iOS 18: Better than Android?
Apple’s flagship keynote for software, WWDC’24 was lit off recently & this year was a chapter of the company’s unchartered territories, the ones they refused to share details about. Updates were made to their entire catalogue of software platforms & with the release of their own AI, Apple Intelligence, the Cupertino-giant is receiving some serious media attention. But while at it, they announced updates for their driving sales force device platform, iOS & this year seems more versatile than ever before. Can we start on the clock for Android’s death? Let’s see…
Customizability:
While AI is the elephant in the room, we can’t ignore updates made to iOS to bring it up to speed for 2024 needs.
iOS 16 and 17 brought a lot to the table for customizability like Contact Posters and customized lock screens, but this year received a complete overhaul. The age-old question of repositioning icons as per the user was finally addressed. Now, you can position your app icons wherever you want to position on the screen. Not only that, but Control Center also got updates to be more customizable with its new rounder look (which might feel a little cartoony, but anyway) by which the user can reorder the controls they want front and centre. The addition of swipe pages in the Control Panel makes access controls of media playback, home controls, etc. much more intuitive. But the ones which caught the most attention were the new themed icons. Apple finally jumped into the race of themed icons after 4 years of Google’s Material You implementation. While there’s official confirmation of bringing 3rd party icons for the apps, this is a very welcome addition. Users would finally be able to change the look of their apps as per their choice between dark and light themes and customizable tint options.
Privacy:
There’s no doubt that Apple is foundationally built on privacy & this update to iOS makes it no different.
While seemingly a short list, the features added to OS are welcome even though some iterations of those might have existed before in other operating systems. The new features of locking and hiding your apps are great, especially for the ones who are pragmatic about handing off their phone to someone. And since it’s built with the existing ecosystem, integration of FaceID or TouchID adds an additional layer of privacy and peace of mind. The introduction of the Passwords app was done throughout Apple’s software line-up. Even being a small addition to the platforms, now the users don’t have to manage their passwords, which were once buried in the settings.
This small list of privacy features definitely adds more power to users.
Apple Intelligence:
Apple entered the AI race & its implementation feels like one of the polished ones (just like always).
Instead of releasing separate apps for individual features, the company has baked in their “Apple Intelligence” throughout the operating system. This means the AI is a part of the OS & has tricks up its sleeve.
The on-screen awareness feature coming with Apple Intelligence would let us better find our information & would change how we interact with the phone. This would be especially helpful for those who have accessibility issues while using the phone. Features for writing & image generation might feel redundant to some, but users would love to see Apple’s take on their versions of the same as they boast theirs to be more in line with the user’s real-world usage.
But looking at any of these features, iOS 18 feels like a welcome update.
