Apple’s Photos app has been redesigned with iOS 18. With the new operating system, which is currently in public beta, the app automatically organizes your photo library into themed collections. And if you don’t like the default collections, you can customize them to your liking.
You’ll still find the usual grid of photos that you can view by year or month. You can sort and filter your photos to view them in a specific order. But now you’ll also find collections for specific photos and videos, including Recent Days, People, Memories, Albums, and Featured Photos.
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To view each collection, simply swipe up and down on the screen. Jump to the bottom of the screen and adjust the layout to remove or reorder your collections.
To try this app for yourself, you’ll need the iOS 18 public beta on an iPhone. To install the beta, follow the steps in “You can download the iOS 18 public beta on iPhone now. Here’s how (and which models support it).” If you’ve already installed the first public beta, update the operating system to the third beta to get the latest changes to the Photos app.
How to use and optimize the Photos app in iOS 18
After installing iOS 18, launch the Photos app. At the top, you’ll see the familiar grid view of your library. Pinch your fingers together to zoom out and get a wider view of your library. From there, you can jump to a specific month and year. Move your fingers apart to zoom in on a series of photos or one photo.
You can also change the view to see photos by months and years. The All view shows you all your photos sorted by date, oldest to newest. Tap Years at the bottom and switch to a specific year. Tap Months and select a month to see its photos.
In normal view, tap the double arrow at the bottom. In the menu, you can sort your library by recently added items or recording date.
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Tap Filter to filter your library and see favorites, edited items, photos, videos, screenshots, or screen recordings. Tap Viewing Options to zoom in or out, view photos in their actual aspect ratio, include or exclude screenshots, and include or exclude photos shared with you.
Swipe down on the screen to see the collections generated, such as Recent Days, Albums, People, Pinned Collections, Memories, Trips, Shared Albums, and Featured Photos.
Tap a specific collection to view the photos it contains. Depending on the collection, you can then swipe up and down or left and right to view each photo. Tap the X to close the collection and return to the previous screen.
Just like your main library, you can sort and filter the photos in a collection. After opening a collection, tap the double arrow. In the menu, you can sort by oldest first, newest first, or by a custom date.
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You can also filter the items by different categories and change the view to zoom in or view the photos in their actual aspect ratio.
The Photos app automatically creates a movie from a set of photos in a collection. After opening the collection, tap Movie at the bottom. A generated movie will play with titles and background music. Tap the screen to pause or play the movie.
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Select the Sound icon at the bottom, then swipe through the screens to apply different filters and select different music. Tap the ellipsis icon at the top to edit, share, and perform other commands on the movie. Tap the X to close the movie and collection.
You can select one or more photos to perform various commands on them. On the Library screen, tap the Select button at the top, then tap each photo you want to include in the selection. Tap the iOS Share icon to share the photos via email, SMS, AirDrop, or other methods. Tap the trash can icon to delete them. Tap the bottom icon with the ellipsis in a circle to perform other commands, such as copying, hiding, playing a slideshow, or adding to an album.
You can customize the collections to remove or reorder specific collections. Swipe to the bottom of the screen and tap Customize & Reorder. The screen will show all the default collections. To remove a collection, tap the checkmark to turn it off. That collection will no longer appear on the main screen.
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To reorder the list, press the hamburger icon with three lines next to a collection, then drag and drop it to a new location. The list will then appear in the order you created. To put it back in the original order, tap “Reset.” Otherwise, tap “X” to return to the main screen.
