Apple releases iOS 18, macOS Sequoia and other updates

Install iOS 18 on your iPhone and other OS updates on your Apple devices to get the latest new features, enhancements and security protections.

On Monday, September 16, Apple released its iOS 18.0, iPadOS 18.0, macOS Sequoia 15.0, watchOS 11.0 and tvOS 18.0 software updates for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. In addition, the company launched new HomePod and AirPods updates to support the latest audio features in iOS 18. Your AirPods will update their firmware automatically while charging and in Bluetooth range.

To download and install iOS and iPadOS 18, go to Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone and iPad. To install watchOS 11, go to Settings > General > Software Update or open the companion Watch app on your iPhone, select the My Watch tab and navigate to General > Software Update. Your iPhone must be updated to iOS 18 before you can install the Apple Watch update.

macOS Sequoia can be installed via System Settings > General > Software Update on your Mac. To update your Apple TV, navigate to Settings > System > Software Updates > Update Software. Apple Intelligence will arrive alongside iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 in October.

New features for your Apple devices

iOS 18 and iPadOS 18
iOS and iPadOS 18 bring the biggest Control Center revamp since iOS 11 along with a significant functional update to the Photos app. You can now arrange apps on the Home Screen more freely, plus there’s a new large icon mode and Dark Mode icons. You’ll find improvements across stock apps like Messages, Mail, Safari and more. Peruse Apple’s PDFs listing every noteworthy improvement in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, as well as the official release notes for iOS 18 and iPadOS 18.

The system requirements for iOS 18 are the same as iOS 17. If your iPhone runs iOS 17, you can update it to iOS 18 without issues. However, the iPadOS 18 requirements have changed, with the 10.5-inch iPad Pro (2017), second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2017) and 9.7-inch iPad (2018) are no longer supported.

macOS Sequoia
macOS Sequoia packs several new features, including the ability to mirror your iPhone, see how you look in a video preview before starting a video call, arrange the desktop more easily with enhanced windows tiling and more. There are new capabilities across Mail, Messages, Notes, Safari and other preinstalled Apple apps.
The macOS Sequoia system requirements have changed slightly as the 2018 and 2019 MacBook Airs with dual-core Intel chips are no longer supported. For further information, read the macOS Sequoia release notes.

watchOS 11
watchOS 11 brings new features like training load and new workout types, Live Activities, the ability to pause your activity rings, the new Vitals and Translate apps, sleep apnea detection, double-tap gesture enhancements, the revamped Photos watchface, and more. For further information about this update, read the watchOS 11 release notes and visit apple.com/watchos/watchOS-11.

Two older watches are missing from the watchOS 11 device compatibility list as the Apple Watch Series 4 (2018) and Series 5 (2019) are no longer supported.

tvOS 18
tvOS 18 brings a few new features and improvements. InSight in the TV app shows info about a scene’s actors, characters and music. The Enhance Dialogue feature uses machine learning and computational audio to deliver greater vocal clarity over music, action and background noise. Plus, it now works with connected speakers and AirPlay (which now supports spatial audio). Subtitles automatically appear when you pause or rewind. There are new screen savers like Portraits, Snoppy, and TV and Movies. tvOS 18 also enables support for a 21:9 aspect ratio on projectors.

tvOS 18 supports the same Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K models as tvOS 17. For more info, read the tvOS 18 press release notes and visit apple.com/tv-home. tvOS 18 also powers Apple’s HomePod speakers, and the update lets you use the Enhance Dialogue feature with your HomePod or allow others to control music playback on your HomePod using SharePlay.

Will you install iOS 18?

Are you going to install iOS 18.0, wait until iOS 18.1 with Apple Intelligence becomes available or update your iPhone after a few months to avoid bugs in early releases? Truthfully, there haven’t been many annoying bugs in the recent iOS 18 betas. If you’re the type of person who gets excited about new software features, we recommend installing iOS 18 sooner rather than later.