Apple announces iOS 18 with more customizable homescreen

Apple has just announced the next major software upgrade for the iPhone: iOS 18. At the company’s WWDC keynote, software VP Craig Federighi demonstrated a slew of new improvements coming to Apple’s own apps. First up was a more customizable homescreen that finally lets you freely place app icons wherever you want.

Control Center is also getting more advanced; you’ll be able to swipe between multiple pages of controls and toggles for your most important features, with media and smart home controls getting prominent placement.

iOS 18 also increases privacy by allowing you to require authentication for any app you choose. And you can now specifically control which contacts third-party apps can access.

The Messages app is getting more expressive: you’ll be able to use any emoji in a Tapback response — and there will be new formatting for bolding, underlining, strikethrough, and italicizing.