Is there a way to revert photos app after IOS 18

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~

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."

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!

Hi Foxfire64!  I too am very unhappy and disappointed with the new Photos app and with Apple in general.  The original was much more intuitive, elegant and actually "usable".  However, I doubt very much if Apple will be going back to the iOS 17 version any time soon, if ever.  There are many other benefits of iOS 18 that warrant upgrading.

I am a retired Photographer and take a lot of photos. I was recently in Europe for 3 months and captured over 12,000 images.  So, I bit the bullet and figured out a way to organize my Photos app to best suit my way of handling my images.

You may want to play around with the customization to find your best layout.  This is what I did.

I opened Customization (at the bottom of the Photos app) and turned off everything but Pinned Collections, Trips and Recent Days. (BTW, Recent Days is basically the same as Recent in iOS 17, except that now you have all days/dates available there.) I'm kinda a minimalist, so I keep it simple. This eliminates most of the clutter.  Before you tap the X to exit this screen, choose the order in which you will mosts likely use these.  Now, tap X to return to your Photos.  

Next, you will see the word "Modify” next to Pinned Collections. (By the way, if you haven't discovered this yet, the > next to all the options, is used to enable you to see all of the options in that collection on a new page, if you will.) 

Tap Modify and you will be shown the options for adding things to your Pinned Collections.  I choose, in this order, Albums, Favorites, Videos, Screenshots, Recently Saved, Recently Deleted and People & Pets.  Once you’ve selected the things you want in Pinned Collections, you can reorder them anytime by simply returning to Customization.  You can even choose a particular album to be in Pinned Collections (scroll to the bottom).

Know that you will most likely not get your Photos app to look like iOS 17, however, you can get pretty close.  And remember, just because you have customized it now, you can always go back to the customization screen and make adjustments anytime.

There are also many YouTube videos that discus this customization process.  Watch a few to see if they may also assist you in finding a way to get what you want from the new iOS 18 Photos app.

I do realize that this may only seem like a workaround, however, like I said earlier, Apple will most likely NOT go back to the previous version.  If you have hope that they might,  I encourage you to write to Apple at www.apple.com/feedback and voice your opinion.  Writing to them is the only way they will ever see our frustrations with some of the awful “improvements” they make us endure.

[Edited by Moderator]

sscruggs wrote:

Don’t upgrade if you can avoid. If you use the view photos by location, you will be sad to find it no longer works

It works for me just like it did before.

Browse photos by location on iPhone - Apple Support

Cy86B wrote:

From now on I will ignore the constant notifications to update my ipad software! Why someone would think that adding 'music' to people's private photos is beyond belief!

Music is only added to slide shows. I'm also note sure I understand how this is a privacy issue.

I honestly don't care if you never update again. But privacy is important to you, it seems like security updates would be too.

You might want to let Apple know your thoughts:

Product Feedback - Apple

asi291 wrote:

That is not correct, the photo app order and display completely redesigned and not in a good way,

That's a matter of opinion. Personally, I like it a lot better because I was able to remove from the screen a lot of things I never used.

why do I need to go watch hours of vids on how to make it work again?

I don't know. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out the basics.

With all the complaints online , If you guys still think this was a good update to this app, it’s ok your call..

There was a flurry of complaints when it first launched. But, most people have figured it out by now and are apparently not holding grudges. Also, it's far more likely that people who don't like something will make the most noise. People who do like it or don't really care are off living their lives. Almost no one joins a forum to say, "Hey, great update. I really like it."

Apply just lost me and my family as customers for all apple products that we have.

Why do you think anyone here cares what products you buy? I think people should buy whatever best meets their needs.

You can always tell Apple what you think here:

Product Feedback - Apple

Kugar2019 wrote:

I can not get used to update of Photo’s App. Since it’s search engine had become second nature to me I feelbtotally lost and daily upset occurs

You can get used to it; you don't want to. And that's a valid choice. But it leads to other choices. You can continue to be upset, or you can get a different photo management app or you can get a different device entirely. What you decide to do, though, is up to you.

If it were me, I'd start here:

Customize the Photos app on iPhone – Apple Support (AU)

You might also want to let Apple know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

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.

Paulocs,

When you say, “see my recently taken photos first.” Are you referring to the top of your phones screen, meaning that you would have scroll to the very top on your photos to see the latest photos? If you are, this option has never been possible on an iPhone.

The only choices you have for sorting are:

“Sort by Recently Added” - meaning that photos are sorted according to when they were added to your iPhone Photos Library. Whether you took the photo with your phones camera or imported it via Airdrop, email, text, etc.

“Sort by Date Captured” - these will be sorted by the photos capture date according to the metadata of that photo, provided the photo has metadata. So, if someone Airdropped you a photo that they took on New Years Day, that photo will be located with all photos taken on or around that time in your Photos App Library even though they Airdropped it to you on April first.

Therefore, I assume you will want to Sort by Date Captured in order to see the most recently captured/taken photos first. Meaning they will appear at the bottom of the Library where you land when you open your Photos app.

To make this Sorting choice, if it is not already chosen, you first open the Photos app, you will see your Library on the upper half and whatever choices you have made for viewing your photos on the lower half. Simply swipe down on the screen so you only see your Library. Three choices will appear at the bottom of the screen. On the left, there will be a circle with, most likely, an up-and-down arrow. In the middle, it will say Years, Months and All and on the right there will be a circle with an X. Tap the up-and-down arrow on the left and you will get a menu that looks like this.

Choose the option you like. While you are there, explore the other available options.

To return to the Library on top and the rest of your viewing options below, as in where you first started, tap the X.

i just wanted to add that if you are looking for a photo that you recently added that my have a capture date from awhile back, you may be able to find it faster if you look in your “Recently Saved” collection. This is a great way to find photos that have been added to your Library that you did not take with the camera on your phone.

I trust this has been helpful!

Cheers!

What app would that be? Sounds like something I’m interested in

YOU are wise to do this but also be aware that after every upgrade there are such reports. Hence backing up is vital.

Do you own an iPad or other idevice that you sync with?

And how are you syncing your proper photos from your Mac folder with your iPhone? Please clarify…

I hate the new photos app in Update 18.1.1, too. Apple should always provide an option for a user to revert back to previous layouts of an app.

Maybe there is some other app we could use to view our photo libraries?