Apple has completely revamped the Photos app with iOS 18, significantly improving the user experience. The new design makes navigating the app more fluid and customizable. Apple’s top executives gave an interview to The National detailing the thinking and goals behind this major change.
What’s new in the Photos app coming with iOS 18
“As our features, users and libraries grew, the density of the (Photos) app grew,” said Billy Sorrentino, senior director of Apple’s human interface design team, explaining the motivation behind the app redesign. “So instead of having to hunt around for a handful of content, we built a simple and uncluttered single-view photo experience based on deep intelligence. As a result, we wanted to remove friction.”
The new design gives users more control over the layout of the interface. “The combination of deep intelligence and customization makes Photos more personal,” said Della Huff, Apple’s director of camera and photos product marketing. “Everyone has a different work pattern, so automatic customization is really important here.”
At its WWDC 2024 event last month, Apple described an update to the Photos app as its “biggest redesign ever.” The new design centers around a grid view that provides easy access to photos, collections, and favorites, people, places, and more.
iOS 18 is currently in developer beta testing, and it looks like there will likely be some changes before it’s released to everyone in September. So far, the redesign of the Photos app has been a controversial topic among Apple users, but there’s still plenty of time for changes.
Meanwhile, the design of the new Photos app aims to make photo management easier for users. The customizable home screen allows users to quickly access the content they need most. On the other hand, browsing through photos becomes faster and more efficient thanks to smart search features. Users can easily find and organize their favorite photos, specific people or specific places.
This major innovation from Apple could radically change users’ photo management habits. The new design offers a great advantage, especially for users with large photo libraries. These changes, made to improve users’ experiences within the application, once again demonstrate Apple’s user-friendly and innovative approach.