iOS 18 is still a few months away And also, for obvious reasons, we are currently very, very much anticipating the arrival of iOS 17.4 and the faucet that will open with it. Although more than a faucet, due to its impact, we should talk about a pipe with the diameter of an oil pipeline, although we are still waiting to verify the impact of what the restrictions set by Apple will have, so that finally the content of the said large pipe stream with more or less flow and pressure.

I am of course talking about forced adaptation of Apple’s operating system to the Digital Markets Act (DMA, an abbreviation in English), which will come into effect with the deployment of iOS 17.4 and which will end many restrictions that those of Cupertino have imposed practically since the very origin of the iPhone. The rules of the game are changing significantly, and there are many companies that have been waiting for this, so they will undoubtedly start taking advantage of these changes sooner rather than later.

However, Let us recall that the changes are limited exclusively to the common European space, and that Cupertino has already confirmed that it’s not part of its plans to bring them to other geographies, so outside the EU, iOS 17.4 will be just another update, not something particularly noteworthy. And of course, this helps us understand that on the other side of the pond, they are more interested in what the future generation leap, i.e. iOS 18, will bring.

The latest on iOS 18 from Power On’s Q&A section: I’m told that the new operating system is seen within the company as one of the biggest iOS updates — if not the biggest — in the company’s history. Stay tuned for more. https://t.co/w2Lt7itezV

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) January 28, 2024

We’ve talked before about some of what we expect from this major overhaul of the operating system, and how it aims to be very interesting, so much so that it’s likely to be one of the most notable releases of the year. And it seems I wasn’t overdoing it by including it on this list, in fact, I may have even fallen behind, as popular leaker and analyst Mark Gurman states that Apple’s internal sources told you that iOS 18 could become the most important update in the history of this operating system.

We already “know” that (in quotes because Apple doesn’t know for sure until it’s officially confirmed). A key pillar of iOS 18 will be the arrival of many AI-based features, among them a much-needed major redesign of Siri, the AI-based assistant that was revolutionary in its day but has been left behind by time and lack of evolution. Are they now giving this new development in Cupertino enough weight to consider it the most important update in iOS history, or do they have more surprises in store for us?

Gurman has chosen not to comment on the matter for now, but says We can expect more news from you in the coming weeks.. And yes, we’ll have to wait until WWDC 2024 to see the future of the operating system firsthand. And yes, also those who will be able to enjoy it, because a significant jump in these characteristics could send more than one generation of iPhone into exile.