iOS 18 to Arrive With Updated Interface Design Alongside New AI Features: Gurman

iOS 18 is expected to be released by Apple later this year for eligible devices, along with a new visual redesign, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Apple’s next operating system for smartphones is said to be equipped with new AI features, as the iPhone maker plays catch up with other companies like Google and Samsung. A recent unconfirmed report suggested the update could bring major changes to user interface (UI) elements that could resemble parts of Apple’s visionOS operating system. 

In the subscriber-only version of his weekly Power On newsletter (via 9to5Mac), Gurman says that Apple is making changes to UI elements on iOS and that these changes are likely to arrive this year. This means that iOS 18 — expected to arrive later this year for select smartphones running on iOS 17 — could change how iOS looks and feels after several years.

A recent report stated that Apple was planning on bringing several UI components from visionOS to iOS 18. These include translucent UI elements and a blur effect across various system apps. However, Gurman suggests that the company isn’t planning on such an extensive UI overhaul for the iOS 18 update.

Meanwhile, Gurman says that Apple is also working on updating the macOS interface, alongside its operating system for smartphones. Unlike the iOS 18 update, however, it looks like users will have to wait until macOS 16 or macOS 17 to see these changes as the company has just begun the work on its upcoming operating system.

Last year, Apple reportedly paused the development of iOS 18 for around a week, in order to weed out bugs in the operating system that were previously undetected. Due to a lack of major hardware upgrades on the purported iPhone 16 series, Apple is said to be equipping its next major iOS version with AI features in order to convince customers to upgrade to the successors of the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max models, which are expected to arrive later this year.