iOS 18 starts internal testing, what does the interface look like?

Recently, according to foreign media reports, Apple has begun distributing internal builds of the iOS 18 system to its factories and related suppliers, marking that the new generation of the operating system is one step closer to public release. The version distributed this time is called "VendorUI", and its access rights are strictly controlled by Apple, highlighting Apple's emphasis on confidentiality before the release of the new system.

VendorUI, as a derivative version of iOS, is provided by Apple to factories for quality control testing every year. This pre-production version will not be released to the public before WWDC to ensure the best system stability and performance. Therefore, the distribution process of VendorUI is very cautious and limited to a specific range of partners.

VendorUI may include references to new features, new settings, or branding changes. Unlike the version of iOS used by Apple software engineers, VendorUI often omits certain apps, ensuring that only the apps needed for testing are present.

Apple's iOS system has multiple derivative versions, each with its own specific purpose. The Release version is the native iOS for end consumers, providing complete functions and interfaces that users need for daily life. InternalUI is created for software engineers and contains pre-production versions of iOS user interfaces, which may contain unreleased and unannounced features for engineers to further develop and test.

VendorUI is mainly used for quality control testing in factories to ensure that the devices manufactured on the production line can stably run the new version of iOS system. In addition, the NonUI version is developed specifically for hardware engineers and calibration equipment. It does not have a standard iOS user interface and is mainly used for testing and calibration of low-level hardware. LLDiags is a version used for low-level diagnosis. It has almost no user interface and only provides a simple diagnostic menu to facilitate engineers to troubleshoot low-level equipment.

The distribution of the VendorUI version of iOS 18 means that we may soon see more new features leaked. In fact, even without VendorUI, information about iOS 18 has begun to emerge. It is currently known that iOS 18 will focus on artificial intelligence, there will be new barrier-free features, and recent news also pointed out that Apple's borderless application will add a "free-form scene" function.

In addition, concept designer Kevin Kall recently combined the current major revelations about the new system to produce a short preview of the features of iOS 18 for everyone to refer to.