New WWDC 2024 Rumors Point to Face ID App Lock and Dark Home Screen Mode for iOS 18
We’re all geared up for the big Apple WWDC 2024 event taking place tomorrow, June 10, and a few last-minute rumors surrounding iOS 18 have surfaced – hinting at some of the major upgrades iPhone owners can look forward to .
These leaks both come from spoken sources MacRumorsand the first suggests that there will be a new security feature that will let you lock individual apps behind Face ID (or Touch ID or a passcode), in addition to the main screen lock.
This is a feature that’s already available in a limited form on the iPhone: you can lock individual entries in Notes, for example, while third-party apps like WhatsApp and PayPal have also introduced the feature. This protection can also be enabled via a custom shortcut.
With iOS 18, however, the feature will be fully integrated and available to every Apple app – and potentially third-party apps too – at the operating system level. It is an extra safety net if an unwanted visitor gains access to your phone.
It is getting dark
The second tip that MacRumors has picked up concerns the dark mode on the iPhone: apparently the dark mode introduced in 2019 with iOS 13 will be extended to the app icons on the home screen.
We’ve previously heard about more customization options for home screens and app icons coming with iOS 18, and this apparently has something to do with that. Currently, dark mode affects the home screen wallpaper on an iPhone, but not the app icons.
The leaks about the changes that iOS 18 brings have become a downpour in recent days, with news of AI features called Apple Intelligence, upgrades to the built-in Mail app, new text effects in the Messages app and more much more. It all points to this iOS upgrade being one of the biggest yet, and it should be fully released in September.
Everything will be revealed on Monday: we will follow the event live, and you can watch it live too. The main keynote, with all the major announcements, starts at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST (3am AEST on June 11 for those in Australia).