The Top New Features in Apple’s iOS 18 and iPadOS 18

Apple executives always describe new hardware and software as the “best” or “biggest” ever, but the delivery doesn’t usually live up to the hype (see the iPads from earlier this year). However, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 might be deserving of a few of those adjectives. The new operating systems, now available, have the usual degree of year-over-year quality-of-life improvements, but Apple Intelligence steals the limelight.

This is Apple's implementation of artificial intelligence-powered tasks that have been sweeping through the tech industry over the past year. Even Siri is getting an overdue upgrade—the biggest since the voice assistant’s debut 13 years ago. Here are all the new features in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, not to mention iOS 18.1, how to download both operating systems, and what exactly you’ll experience with Apple Intelligence.

Updated October 28, 2024: We've added ...