Apple's next operating system update for the iPhone, iOS 18, was unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 on June 10. Despite Apple highlighting several key features in this update, the release of the iOS 18 Developer Beta and the recent public beta have led to the discovery of additional features that might be included. One such feature is said to be a new album in the Photos app, which seems designed to help users retrieve photos that might have been accidentally deleted and presumed lost.

In iOS 18, according to a report, the Recovered album appears within the Utilities section of the Photos app on an iPhone. It can be found next to the Recently Deleted tab. This feature would reportedly identify and organize photos and videos on the user's device that do not appear in the Photos app. This could cover media affected by a corrupted database or those that failed to save properly in the photo library when captured. However, it is distinct from the Recently Deleted option, which keeps deleted media in a folder for up to 30 days after its deletion. It remains uncertain whether the media in the Recovered tab will follow the same auto-delete schedule or remain in the iPhone library indefinitely.

Speculations suggest that this new feature could be a response to a bug reported in the iOS 17.5 update, which led to the reappearance of media that users thought they had permanently deleted. According to the company, this issue arose due to "photos that experienced database corruption." This problem was reportedly fixed with the iOS 17.5.1 update, which was released a few weeks ago.

The Recovered option in the Photos app is expected to become available not only on iPhones but also with iPadOS 18 for iPads and macOS Sequoia for Macs. This development aligns with the rollout of the iOS 18 Public Beta, introduced to developers several weeks earlier.