These iOS 18 rumors make me want to switch to iPhone after 10 years of Android

There’s no better or worse between iOS and Android. I prefer the latter and have been using Android-based devices for the last 10 years, but the rumors about iOS 18 are tempting me to switch sides.

I switched to Android in 2014 after using the OG iPhone 5 for two years. Given the nature of my job, I have used both Android and iOS devices regularly, but my daily driver has always been an Android phone (specifically, at the moment, a Pixel 8).

It’s not that I despise iOS, or that I am an Android loyalist. In fact, iOS devices outperform Android in more than one area, it’s just that most of the features I need are on Android.

The reasons why I stick to Android are the same ones any Android user will give you. First, Android lets me customize my phone way more than iOS. I can download apps from outside the official store (sideloading), change app icons, and install different launchers for the home screen – you name it.

Second, and this might not be important to everyone. I use a Windows computer for work, and I need to access my text messages. Apple makes that impossible in iOS. Android doesn’t have that limitation. Finally, Siri just isn’t as helpful or powerful as Google Assistant. That’s a big advantage for Android, in my book. iOS 18 probably won’t magically solve everything I dislike about iPhones, but rumors are swirling that it might address some of my biggest pain points.

Siri might finally get an upgrade

Apple

I have used both Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri, and I often get surprised at how far behind Siri is. When asking simple questions, Siri just says, “I found this on the web” and lets you navigate through the results while Google Assistant speaks out the answer. That’s very important for me, especially when driving.

Trying to play songs on Spotify with Siri can be a total crapshoot. It messes up more often than not, no matter what song you ask for. Google Assistant, on the other hand, seems to nail it almost every time.

However, reports suggest Apple is looking to give Siri a big upgrade with generative AI. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims Apple “will improve Siri’s voice capabilities, giving it a more conversational feel, and add features that help users with their day-to-day lives,” an approach the company calls “proactive intelligence.”

Thanks to the AI upgrade, Siri will be able to do things like auto-summarizing notifications from your iPhone, giving a quick synopsis of news articles and transcribing voice memos, as well as improving existing features that auto-populate your calendar and suggest apps.

If these features turn out to be true, Siri will finally give Google Assistant a tough competition, and I might finally give it another chance.

iOS could be (slightly) more customizable

iOS isn’t exactly known for being customizable, but Apple is slowly making changes. Due to EU regulations earlier this year, Apple had to allow European users to sideload apps from any platform they choose and to use browsers of their choice. While these changes are yet to extend beyond the old continent, Mark Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter that iOS 18 will give users more customization of their iPhone’s home screen.

It will not only allow you to place icons freely but also unlock app icon customization as a first-party feature for the first time. Gurman reported that iOS 18 will allow users to “change the color of app icons.” You could make all your social networking apps have a red color, and all your productivity apps have a yellow color.

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It’s unclear if, like Android phones, icons will be able to be freely customized and changed to whatever new icon you desire or if the system will simply allow for recoloring. Apple’s approach might be more like recoloring. You could change the color scheme of the existing icon, but you wouldn’t be able to swap it out for a totally different image.

Gurman reported that iOS 18 might also enable emoji customization. The report states that Apple is developing software that will create custom emojis based on what you are texting. That means you’ll have emojis beyond the catalog of options that Apple currently offers on the iPhone and other devices.

This is one feature that’s not on Android phones yet. If you use Google’s Gboard, you do get Emoji Kitchen—the keyboard mixes two emojis to create one that has features of both.

iOS 18 might be different

iOS 18 rumors suggest the software might be different from previous versions. It will bring big changes, and while I am sure it will be clad with AI, I am excited to see what it brings. If the rumors discussed above actually pan out, I will gladly ditch my lovely Android phone for an iPhone (sorry, Google).

iOS 18 will be a main highlight of the iPhone 16 series, which is expected to launch in September 2024. The software will also be available for older iPhones, such as the iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and more.