IPHONE owners are about to receive a huge upgrade to their Photos app, which Apple has called its "biggest redesign ever".
There are a whopping 11 new Photos features that will be arriving in iOS 18, the software update expected to land on iPhones in a few weeks time.
Of the 11 new Photo features, six of them rely solely on Apple Intelligence - the company's sparkly new AI offering.
iPhone owners who are eligible for the iOS 18 update will be able to use five features right away, including:
Smarter Collections
Pinned Collections
These give iPhone owners quick access to the collections or albums they love the most inside the Photo app.
Picture Carousel
A new swipe-through widget with a selection of snaps that displays handpicked photos in a poster-like view.
Locked Photos
Lock the Photos app behind Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode.
Send higher-res photos more easily
RCS support is set to bring eight iMessage-style features to texts between iPhone and Android users, including:
Features that require Apple Intelligence to work are forecast to arrive slightly later than the initial iOS 18 features. These include:
Clean Up
A new AI-powered photo editing tool that lets users remove unwanted objects or people from photos.
Photo editing with Siri
The voice assistant will be able to adjust a photo's color tone, brightness, and contrast from spoken instructions.
And that's not the only way Siri is getting smarter.
Image Playground
This feature is designed to let users create images using text-based prompts.
The AI can create personalised images, in sketch, illustration and animation styles, based on the people in your photo album.
You can see how this feature works in the video above.
Natural language search
This will give users the option to search photos and videos using phrases like "Katie with stickers on her face" or "Mum on her birthday".
Search within videos
iPhone owners will also be able to search for scenes midway through a video, such as "When Katie takes her first steps" or "When Mum blows the birthday candles out".
Memory Movies
Which will automatically create personalised videos based on user-specified prompts, like Brooklyn dinner party or Edinburgh weekend.
While their arrival will be slightly belated, Apple boss Tim Cook is confident that Apple Intelligence features will arrive "by the end of the calendar year".
Here are some of the best...
Apple proudly proclaimed that iOS 18 will see the "biggest redesign" for the Photos app on iPhone since it was introduced at WWDC 2024, but in reality, it's seemingly not been panning out well for users.
In the latest issue of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple has seemingly walked back some of the changes made to Photos.
"Perhaps most critically, Apple moved saved content back into the main photo grid. These changes came at a key moment: Apple now considers iOS 18 to be complete and is preparing to add the software to the upcoming iPhone 16 line."
We reported last month how Apple execs had been evangelizing the app's more "personal" nature, but it appears it moved too quickly with the changes to one of the iPhone's most-used apps - and didn't want to wait until iPhone 16 to fix it.
How are you finding the new Photos app in the beta? I must admit I found it confusing at first, but it started to grow on me the more I used it.
The U-Turn: Why Apple Backtracked on iOS 18 Photos Redesign
Apple Inc. AAPL has decided to revise its Photos app in the forthcoming iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, following negative feedback from users.
In the latest weekly “Power On” newsletter, Mark Gurman noted that the carousel feature, which enabled users to pin specific memories, albums, or content types, has been eliminated from the latest beta version of iOS 18.
“Much of the app was reorganized in a way that was guaranteed to irk some users,” he stated, adding, “So it's perhaps no surprise that Apple removed the new carousel from the most recent beta version of iOS 18.”
Apple did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment.
Additionally, saved content has been relocated back into the main photo grid. These modifications are being made as Apple finalizes iOS 18, with plans to integrate the software into the upcoming iPhone 16 line.
Apple’s decision to reverse iOS design changes is not unprecedented. The company has a track record of making alterations based on user feedback, even post-initial release announcements.
What This Means for Users
Apple's decision to backtrack on the redesign of the Photos app highlights the company's commitment to user feedback. While the original redesign aimed to create a more unified and streamlined experience, it appears that users found it confusing and unintuitive. This move demonstrates Apple's willingness to listen to its customers and make changes to improve the user experience.
The revised design, with its more user-friendly photo grid, relocated albums, and the return of saved content to the main grid, is likely to be welcomed by users who found the original redesign frustrating. It also signals Apple's commitment to delivering a polished and well-received software update with iOS 18.
Overall, Apple's decision to adjust the Photos app redesign in iOS 18 demonstrates the company's commitment to user experience and its ability to adapt to feedback. While the initial redesign was ambitious, the company's willingness to make changes based on user input ensures a more positive experience for iPhone users.
