Is there a way to revert photos app after IOS 18

tony.d. wrote:

These other Photo Library apps, would the edit apps have access to them. Or will this be like a duplicate library?

They access the same photos from your Library, but can choose to display them any way they wish. When you first launch one of those apps, if will ask for permission to access your Photo Library. Of course you would have to grant permission, otherwise you would not see the photos in your Library. If the app you choose allows editing, then you can perform those edits and save the photo back to your Library. No duplication of photos is necessary.

B_RadZ wrote:

I've had iphone since the 3G. This update has me ready to go to andoid. I cannot stand the clutter this gives by putting every album right in the same screen.

Not sure what you mean by putting every album on the same screen, the Photo Library has always contained every photo that was in the Album. The album contains just a link to the photo and they have never been moved from the photo library to the album. With the Photos app, you now have far more customization options that you never had before. Here are some guides related to viewing the photos and your albums.

• View photos and videos on iPhone - Apple Support
• Customize the Photos app on iPhone - Apple Support
• Filter and sort the photo library on iPhone - Apple Support
• Edit and organize albums on iPhone - Apple Support

There are also many other Photos apps available in the App Store to choose from and you may find one that you like better. Of course, you are free to use any device you wish. If you would prefer another platform, I would suggest to find one that best meets your needs. You would also see yearly updates in the UI and apps there as well.

You are incorrect. Until the new update once you’d move a photo out of the camera roll it was no longer there. You had to go to your synced photo folder to access it as they no longer existed on the camera roll. Ive been doing it for 15 years until this recent update. Now when I move them, they remain on the main screen.

quick edit. You maybe referring to doing them through the app. I am not. I use the actual computer to move the photos into folder that are then synced through iTunes

B_RadZ wrote:

quick edit. You maybe referring to doing them through the app. I am not. I use the actual computer to move the photos into folder that are then synced through iTunes

Yes, I was referring to using the Photos app on the iPhone as you mentioned your 3G. Sorry, I no longer sync photos from my Mac to the Phone, so I am unfamiliar with any changes in what you are seeing. I do know that the Camera Roll was removed from the Photos app in iOS 13 and the name was changed to Recently Saved that altered its functionality. What would be considered as the Camera Roll is in the Camera app by tapping the preview in the lower left. But again, I am not familiar with how that changed the way syncing is done from your computer.

As always, let Apple know how you feel and how the changes has affected your workflow.

Product Feedback - Apple

I’ve not yet updated, I’m still on a much later version, 16 I think, my daughter has updated and is screaming on how it’s all changed, especially her photos, I don’t know why you are not just given the option to choose what it is you will allow to be changed, or atleast changed back if you don’t like it, I’m not updating, one or two apps are no longer working, but I don’t care, so I’ve deleted them, or thrown them into another spare folder, I avoid apple updates as much as I can, but I’m swaying towards android.

V8-Runner wrote:

I’ve not yet updated, I’m still on a much later version, 16 I think, my daughter has updated and is screaming on how it’s all changed, especially her photos, I don’t know why you are not just given the option to choose what it is you will allow to be changed, or atleast changed back if you don’t like it, I’m not updating, one or two apps are no longer working, but I don’t care, so I’ve deleted them, or thrown them into another spare folder, I avoid apple updates as much as I can, but I’m swaying towards android.

It is your choice what you do. Nobody here cares what platform you use and as always it is strongly recommended to get the one that best meets your needs. I suggest you spend some time over n the Android Support site, as it is not unusual to regularly see a post where a disgruntled user does not like something and says they are switching to the iPhone. For some reason that seams like the go to response. In any case they also have yearly updates and here are what those users say about it.

Android Support example 1

Android Support example 2

Android Support example 3

Hello~ The more that I’ve worked with the new changes to photos the better I like it but onto the subject of updating your devices… I recommend staying updated for there are important security updates included that are far more important than new features. Take care.

~Katana-San~

That’s odd, I guess I’ve been doing it wrong. I’ve always had to open the app I’m editing in (say, like PSE) and pick the photo from there. I’ve never been able to open a photo in the Photos App and then export it to whatever editing app I’m using. And all photos are saved to the Photos app regardless of what editing app you use.

tony.d. wrote:

I’ve always felt this feature is half baked. Not all the editing apps show up in that menu. The ones I want use aren’t there.

Only the apps that include the Photo Editing Extension will show up in that list. That is something the app developer must do when they create the app.

While this document will not help you, it does describe the steps that developers take so their app is able to be edited right from the Photos app. It is the developers choice, but it is also true some developers would prefer you use their app instead.

Creating Photo Editing Extensions | Apple Developer Documentation

I finally figured out a way to somewhat reorganise my photos app to prior ios 18.

1. In photos app, scroll to the bottom and hit "Customise & Reorder". Check your preferences.
2. In photos app, scroll slightly up so all you see are the photos and the sort (Arrow up and down) /year/month/all buttons. Press the sort button > View Options > Enable Screenshots and Shared with You. You should have all photos show up now.

I might have missed something but to me this brings back the oldish structure the old photos app had and thats all i need for it.

