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Apple has rolled out the seventh developer patch for the upcoming iOS 18.1 for all compatible iPhone models and it brings a curious visual change.

Apple unveiled the new update on Monday as a follow-up to the latest sixth development beta. The seventh beta builds on the previous update, which saw further Control Center widgets and visual improvements like the new home screens. Added to this are some quality of life and visual improvements, mainly a change to how the clock looks when the phone has a darker screen.

Originally reported by Apple Insiderthe primary visual change is that the clock widgets become slightly transparent when the phone is in tinted mode. The change is minimal at first glance, but it subtly changes the color of the widget to better match the background.

While it’s not as transparent as we might have liked, it does add a bit more uniformity to the home screen. Other than the widgets have seen a minor visual improvement but little else has changed.

Apple is expected to release the official release of iOS 18.1 next week, which will bring some new features that could change the way you use your iPhone going forward.

Even if iOS 18.1 developer beta was released a while ago and then a iOS 18.1 Public Betathe official release of the final software has remained elusive. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of anticipation with this one as it finally delivers Apple Intelligence into the fold.

First introduced under Apples WWDC 2024 conference earlier this year, everyone initially believed that Apple Intelligence would roll out alongside the launch of the iPhone 16 last month, but that turned out not to be the case. Still, here’s what you can look forward to with the official iOS 18.1 release.

Photo Clear

Editing photos on your iPhone will be easier thanks to the new one Cleaning tools in the Photos app in iOS 18.1. Similar Google’s Magic Eraserthis AI-powered tool for iPhone leverages generative AI to not only identify unwanted subjects to remove from your photos, but also fill in the deleted stuff with generative AI to blend in with the rest of the image. What’s great about Apple’s version is how intuitive it is to use.

Improved Siri

Siri is expected to get a huge boost with the arrival of iOS 18.1, which gives the voice assistant new features like a more conversational tonedeeper understanding and a new way to access it without voice commands. What’s remarkable about this new Siri is how the voice assistant sounds far more human than ever before, including the ability to continue contextual conversations — even when interrupted mid-sentence. You will also be able to write to Siri if you don’t want to use voice commands.

A much more organized Mail app

The The Mail app in iOS 18.1 will see a host of new features that make it more functional and organized than ever before. With Apple Intelligence, it will help better identify important messages that will populate a new Priority tab in the app. Apple Intelligence will also summarize the contents of an email, so you can read the excerpt right from your inbox without having to click through each one. And finally, Smart Replies gives you a quick way to reply to emails.

Writing tools

Sometimes you just need help with your writing, why the new one Writing tools coming with iOS 18.1 intends to make you a better writer. Again using Apple Intelligence, this set of tools can help you rewrite your messages to strike a different tone – along with the ability to proofread and summarize them.

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