Alongside a myriad of new AI features, Home Screen customization, and more, a last-minute iOS 18 leak has revealed that Apple is planning to unveil a brand new app called “Passwords” for iPhone.
Apple has offered some form of password management on its devices for decades, going as far back as the original Keychain app for Mac launched in 1999. Currently, Apple offers iCloud Keychain as a password management feature built into iCloud across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Now, iCloud Keychain is about to get a major boost, and will reportedly feature in iOS 18 as a brand-new standalone app, also available on iPadOS 18 and macOS 15.
As reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman: “Apple Inc. will introduce a new homegrown app next week called Passwords, aiming to make it easier for customers to log in to websites and software.”
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iOS 18 gets password overhaul
According to Gurman, the app will be able to generate and keep track of passwords. The goal is “to get more people to use secure passwords and bolster the privacy of its devices,” according to the report. However, as the leak rightly notes it will put Apple squarely in contention with several popular existing services, notably 1Password and LastPass, which already offer a broadly similar service.
Further details from the report indicate the app will feature a list of logins, separated into categories that include accounts and Wi-Fi networks, as well as Passkeys. As you might expect, the app will also offer autofill functionality, saving you the hassle of typing in your passwords at every login page you encounter. What’s more, the app will also reportedly “support verification codes and serve as an authentication app similar to Google Authenticator,” suggesting you’ll soon be able to use Apple’s first-party solution to generate codes for two-factor authentication requests, a giant thumbing of the nose to Google.
Perhaps the most interesting facet of the leak is the fact that the app is coming to Apple Vision Pro, and more notably Windows. Apple offers a select set of its services for Windows including Apple Music and Apple TV Plus, but an Apple Passwords app muscling in on Microsoft is certainly noteworthy.
With WWDC 2024 just around the corner, Apple Passwords could be one of the sleeper announcements of the event, a seemingly mundane service that spreads Apple's privacy and security net further and wider than ever before.
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