Throughout WWDC 2024, Apple confirmed off a bunch of shiny new options heading to iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia (and its different software program platforms) later this 12 months—however in the event you don’t need to wait round for these options to reach, you may get a whole lot of them proper now.
Apple is well-known for including new options to its software program that then ‘Sherlock’ performance already being provided by third-party apps, and that’s the case once more this 12 months. Generally, the choice choices stay the very best; you would possibly discover that with a number of of those.
Use ChatGPT for AI help
Let’s begin with one of many extra apparent ones: You don’t have to attend for Apple’s cope with OpenAI and ChatGPT to be carried out in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia later this 12 months as a result of you’ll be able to set up devoted ChatGPT apps for the iPhone and Macs proper now.
A couple of options are solely out there to paying customers, however a whole lot of them aren’t ChatGPT Plus exclusives—together with the most recent GPT-4o mannequin and the voice mode that allows you to communicate to ChatGPT as you’ll with Siri. Discover out extra about what ChatGPT can do for you.
Customise iOS house display icons
Apart from switching to Android, you may get customized icons in your iPhone’s house display by way of Apple’s Shortcuts app. Create a brand new shortcut, decide Add Motion, and discover the Open App script. Faucet App to search out the app you need to change the icon of.
You then must faucet the drop-down menu on the prime and select Add to Dwelling Display screen. That lets you choose a customized picture in your new shortcut, which may then be placed on the house display (the unique shortcut doesn’t vanish however could be put within the App Library).
Get AI writing assist with Grammarly
Whereas no third-party app will be capable of combine with iOS and macOS, in addition to the brand new AI writing instruments rolling out as a part of Apple Intelligence, loads of options can be found if you’d like assist drafting and rewriting any textual content it is advisable to produce.
One such various is the freemium app Grammarly, which works throughout nearly each machine platform and the net: It can provide you useful suggestions about current textual content and alter its tone, size, or fashion, in addition to generate model new textual content utilizing prompts.
Categorize emails with Gmail
Chances are you’ll already learn about this one, however simply in case, The auto-categorization choices heading to Apple Mail on iOS and macOS is one thing that Gmail already does. You’ll be able to prepare the automated sorting algorithm as you go, so it ought to enhance over time.
The classes Gmail makes use of are Major, Promotions, Social, Updates, and Boards. On the desktop interface, you’ll be able to select which of them get proven—loads of different e-mail shoppers with sensible e-mail prioritization, together with SaneBox and Spark.
Use Copilot to generate AI photos
Apple will allow you to generate your individual AI artwork in iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia—for every little thing from customized stickers to customized emojis—however many instruments already allow you to generate these photos without spending a dime, together with Microsoft Copilot.
Simply kind out what you need a image of, and Copilot takes care of the remainder—you’ll be able to specify the fashion of the picture too, to comply with the Illustration or Sketch choices Apple provides you with, after which additional refine your creative creation with some follow-up prompts.
Handle passwords with LastPass
iOS and macOS already do an honest job of managing passwords for you. Nonetheless, with the software program upgrades coming quickly, we’ll get a devoted, standalone password supervisor—like the numerous different password managers already out there, together with LastPass.
LastPass is among the most complete packages on the market, and naturally, it really works on each form of machine—not simply Apple ones. You need to use the service without spending a dime, however to get essentially the most out of it, you want to enroll in one of many premium plans.
Kind to speak to Siri
Apple is making typing your Siri prompts extra accessible with iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to already do that—it’s simply hidden away within the Accessibility settings in your machine somewhat than being one thing you’ll be able to swap to and from with a faucet or click on.
In case you’re interacting with Siri on an iPhone, open Settings, then decide Accessibility and Siri to search out the Kind to Siri toggle swap. In case you’re on a Mac, open System Settings, and also you’ll additionally discover an Accessibility menu with a Siri entry and a Kind to Siri toggle swap.
Organise desktop home windows with Magnet
Sequoia will lastly catch as much as Microsoft’s desktop working system, enabling you to shortly and simply pin open home windows to at least one aspect and even one-quarter of the display—very helpful in the event you’re working in a number of apps concurrently.
You’ll be able to already do that with a number of third-party packages, together with Magnet. It’ll set you again $4.99, but it surely presents a wealth of various choices for arranging home windows on a number of screens—and appears to
