The stable version of iOS 18 is finally here! The latest version of iOS brings a ton of new features, customizations, and improvements, making it the biggest software update to the iPhone ever. While iOS 18 is packed with cool customization options, there are a few odd changes that hit hard, especially if you’ve been using an iPhone for long enough. For me, it’s the “redesigned” Photos app. When Apple first teased iOS 18 at WWDC 2024 in June, it mentioned that the Photos app had gotten “the biggest overhaul ever,” making it much easier and faster to find photos.
While Apple thinks the redesigned Photos app offers a lot of convenience, I find it more complicated and overwhelming. At first, I thought I was the only one who hated the new Photos app design, but now I know I’m not the only one disappointed. Reddit users are furious about Apple’s decision.
Changes to the Photos app in iOS 18
The Photos app in iOS 18 offers Collections that automatically organize your entire photo library by themes like Recent Days, Memories, Travel, People & Pets, and more. When you first open the Photos app in iOS 18, you’ll immediately notice the absence of separate tabs. Instead, you’ll see the main library grid that displays about 30 images at a time.
Different sections of the photo library are grouped into a single, scrollable view. Additionally, images previously displayed in the “For You” section are now presented under different collections. You have to scroll down to access the full photo library view. You can then zoom in and out to see more or fewer images at once. The new layout offers Years and Months options to browse your photo history. However, the Days option has now been replaced by the Recent Days collection.
New design kills simplicity
The moment I opened the Photos app in iOS 18, I immediately missed the clean interface with separate tabs that used to be at the bottom of the screen. Apple ditched the tabbed navigation bar at the bottom in favor of a new scrolling design, which I found made the app slower, cluttered, and confusing. Instead of tabs, you’ll find collections that are automatically categorized by theme. I find it unnecessarily complicated to scroll through so many automated collections, waiting for your attention. The old Photos app already had themes and categories, but iOS 18’s Photos app displays all of your photos on a single scrollable page. Honestly, it makes finding photos harder.
Maybe I’m too used to the old version, but I liked it when all my photos were in one place. Now, different images on my iPhone are saved in different folders. I often download images from WhatsApp, and I can easily access them via the All Photos tab in the old version. Now, my downloaded images automatically go to the Recently Saved collection. Also, different sections like Favorites and Utilities are buried in this laborious scrolling page under the “smart” memories. Every time I want to find a photo, I have to first dig through and find the appropriate collection. And I still haven’t developed muscle memory for that. So, I scroll and swipe aggressively wherever I can.
Aside from the dumb navigation and confusing design, the new Photos app also changed the way I watched and edited videos on my iPhone. If I needed to play a video in full screen on iOS 17 or earlier, I could just tap on it. However, that’s not the case with iOS 18. When I tap a video once, it doesn’t play in full screen. I have to tap it again to make it full-screen. That’s not all. Also, the video thumbnails are not the same anymore. The video previews in the Photos app in iOS 18 don’t display a timestamp, making it difficult to crop videos to a specific moment.
Overall, the new Photos app layout feels a lot less intuitive and user-friendly. It has killed the simplicity I was used to, having been an iPhone user for over a decade now. For me, the Photos app in iOS 18 isn’t an upgrade, it’s a complete disaster.
Some customizations are my savior
Even though I miss the old version of the Photos app in iOS 18, there are a few customization options that make it bearable. If you also miss the old version of the iPhone Photos app, you will find these customizations useful.
Hide or edit collections for a personalized experience
If Apple did one thing right with the Photos app in iOS 18, it’s giving users the ability to customize it. Otherwise, I’d be stuck with this complicated layout. To make it easier to navigate my photo library, I hid some collections I didn’t need and even rearranged their order. Here’s what I did:
- Open the Photo app scroll down and tap Customize and Reorganize.
- On the next screen, you can hide collections you don’t need or reorder them for a personalized view.
- Simply uncheck the collections you want to hide.
- To reorganize the collections, simply Press and hold a collection to move it. I like to keep the “Albums” and “Recent Days” collections at the top.
- Also, I don’t need cards in pinned collections, so I removed it and added the Selfies folder instead.
Hide screenshots from the photo gallery
Due to my work, I often take a lot of screenshots on my iPhone. As a result, my photo library is overrun with screenshots and I don’t want to delete them. Luckily, I can hide screenshots from my Photo Stream and restrict them to the dedicated Screenshots folder under Pinned Collections. Here’s how I do it:
- Open the Photo app on your iPhone.
- When you start scrolling through the photo library, you will find a new icon (an up arrow and a down arrow) at the bottom. Press it and select Display options.
- Now uncheck the box Show screenshots option. This will instantly hide all screenshots on your iPhone.
- You can find all your screenshots in the Screenshots folder under Pinned Collections.
While this won’t bring back the nostalgia and simplicity of the old Photos app, these customizations should at least make the Photos app less complicated and confusing than it might seem at first glance. Of course, you’ll still have to relearn some muscle memory.
The new layout may not be a bad change, but it’s unnecessarily complicated and will likely take some time for users to adjust to it. I’m waiting to see how the Photos app in iOS 18 works with Apple Intelligence. After all, Apple has touted the app’s redesign to work seamlessly with the AI system. Hopefully, the upcoming AI features will make it easier to find and edit photos, so this “redesigned” Photos app won’t be so bad. Again, not all iPhones will get Apple Intelligence support. If you have a compatible model, you’re in luck.
Do you, like me, miss the old Photos app? Or do you love the Photos app in iOS 18? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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