Apple’s new iPhone update ‘biggest ever’, report claims

Apple's upcoming iPhone update could be the "biggest" it has ever launched, a report has claimed.

The company sees its new operating system, iOS 18, as "as one of the biggest iOS updates — if not the biggest" in its history, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.

Apple introduces new iPhone updates at its Worldwide Developers Conference, held every June. They then arrive in September, along with the new iPhone.

The company has long been rumoured to be working on a range of artificial intelligence updates for the new operating system. That will include a better version of Siri, new AI within Apple Music to make playlists, and AI assistant tools in apps such as Keynote, Messages and Xcode.

The new version of Siri will include a large language model of the kind that powers ChatGPT, previous reports have suggested. That might let it automate complicated tasks just by asking, for instance.

Apple has long included AI features within iOS and other software. But it has largely resisted introducing major new features since ChatGPT kicked off new excitement about the technology – and at its recent event, did not use the phrase artificial intelligence at all.

As well as those AI tools, Apple is likely to introduce new texting features. It announced last year that it would start integrating RCS, a rich text messaging feature, into its Messages app.

RCS allows for features that so far have only been available within iMessage. It would let people share high-resolution photos, show when they are typing, let people send messages over WiFi and improve group chats, for instance.