Though there are many new features in iOS 18, the most significant one might be the redesign of iOS 18 Photos. Now that executives are disclosing more information about the rationale behind some of the changes, Apple has dubbed it the largest makeover of Photos in the app’s history. The National probed into the details of the Photos overhaul through an interview with three Apple executives.
In the end, it seems that after being available for nearly ten years, the app most likely needed a revamp. It looks that making the design “frictionless” and enhancing security are the main priorities.
“As our features, users and libraries have grown, so has the density of the [Photos] app,” says Billy Sorrentino, senior director at Apple’s human interface design unit. “So rather than hunt and peck throughout, we’ve created a simple streamlined single view photos experience based on deep intelligence.”
Apple says that Photos is the third most popular app, behind Mail and Safari. Apple statistics indicates that the app manages over 3 trillion photos and videos annually.
The new Photos are intended to be more simplified when combined with Apple Intelligence, the company’s venture into artificial intelligence. Giving consumers more control over the interface’s layout and customization seem to be the main goals of the design.
You may now type a description to create albums in iOS 18 Photos. Relatedly, a new tool allows you to search for more precise photographs by utilizing conversational language.
To assist discover files more quickly, the streamlined interface will switch to a single-view, simpler grid with months and years highlighted. Additionally, Apple is launching a new feature called Collections, which will automatically generate themes of pictures and videos based on subjects or popular themes like children or pets.
“Lots of deep intelligence combined with customization means that Photos can be more personal,” said Della Huff, manager of the camera and photos product marketing team.
In terms of security, fresh safeguards were developed to stop abuse that also apply to other apps that have access to Photos. Limiting a third-party app’s access to a subset of photos rather than the entire collection is one of the new features.
Vice president of the software engineering team for cameras and photographs Jon McCormack stated, “We make it very clear that when an application goes and uses an API [application programming interface] for the first time, we’ll inform the user exactly what that app is asking for.”
The iPhone 16 will probably be released in the fall along with a full version of iOS 18. The operating system update is already accessible as a developer beta, and this month, the public beta of iOS 18 will be made available to the rest of us.