Apple is set to reveal the first official details about iOS 18 at WWDC 2024 in June, but we may have just got a glimpse at what the OS upgrade might have to offer. MacRumors has received an image of what is alleged to be a new version of the iOS 18 camera app — and it features a new design oddly reminiscent of Apple’s visionOS.
This image supposedly comes from an anonymous source who in turn claimed to have obtained it from an iOS engineer. The image is said to be part of the Apple Design Resources for iOS 18, which helps developers work on the visual design of their apps to match the rest of the iOS system.
MacRumors notes there’s no way to verify the authenticity of the image, but the artwork does suggest Apple will be copying elements from visionOS for iOS 18. But this isn’t the first time we’ve heard Apple may be taking inspiration from its mixed reality headset.
Back in February a report from The Verifier claimed that Apple would be adopting visionOS design cues in iOS and iPadOS 18. The new designs supposedly included a new translucent look to parts of the iPhone software, including a translucent navigation bar in the Apple TV app. Safari was also listed as one of the built-in apps supposedly getting a redesign.
Mark Gurman at Bloomberg also said Apple could be redesigning iOS “as early as this year”, agreeing that visionOS-like design elements could come to iPhones in the future. However Gurman has since said that iOS 18 could be the biggest update ever, with Apple executives reportedly calling the upgrade “ambitious and compelling” with “major new features and designs”.
It does sound like Apple is gearing up to change the way iOS looks later this year.
The image doesn’t show a great deal, and the circumstances of its reveal aren’t all that trustworthy. It’s really not that difficult to throw together an elaborate fake for your own amusement, and even established leakers get fooled from time to time. But it does sound like Apple is gearing up to change the way iOS looks later this year, and it makes sense that those changes would add a sense of uniformity across all of its devices.
Of course we won’t know for sure until Apple actually reveals those design changes to us in person. Presumably that will happen at WWDC during Apple’s keynote address, or at the very latest once the iOS 18 beta is released. Which, thankfully, shouldn’t take that long. In the meantime be sure to check our iOS 18 hub for all the latest news and rumors.
