Monday evening, September 16, 2024: three updates that usually arrive on different calendars landed at once. iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia all became available to download, as heise online reported. watchOS 11, tvOS 18, visionOS 2 and a new HomePod software release came with them.
The timing was the news. heise noted that Apple was releasing Sequoia “earlier than usual,” bundled with the other updates rather than trailing them. Apple’s own announcement that day called the Mac release a free software update available today.
What it means for people with more than one Apple device
Think of it like this: the iPhone, the iPad and the Mac now run the same generation of software from the first day. For features that depend on devices talking to each other, that matters. The headline Mac feature, iPhone Mirroring, lets you see and control your iPhone from the Mac. The phone stays locked the whole time, so nobody nearby can watch what you do with it. Updating all three devices together removes the gap where one has the feature and another cannot support it.
Sequoia also brings window tiling, in which dragging a window to the edge of the screen suggests a tiled position, plus a new Passwords app for passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords and other credentials. In Safari, Highlights surfaces directions, article summaries and quick links, and a redesigned Reader adds a summary and a table of contents.
On the iPhone and iPad
iOS 18 loosens the home screen. Colors can be customized, app icons can sit anywhere, and the two lock screen buttons once reserved for the flashlight and camera can be assigned by the user for the first time. The Control Center can be arranged freely. Messages gains RCS, so photos exchanged with Android users no longer get squeezed through plain SMS. In North America, iMessage can also work over a satellite connection when there is no signal. iPadOS 18 adds handwriting help in Notes, which can straighten writing and check spelling, and in the EU it allows alternative app stores such as Altstore PAL on the iPad for the first time.
The update installs on every iPhone that runs iOS 17, though some features are limited to newer models. Among iPads, only the iPad 6 (2018) is left out, according to heise. For people who did not want to move up yet, Apple shipped iOS 17.7 the same evening.
Apple Intelligence waits
The big AI package was not part of the day. Apple confirmed the first Apple Intelligence functions would come with iOS 18.1 in October, and Apple said Sequoia would pick them up the following month on Macs with an M-series chip. At first the features work only in US English, with other English versions expected by the end of the year. The AI features run on the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max only.
Sources
- iOS 18, macOS 15 & Co: When Apple will release the new operating systems (heise online)
- macOS Sequoia is available today, bringing iPhone Mirroring, Apple Intelligence, and more to Mac (Apple Newsroom)
- iOS 18 is here: these are the new features (heise online)
