Since Apple wrapped up its WWDC 2024 keynote in early June, I've had iOS 18 on the brain. Apple previews its annual iPhone software update every year at its developer conference, before rolling out a beta featuring those changes and enhancements. It's usually my job to dive deep into that beta, so I can fill the void with profiles, how-tos and assessments of all the changes heading to everyone's iPhones in the fall.
And that's what happened this year with iOS 18. Right after the keynote ended, I installed the iOS 18 developer beta on one iPhone to get an early look at the features Apple previewed during WWDC. By mid-July, I was putting the public beta through its paces. By the time Apple was ready to release a full version of iOS 18 — that happened this past Monday (September 16) — I had some form of the operating system update running on four different devices, including the latest beta on the iPhone 12 I use as my every day phone.
