care? And I like the apps that I like and will continue to use them as I do. I don't need a new device for that...
Click to expand...
Same, I don’t think I need a new iPhone, given that I love my SE3. And I really hope the A15 to be more than enough to enjoy most (if not all) of the features coming with iOS 18, AI ones included.

I wouldn’t mind getting a new A18 powered device, as it seems it will be quite an upgrade, but sadly, iPhones nowadays are way too big for me.
 
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Populus said:
Same, I don’t think I need a new iPhone, given that I love my SE3. And I really hope the A15 to be more than enough to enjoy most (if not all) of the features coming with iOS 18, AI ones included.

I wouldn’t mind getting a new A18 powered device, as it seems it will be quite an upgrade, but sadly, iPhones nowadays are way too big for me.
Click to expand...
I just hope they don't gear any new hardware upgrades towards AI-specific software. Would be nice to upgrade from my 14 Pro Max later this year, but not to a phone with hardware built around things I won't need or use.
 
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gank41 said:
Here's hoping we can place empty spots on our Home Screens without some folder hack thing
Click to expand...
Personally, I don’t think empty slots are coming to iOS anytime soon. I’m not saying this to ruin your wish, I respect it, but honestly knowing Apple, I don’t think they are going to allow the Home Screen to look irregular with empty slots in the middle of the columns/rows.

Maybe, maybe they allow us to arrange the icons starting from the bottom, but even that I find it unlikely. Having widgets, the best you can do is to place some on the two top rows, and then you can place your a apps on the bottom half of the screen.

In line with that, I’d really like Apple to allow us to change the apps icons with icon packs. Without using shortcuts. But again, sadly, I see it unlikely.
 
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hamiltonDSi said:
lol i can easily tell you are new user of Apple products.
95% of you whishes will be ignore by Apple because they make no sense or they are completely un-appropiate/useless for iOS.
Click to expand...
That’s funny, because I’ve been using Apple products for at least 6-7 years, lol! 😂. And I said that some aren’t as likely as others, so there’s that. And it’s primarily a wishlist of features for iPadOS, not just iOS.
 
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winxmac said:
Bring back the iOS 6 look... And optimize the code so older models would still be usable after the iOS upgrade...

A5 devices [iPhone 4s, iPod touch 5, iPad 2, iPad 3] got destroyed by iOS 9 and never recovered...
Click to expand...
A choice of icons only or icons with widgets would be nice... Get rid of the App Library or provide a way to disable it... I don't use it...

Also, provide additional options for AirDrop instead of just Everyone for 10 minutes... 10 minutes is not enough to transfer several GB of files, photos, videos...
 
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I reckon iPadOS 18 will have a journal app like iOS. And I will use it as much as I use the one on iOS. Aka zero.

Also a divisive user interface change just for the hell of it.
 
This is a quick mockup I made for my Control Center Applets concept. The Control Center would probably look a bit different, but this basically sums up the idea of what I’m describing. 👍🏻
 

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A couple of things to add: I'd like the history on Health App (Steps, distance, etc) to be have lifespan setting similar to messages - forever, 1 year, 1 month - type of things. Don't need data from 5 year but some may. Now you can either delete all or do a day by day deletion of data (2 steps).
Other - mentioned in other like to be able to change order in topics in settings - most of what I use seems to be at the bottom of list in topic
 
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I wonder if with the rumored AI-powered XCode tools, we may see some form of Catalyst 2.0 that would port Mac apps to the iPad Pro. It sounds like XCode will be able to automatically swap legacy code with modern code, which could make such a system possible. It will be interesting to see what AI in XCode will be able to do. 👍🏻
 
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