[ad_1]
Now that the slew of iOS 18 announcements at WWDC 2024 are behind us, we wanted to know which iPhone features Apple fans are most excited about, and we decided to answer that question in a new WhatsApp poll.
We asked our many followers on our WhatsApp channel (more than 368,000 subscribers) a simple question: “Which iOS 18 feature are you most looking forward to on your iPhone?” The responses revealed which features will be used most when iOS 18 is released in September, and which ones might be ignored.
The survey also gives us a snapshot of how many TechRadar readers use Android: in fact, the most common answer in the survey (with some 1,664 votes) was “I don’t care (I use Android).”
But Android fans aside, a fair number of iPhone users picked their favourite features from the list of the most notable features in iOS 18. Upgrades to Apple Mail, a redesigned Photos app and, surprisingly, support for RCS messaging, which should make texting with friends a much better experience for Android users, were not well received.
Still, here are the top three iOS 18 features TechRadar’s Apple fans are most excited for:
3. Satellite text messaging (130 votes)
The popularity of iOS 18’s satellite texting feature was a bit surprising, considering that it’s limited to iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series users. But there’s no denying how useful this Emergency SOS enhancement can be for anyone stuck in an area with no cellular coverage.
If you lose both cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity for a while, iOS 18 will display an alert asking if you’d like to use a satellite connection, and from there, you’ll be able to use the Messages app to send and receive both SMS texts and iMessages.
Currently, the feature is free for two years after you buy an iPhone 14 or iPhone 15, but Apple has said it plans to charge for the feature in the future.
2. Customizable Home Screen (279 votes)
We thought iOS 18’s advanced home screen customization (which is pretty similar to Android’s) would be the top choice in this poll, but it still came in a respectable second place with 9% of the total votes.
For those of you who missed WWDC 2024, iOS 18 will enable a lot of things that Apple has so far staunchly refused to do on the iPhone, like placing apps on the bottom or side of the screen and being able to see a nice wallpaper behind them.
You’ll also now be able to hide the app name for a super minimalist look (see above), and there’s also the option to launch new dark mode icons and add tints. Thanks Apple, it’s finally here.
1. New Siri Assistant (495 votes)
A major upgrade to Apple’s Siri was undoubtedly one of the biggest talking points of WWDC 2024, and you all strongly agreed: A total of 16% of WhatsApp survey respondents said that the new Siri assistant was iOS 18’s most exciting feature.
Unfortunately, the rebooted Siri, which will also be able to connect to ChatGPT thanks to a deal with OpenAI, is limited to the iPhone 15 Pro series (or iPad and Mac) with the M1 chip, although it will be available for the iPhone 16 series in September.
But if you’re lucky enough to have the latest iPhone, later this year Siri will get a new look, more natural conversational skills, and the option to type questions into Siri. Starting next year, Siri will also get “personal context” and on-screen recognition, making her even more useful.
Considering we’ve been waiting 13 years for Apple to deliver on its original Siri promise, we couldn’t be happier. You seem pretty excited, too.
You might also like…
[ad_2]
Source link
