Speaker 1: Reports say that changes to the next iPhone operating system will be groundbreaking. There could be a new design and layout. One analyst says Apple might even add a new kind of app store just to handle the demand for artificial intelligence apps. But how much change will consumers really be comfortable with? It’s a delicate issue for Apple to balance. You don’t pack in enough flashy AI features and then investors on Wall Street will say, apple is falling behind. But if you change things too much, you risk pushing away. Fans who [00:00:30] like the iPhone the way it is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But if it ain’t new, we’re bored. iOS 18 is expected to be revealed in June at WWDC. So let’s go over what we’re hearing so far with changes to the iPhone software. Some of this may have you excited and other possible changes may have you rolling your eyes.
Speaker 1: I’m Bridget Carey, and this is one more thing. The biggest visual change in iOS 18 might be greater freedom and how you arrange the icons on the home screen, [00:01:00] and it could allow for a blank space to exist in this invisible grid of apps. It’ll still be locked in a grid, so it’s not a mess, like what can happen on a desktop. This report comes from sources talking to Mac Rumors and Bloomberg reporter, mark Gerin also has been saying that the iPhone would get a more customizable home screen visually. We could also see a redesign of menus and icons, but the reports have not been very clear on what that could mean. [00:01:30] Gerin did report that Apple’s working to update the design of iOS as early as this year. We have seen Apple change the way iMessage looks. Just check out all those options tucked away in that plus symbol.
Speaker 1: To me, it has this Vision Pro look with the rounded icons floating there, perhaps there is work to bridge the look of these operating systems. Generative AI is the biggest buzz right now, and I have exhausted myself talking about what could AI do on an iPhone. So [00:02:00] if you want to dig in deeper on what’s possible, just go watch my other videos on that. But Apple is said to be planning to use AI in a few ways. Reports point to Apple talking to other companies like Google and OpenAI to see if there are ways that the companies can work together. We just don’t know what will be ready in time for June one Analyst did throw out an interesting twist on the idea that maybe Apple will launch an app store just for ai. Ben writes this head of technology research at MIUs Research told [00:02:30] CNBC that Apple is not behind on ai. Rather, if you look to Apple’s past playbook, it makes sense that Apple would lift up existing AI apps possibly by making a special AI app store. That way the iPhone could take advantage of ai even if Apple doesn’t have its own AI chatbot app ready, so to speak. It’s possible Apple could stuff in some AI smarts into Siri analysts forecasts, and some reports
Speaker 2: Are saying Siri [00:03:00] could have more natural conversation capabilities, but the talk is all over the place. Maybe there will be some sort of API that lets Siri connect to outside services, or maybe the assistant can work across multiple apps. Bloomberg is saying that Apple’s working on something that lets Siri connect better with the Messages app and the information is reporting. Siri would be able to handle multiple tasks in one spoken command. That’s the kind of thing that would really make it a truly useful assistant [00:03:30] and possibly sell more home pods. But the change that may be the most felt by every user is a feature. Apple did say it was coming this year. The addition of RCS in iMessage, RCS is the Rich Communication Services standard. It’s used with Android phones and putting it in iMessage means it’s going to improve iPhone to Android conversations. We could finally see photos and video not get downgraded and pixelated. Perhaps you’ll know when people are typing or there could be better encryption. Sometimes [00:04:00] the change that matters most to people is just getting the basics, like texting to work better. So what’s on your wishlist for iOS 18 features? I will gather up some of your best comments for future episode. Thanks for watching and I’ll catch you next Friday for one more thing.
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Bridget Carey
