The redesigned Photos app will be found on iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and MacOS Sequoia and will be powered by Apple Intelligence. The latter is what the company is calling its first dive into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Sorrentino, talking about the AI-based Photos app, said, “As our features, users, and libraries have grown, so has the density of the [Photos] app. So rather than hunt and peck throughout, we’ve created a simple streamlined single view photos experience based on deep intelligence.” Everything that Apple is doing to the Photos app is being done with one goal in mind and Sorrentino says, “Ultimately, we wanted to remove friction.”
A new security-based feature for the Photos app was discussed by McCormack who said, “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.” If an app requests full access to your library of photos, you’ll be able to “create a special little sub-catalogue” for that app. Developers will also be able to use a “whole robust set” of APIs that will help them improve their apps.
The Photos app in iOS 17.5.1|Image credit-PhoneArena
Apple has previously said that the Photos app will undergo its “biggest-ever redesign” with the iOS 18 update. The app, along with Safari and Mail, is one of the most-used apps on iOS. Features coming to the app include a new single-grid UI with the month and year listed underneath to make it easier to find a photo or video taken on a specific date. A new Collections feature will organize photos and videos by topic or theme. Consider it to be the upgraded version of the current Memories feature that stores images and videos by event, people, or theme.
While the iOS 18 developer beta is currently available, the public beta should launch sometime this month. The stable, final version of iOS 18 is expected to be released in September.