iOS 18 facts for kids

iOS 18

Version of the iOS operating system
iOS 18 home screen on an iPhone 12
Developer	Apple Inc.
Written in	C, C++, Objective-C, Swift, assembly language
OS family	iOS
Source model	Closed with open-source components
General availability	September 16, 2024; 10 months ago (2024-09-16)
Latest release	18.6  (July 29, 2025; 13 days ago (2025-07-29))
Repository	Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Marketing target	iPhones
Available in	42 languages
List of languages English (Australia, UK, U.S.), Chinese (Simplified, Traditional, Traditional – Hong Kong), French (Canada, France), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Spanish (Latin America, Spain), Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Kazakh, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil, Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Update method	Software Update
Kernel type	Hybrid (XNU)
License	Proprietary software with open-source components
Preceded by	iOS 17
Succeeded by	iOS 26
Tagline	Yours. Truly.
Support status
Supported
Articles in the series
iPadOS 18 (derivative for iPad)

iOS 18 is the newest big update for Apple Inc.'s iOS operating system, which runs on iPhones. It was first shown on June 10, 2024, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The public could download it for free starting September 16, 2024. It came out at the same time as other new Apple operating systems like iPadOS 18 for iPads and macOS Sequoia for Mac computers.

iOS 18 is the last version of iOS that works on older iPhones like the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. The next version, iOS 26, which came out in 2025, does not support these models.

Cool New Features in iOS 18

Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence is a special set of features that use artificial intelligence (AI) to make your iPhone smarter. It became available in iOS 18.1 and newer versions. These features work on newer iPhones like the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. Apple Intelligence helps Siri understand you better and adds new tools to apps like Photos, letting you create images with AI.

These smart features are being added step-by-step through different updates.

Calculator

The Calculator app in iOS 18 got a big upgrade! It now has a feature called Math Notes. This lets you write down math problems, and the app solves them for you, even showing the results in your own handwriting. You can also draw graphs for math equations. For the first time, the Calculator app is also available on the iPad.

Messages

The Messages app in iOS 18 now supports something called Rich Communication Services (RCS). This means when you text someone who has an Android phone, you can see if they've read your message and send higher-quality photos and videos. These messages still show up in green bubbles, just like regular SMS texts, to tell them apart from blue iMessage conversations.

Apple had not supported RCS before. In 2022, Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, suggested that iPhone users were not asking for RCS. However, Apple later decided to add RCS support to improve messaging between iPhones and Android phones.

iOS 18.4, released in March 2025, added RCS support for even more phone companies.

In iMessage, you can now add cool animated effects to any word or phrase. You can also make text bold, italic, underlined, or strikethrough. You can use both animated effects and text formatting, but not on the exact same piece of text at the same time.

Photos

The Photos app in iOS 18 has a completely new look. It automatically creates slideshows called "collections" that you can see at the top of the screen. It also improved how it handles HDR (High Dynamic Range) images, making them look better and work across different devices. Some users found this new design a bit confusing at first, but it brought many improvements.

Home Screen

iOS 18 gives you much more control over your iPhone's home screen. You can now:

• Change the color of app icons.
• Place app icons anywhere you want on the screen, not just in a strict grid.
• Make app widgets and some app icons bigger or smaller.
• Turn on a dark mode for app icons.

Many system icons also got new looks with different colors.

A cool new privacy feature lets you lock or hide apps.

• Locked apps need your passcode or face/fingerprint ID to open.
• Hidden apps are moved to a special "Hidden" folder in your App Library. To open this folder, you also need your passcode or biometric ID. Hidden apps won't show up in places like Siri suggestions or the Settings app.

In iOS 18.1, a new feature was added that lets you edit your iPhone home screen using iPhone Mirroring.

Control Center

The Control Center, where you quickly access settings like Wi-Fi and brightness, also got a new design in iOS 18. It now has multiple pages for controls, and you can change the size of the buttons. You can even add controls from other apps.

Passwords App

Apple introduced a new app called Passwords. This app helps you keep track of all your passwords for websites, apps, Wi-Fi networks, and even special verification codes. It's like a super-organized digital notebook for all your login details. All your existing passwords from the Settings app automatically moved to this new Passwords app when you updated.

Other Features

• With iOS 18.1, your iPhone can now tell you about the battery health of non-Apple batteries.
• If your iPhone has an OLED screen, you might notice a cool "bulge" animation when you press a hardware button.
• iOS 18.2, released in December 2024, lets you share a link with others or airlines to track the location of AirTags or other accessories in the Find My app.
• A new security feature in iOS 18.1 was found that reboots iPhones after 72 hours of not being used. This makes it harder for someone to get into your phone if it's been inactive.
• iOS 18.2 also allowed app makers like Truecaller to add real-time Caller ID and block spam calls.
• iOS 18.5, released in May 2025, included the 2025 Pride wallpaper and fixed some security issues.

Supported Devices

To run iOS 18, your iPhone needs an Apple A12 Bionic processor or newer. This means all iPhones that could run iOS 17 can also run iOS 18. However, the special Apple Intelligence features only work on iPhones with an Apple A17 Pro processor or newer.

Device	Supported	Apple Intelligence support
iPhone XS & XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro & 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPhone 12 & 12 Mini
iPhone 12 Pro & 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13 & 13 Mini
iPhone 13 Pro & 13 Pro Max
iPhone SE (3rd generation)
iPhone 14 & 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro & 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15 & 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro & Pro Max
iPhone 16 & 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro & 16 Pro Max
iPhone 16e

Release History

Here's a look at the main updates for iOS 18 since it was first released:

Images for kids

• 

  iOS 18 Settings screen on an iPhone 14 Plus.

See also

• Apple Intelligence
• Artificial intelligence
• iPadOS 18
• macOS Sequoia
• tvOS 18
• visionOS 2
• watchOS 11