Mark Gurman Reveals Siri's Upcoming RCS Support and Generative AI Features in iOS 18

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman covered some new rumors surrounding the upcoming iOS 18 release in his latest newsletter. According to Gurman’s sources, iOS 18 is seen as one of the biggest software updates in the history of iOS.

One of the expected big new updates is support for Rich Communication Services (RCS) in the native Messages app. Apple already announced it will bring RCS support to iPhones in 2024 which open up cross-platform features between iOS and Android phones. These include higher res media sharing, improved group chats, read receipts, typing indicators, location sharing and messaging via Wi-Fi to name a few.

The other big aspect of iOS 18 will be the AI improvements to Siri. Gurman suggests Apple will bring generative AI capabilities to iOS with its own large language model (LLM) which will transform Siri and other native apps like Messages. The new AI features will allow for improved field questions and auto-complete sentences

Apple is also reportedly exploring generative AI features for Apple Music, Pages, Keynote, Xcode and Shortcuts with seamless task automation for complex tasks. We’re still a long way away from any official announcements as iOS 18 is expected to launch at WWDC 24 in June.