What’s New in Apple Photos on iOS 18: Understanding the Redesign
The Photos app in iOS 18 looks very different at first glance, and that change has caught a lot of people off guard. Apple didn’t just tweak the interface — it completely rethought how photos, videos, and collections are organized and navigated.
This guide walks through the iOS 18 Photos redesign exactly as shown in the video, explaining what changed, how the new layout works, and how you can customize it so it actually feels familiar again.
🎓 What You’ll Learn
How the new Photos app layout works in iOS 18
What Apple means by Collections
How the Library view behaves when scrolling
How to use the new bottom navigation controls
How to browse photos by years, months, and all
How to customize and reorder collections
How pinned collections can be modified
What Media Types and Utilities do
Where to view account and iCloud Photos status
📱 Understanding the New Photos App Layout
When you open Photos in iOS 18, you’re no longer dropped straight into a traditional library grid. Apple now organizes everything into what it calls Collections.
At the very top of the app is your entire photo library. Swiping down allows you to scroll through photos and videos, while swiping back up returns you to the full Collections view. This change shifts Photos from a single library screen to a layered navigation experience.
🧭 Navigating the Library View
As you scroll through your library, new navigation controls appear at the bottom of the screen.
These controls allow you to:
Change how photos are viewed
Sort or filter content
Quickly switch between time-based views
Tapping the arrows in the bottom-left corner opens these options, and tapping them again exits the view.
🗓 Browsing by Years, Months, and All
At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see options labeled Years, Months, and All.
These provide:
A high-level timeline view of your photo history
Faster navigation through large libraries
A summarized visual overview of specific time periods
This is especially useful for libraries with thousands of photos.
🧱 Returning to the Collections Screen
To return to the main Collections layout:
Scroll upward until the library collapses
Or tap the X button in the bottom-right corner
This brings you back to the screen where all collections are visible.
🧑💼 Top Navigation and Account Overview
At the top of the Photos app:
The top-left shows the total number of photos and videos
The top-right includes search, multi-select, and profile access
Tapping the profile icon shows:
Total photo and video counts
iCloud Photos sync status
Shared photos and shared libraries
iCloud links and additional viewing options
This provides a centralized overview of your Photos account activity.
🧩 Default Collections Explained
Scrolling through the Collections screen reveals sections such as:
Recent Days
Albums
People and Pets
Pinned Collections
Shared Albums
Memories
Trips
Featured Photos
Media Types
Utilities
Wallpaper Suggestions
Not all collections appear for every user, depending on usage and settings.
🛠 Customizing and Reordering Collections
At the bottom of the Collections screen, Apple added a Customize and Reorder option.
From here, you can:
Hide collections you don’t use
Reorder collections into a preferred layout
Focus Photos on what matters most to you
You can also reset everything back to Apple’s default layout at any time.
📌 Modifying Pinned Collections
Pinned Collections can be further customized.
You can choose which items appear, such as:
Favorites
Screenshots
Maps
Videos
Recently Saved items
This allows quick access to commonly used photo categories.
🎞 Media Types and Utilities Collections
The Media Types collection automatically groups photos and videos by format, such as screenshots or videos.
The Utilities collection uses detection to surface:
Receipts
Handwritten notes
QR codes
These features help surface useful content without manual organization.
☁️ Viewing iCloud Photos Status
The profile view also shows:
Whether iCloud Photos is syncing
Shared with You photos
Shared libraries
iCloud-generated links
This makes it easier to confirm that Photos is syncing correctly across devices.