I have "Update Anxiety". I am avoiding ios 18, but know that late some night I will make a mistake as it pesters me repeatedly and it will update, it always happens. The photos thing is so ominous that I just do not want to deal with that right now. Most updates require several days of configuring afterwards just to get back to normal. My life is fine right now, I need Nothing at all in ios18, NOTHING. But I suffer through the updates because the world moves on and we all have to move with it. After reading the comments here I am thinking that long term I need to go back to a separate camera and keep my phot life off of my phone. Like I used to. And not having photos in the cloud is probably a good thing.

But I do have a question, it is February 2025 and ios18.3 is being offered, is the photo app behaving itself yet ? Did some of the horror get rectified. Do those who posted here about the difficulties finally found a way to move through to some kind of comfort with this change ?

I am absolutely stunned by the number of web articles devoted to the photo update. So much drama.

Where are the benefits to the users ? As for every single "new" thing ios18 does, do not care.

Good Luck all.

I waited until late January before updating due to the many negative messages on here. I have over 300 albums with about 23,000 photos in total. I finally updated and all albums were exactly as I had them in IOS 17. I then used the Customize button at the bottom and unchecked most options in Photos. So, now I have 'Albums', (where all of my previous albums are that I set up myself so had to do nothing to them), 'Media Types' and 'Utilities'. In 'Utilities' the Favourites album appeared without any set up by me.

And any photos I take appear at the bottom of 'Recents' so I see them easily with no scrolling. So the bottom line is my Photos in 18.3.1 looks very similar to the "old" set up in IOS 17. Absolutely no issues, after having updated last month.

Before anyone suggests it, I do not work for Apple. I am an active senior who takes many photos or copies many from Facebook that are historical. Anyone can do it. Just take the plunge and follow the advice found online in many places like "iPhone Life."

Thank you Foxfire64, your answer makes me feel more confident. I am a senior citizen, using an iphone to better interface with my children. Spent 40 years in IT, still overwhelmed by these updates. Your advice is what I needed and will now move forward. Appreciate your reply.

random-user-name,

You do need to realize that even if there are 5,000 articles on the net and 5,000 people here concerned about upgrading, that that is a minuscule amount of people compared to the actual number of people using iOS 18.

To answer your question, most of the chatter here (mine included when this article first posted) was surrounded by the fact that most people don’t like change, myself included to a certain extent. I did not know anything about the change in the Photos app when I upgraded to iOS 18 (automatically). I was pretty upset when I found out how much the Photos app had changed. However, after reading a few articles and reading what some of the people have said here, I’ve learned that there is a lot of value in the new Photos app. Yes, it’s not exactly like the old one, however, it’s better in many ways. It’s customizable.  I’m not sure how much of the thread here you have read, however, I would encourage you to read every single post.  You may find there’s a lot of encouragement also.

I would also like to suggest that you to back up your “camera phone” to your computer when not using the cloud. If you’re going to  use a separate phone for taking pictures, if for some reason, something happened to that phone, you would lose everything.  

I have thought about suggesting the scenario you alluding to, to buy an older phone, like an X or an 11 and not updated to iOS 18. Then, on your newer phone, update to iOS 18 and play with the Photos app and learn how to best use it to your advantage.  After a bit of time, I’m pretty sure you would not be as horrified by the update as it seems that many people are here.  Take contributor Foxfire64 for instance.  He waited a long time only to find out that everything worked for him.

BTW, if you don’t want your phone to automatically update, you can go to Settings, General, Software Update, and tap on Automatic Updates at the top of the page.  On the next page, turn Off “Automatic Updates”.

Leave On “Security Response & System Update”

And you can choose to turn Off or leave On “iOS Updates”.  If you leave this On your phone will simply download the new software to your phone, but will not install it until you choose to update. If you turn it Off, when you are ready to update your phone, it will take a little bit longer for it to download and then update.

I trust this has helped you and anyone else concerned about the new iOS 18 and the new Photos app. 

Thank you!

To Gar Benedick, it means very much to me that you would take the time to write so much in response to my comment. You have given me so much and I thank you. For anyone else following this, I agree that using a test device for updates is a good idea, I am fortunate enough to have a new ipad and a spare phone that can be used to move onto updates and experiment with features before committing my primary phone to the changes. Please note that some changes are not in the ipad after an update, so you might not see them. Anyway, your advice is very good advice. Just this morning I copied and pasted one of your commentaries on this topic, so your name stuck out, I was already listening to you. One area I will touch on is this: I have much less time left, meaning I am way closer to the end than the beginning. I made a conscious decision to spend it living a real life, less screen time, zero social media. There are better things to do when you are old, and able, than to fiddle with changes to a device just so I can feel comfortable again. I am not against change either, I spent my whole life creating and introducing and training - for change. But one trend I notice is a need for developers to create change for the sake of change, to keep a job. Believe me I was surprised that software I wrote more than 20 years ago was still being used, as it was written, that usually does not happen. But when I see frequent updates with no real value other than making an update... I have to wonder what is the point. I often wonder if this is the last update I will ever have to endure. In some ways I am not looking forward to ios20.3.2 , but if I live to see it, it means I made it to a nice old age. Good Luck to you Gar, and thank you. I will update, I will adapt. I will persevere and remember what you said.