9 New Features (Probably) Coming to Your iPhone Soon

At last year’s WWDC, Apple really let loose. In addition to the next-gen operating systems for iPhone, iPad, and Mac — which is par for the course at WWDC — Apple also announced a bunch of new hardware, including the first 15-inch MacBook Air, an updated Mac Studio and Mac Pro, and, of course, the Vision Pro headset.

Don’t expect quite the same product-feeding frenzy at this year’s event, however. In fact, early rumors suggest that Apple isn’t going to announce any hardware. Instead, the big focus is expected to be generative AI and how it will make the apps we already use on the devices we already own — specifically, your iPhone — even better.

Here’s what the rumors are saying.

This year’s WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) will begin today — Monday, June 10 — at 1 p.m. EST or 10 a.m PT. You can watch the event live on Apple’s YouTube channel.

Siri Is Getting Smarter, More Helpful

Tucker Bowe

Maybe the biggest beneficiary of generative AI will be Siri. Specifically, the voice assistant is expected to become significantly more capable when using it within Apple’s own apps. You should be able to use voice commands to search through your Messages history, edit photos in the Photos app, create professional-sounding emails in Mail, and even more specific searches in Safari.

If you’re somebody who’s consistently frustrated with Siri, hopefully, that’s about to change.

You’ll Be Able Lock Some Apps Behind Face ID

iOS 18 is expected to deliver a pretty neat security feature. According to MacRumors, you’ll be able to require Face ID authentication in order to open specific apps. At launch, you’ll be able to set this up for most of Apple’s own apps, including Notes, Photos, Safari, Messages and Mail (to name a few). Support for third-party apps could roll out in the future.

Your iPhone’s Home Screen Is Getting More Customizable

One of the features that iOS 18, the next big software update coming to your iPhone this fall, is expected to deliver: an even more customizable Home Screen. While you’ll still have to arrange apps and widgets within the standard grid, MacRumors suggests that the new operating system will allow you to leave blank spaces where apps and widgets would normally be. Basically, you’ll be able to create a new-look Home Screen with even less clutter.

Apple’s First Password Manager App

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

One of the biggest stories ahead of WWDC was, as first reported by Bloomberg, that Apple would launch its own dedicated app for managing your passwords. This would create an alternative to using services like 1Password or LastPass and, because it’s made by Apple, it would make sharing your passwords between all your Apple devices even more seamless.

The app is expected to be called Passwords.

Voice Memo Transcriptions in Real Time

If you use the Voice Memos app to record conversations, interviews, lectures or just random ideas, generative AI is expected to help you out big time. According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, it’ll be able to transcribe your recordings in real-time, saving you potentially hours of manual transcribing (or money if you use a transcription service).

Messaging Between iPhones and Androids Is Getting a Big Upgrade

Apple already announced that Rich Communication Services (RCS) support will be coming to iPhones this year, and it’s widely expected that we’ll get a more concrete date for that rollout at WWDC. This is a big deal because it will make messaging between iPhones and Android more seamless.

In addition to sharing features (such as read receipts and typing indicators), it will also allow you and your Android friends to share higher-resolution photos and videos…which has been a huge pain point. Essentially, cross-platform friends will have fewer reasons to use alternative messaging apps, such as WhatsApp.

You’ll Be Able to React to iMessages with (More) Emojis

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Right now, there are a few options for reacting to an iMessage with an emoji — you can give it a thumbs up or down, a heart, exclamation or question marks, or a laugh (HA HA). But that’s about to change. With iOS 18, it’s rumored that you’ll be able to react to an iMessage with any emoji you want. That’s a lot more options.

You’ll Be Able to Schedule An iMessage (Finally)

According to Bloomberg’s Gurman, iOS 18 will allow you to schedule an iMessage right from your iPhone. Technically, there are ways you can do this already—via a Shortcut—but iOS 18 is expected to make scheduling iMessages much more straightforward and directly from within the Messages app.

Dark Mode Is Coming to Home Screen Apps

iOS 18 is expected to give Dark Mode a nice update, too. Since its introduction with iOS 13, Dark Mode has changed the color scheme of your iPhone’s wallpaper and dock — but that’s really it. With this new update, things like app and widget icons will also get a dark tint when Dark Mode is on.

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