Apple's latest iPhone operating system, iOS 18, brings a host of new features and improvements to iPhones new and old. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and the company is expected to release it sometime on Monday, September 16, likely at around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time/1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the official release day, based on past releases.

Here are 20 notable additions that should enhance your iPhone experience once the over-the-air update becomes available for you to download and install on your device. In the meantime, to check if the update is available, go to Settings ➝ General ➝ Software Update, and wait a moment for your device to contact Apple's servers. If you're in no rush, you can wait for iOS 18 to be delivered to your iPhone when you next plug it into your computer.

Among these upcoming additions is an AI-powered writing assistant that can help you rewrite text in different styles, proofread your writing, and generate summaries of longer content. A new Image Playground app will allow you to create and edit AI-generated images based on text descriptions or existing photos.

Siri is set to receive a significant upgrade, gaining the ability to understand personal context from your emails, messages, and photos, providing more accurate and personalized responses. Additionally, Apple plans to introduce AI-powered features in the Photos app, including a "Clean Up" tool to remove unwanted elements from your pictures.

The first set of these Apple Intelligence features, while not available in the initial version of iOS 18, should arrive when iOS 18.1 is released in October, with a roll out continuing in iOS 18.2 in December, and beyond.