Apple has significantly reworked the Photos app for its iPhones with the update to iOS 18. This overhaul revolutionizes the way we view, organize and enjoy our photo gallery. To prepare you for this new experience, here’s an overview of the improvements to the Photos app user experience.
I tested the new version of iOS 18 on my personal iPhone, and overall it was pretty stable, with only a few small issues. That said, since this is a preview release, you should exercise caution before installing it on your device. But, if you’re eager to try it out, here’s our quick guide on how to install the iOS 18 Developer Beta on any iPhone.
That said, according to Apple, the redesign of the Photos app is one of the most significant developments in years. This is a major update, and may take some time to adjust to. However, the changes are quite intuitive and the app offers more customization, making the experience very personal.
Here’s a list of the six biggest changes I’ve seen so far.
1. A unified interface for simplified navigation
The revamped Photos app now offers a single, streamlined view that lays out your entire photo library in a familiar grid format. This unified view makes navigating your photos more intuitive, providing a consistent and simplified browsing experience. Since I take a lot of screenshots, being able to quickly sort through my gallery to remove them and only see my precious photos is priceless.
2. Dynamic and thematic albums
Many people still like to manually sort their photos into albums, but iOS 18 is going to make it easier. The new Photos app introduces dynamic collections that automatically group your images by themes, such as people, places and events.
This feature helps you easily explore your photos based on what’s important to you, without having to organize them yourself. Themed collections make it easy to revisit family vacations or look at photos of your favorite people.
3. Pin favorites for easy access
I also like that iOS 18 now lets you pin collections to keep your favorite moments close at hand. Whether it’s a family album or a trip, pinned collections stay at the top of your screen for quick and easy access. This feature allows you to relive those moments whenever you want.
4. Today’s highlights with carousel display
A new carousel view has been designed to bring recent photos to life with daily updates. It automatically groups together highlights that highlight people, animals, places and more. If you take new photos every day or twice a week, you’ll see a constantly updated selection of images in your photo library.
Since I don’t use social media, I really appreciate this feature because it allows me to review the events of the week and remember memorable moments.
5. Autoplay content for a vivid experience
Across the Photos app, content now automatically displays as you navigate, creating a more immersive experience. Live videos and photos animate without needing to tap – and again, it gives me the feel of a social network where everything is more dynamic.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to trust me on this, as I wasn’t able to make a video showing off these features while maintaining my friends’ privacy.
6. Customization for Unique Libraries
Since I think my use of my Photo Library is unique, the best part of this redesign is the level of customization that iOS 18 brings to the Photos app.
It offers extensive customization options, allowing you to organize collections based on your preferences, pin collections you access frequently, and tailor the carousel display to highlight what’s most important to you. YOU.
I honestly think the revamped Photos app in iOS 18 will dramatically improve the way many of us interact with our photo libraries. The unified app view, dynamic collections, and expanded customization features are notable improvements.
Over the past week, I’ve turned to the Photos app often, probably because its dynamic overview brings my memories flooding back. I also have to say that I love the new filters that Apple has introduced, like sorting by year, which is very easy to use. Or the fact that the Photos application even chooses background music for certain collections. Every once in a while, it’s so bad it’s hilarious.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older and more nostalgic, but I feel like I’ve been won over by the new design of the Photos app.
Have you already installed the iOS 18 beta on your iPhone? What do you think of the new Photos app?
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