iOS 18

If you want to make your iPhone easier to use, you can customize its Control Center to gain faster access to the buttons and toggles you rely upon to perform frequent tasks. Plus, you can remove all the junk you never touch from the iPhone Contol Center, putting the vital controls you actually use front and center.

Keep reading to find out how and why you should customize the iPhone Control Center to make the device your own.

In iOS 18, you can hide and lock apps on your iPhone. You can hide apps so they’re completely invisible, and you can lock all kinds of apps so they require Face ID to open.

Why would you want to? Maybe you have sensitive content you don’t want anyone to see, or you don’t want anyone to know you’re using dating or hookup apps. Hiding apps is also good for staying off social media or away from addictive games. Plus, it’s a great way to declutter your Home Screen. You can really clean things up without deleting apps you may want to keep.

There are, however, a few essential apps on your phone that can’t be hidden. Here’s how it all works.

In iOS 18, Apple’s Messages app gains five great new features that will make texting all the more fun. New message effects let you bold and animate text. If you’re the forgetful type, you can schedule your messages to send later — automatically. You can reply to a message using any emoji you like. Finally, texting will get easier with your friends on Android — and in the middle of the Gobi desert.

Watch our video or keep reading to see the best new Messages features after you upgrade to iOS 18. (You can find the new iPhone operating in Settings > General > Software Update.)

Don’t be alarmed if your brand-new iPhone 16 prompts you to update to iOS 18 even though your phone is already running iOS 18. And also don’t freak out when you see a fear-inducing “Welcome to iPhone” screen after you update to iOS 18.0 build 22A3354, even though it looks suspiciously like you will need to go through the tedious iPhone setup process again.

Apple is currently distributing an unexpected iOS 18 update to brand-new iPhones that are already running iOS 18. It looks like Apple installed an earlier version of iOS on phones in the factory. Now it is updating them to the latest version.

As Apple says, the update to iOS 18.0 build 22A3354 currently rolling out brings “important bug fixes and security updates” to all models in the iPhone 16 lineup. With any luck, it will fix the touchscreen problems reported by some iPhone 16 Pro owners, but that might just be wishful thinking. (Cult of Mac asked Apple if the update addresses the touchscreen problem. We’ll update this post when/if we receive info on the update.)

iOS 18 introduces several new features to the iPhone. But it’s missing all the Apple Intelligence-powered features, some of which will arrive with iOS 18.1 in October.

The first iOS 18.1 beta went live in late July.  Two months later, Apple is seeding iOS 18.1 beta 5 to developers with several changes. Read all about them below.

I’d like to save you between $200 and $400. It’s easy: Don’t assume you must buy an iPhone 16 Pro or Pro Max to get an excellent handset. The more-affordable iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are both brilliant.

Traditionally, customers choose the basic iPhone because they’re willing to forgo cutting-edge features to get a cheaper device. But the gap between iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus versus the Pro versions proves quite narrow. My time reviewing Apple’s latest iPhones shows that if you go with a “regular” iPhone this year, you will give up less than you think in exchange for significant savings.

Apple Intelligence is not a part of iOS 18’s initial public release. Apple plans to debut its AI features with iOS 18.1 sometime in October and continue improving them with subsequent releases.

With iOS 18.2, Apple Intelligence will gain features like Genmoji, Image Playground app, and optional ChatGPT integration.

If you’re one of the many people frustrated by the Photos app redesign in iOS 18, you can fix it to make it easier to use again. Apple’s updated design replaces the Photos app’s tab bar for navigation with a single, scrollable list view.

You scroll up for your photo library, and scroll down to browse your collections, people and albums. But its default layout makes it hard to find a few useful features, like Hidden and Recently Deleted. There’s only one library view now, but it’s sorted by Date Captured by default — a lot of people prefer to sort by Recents.

It’s possible to revert some these changes to “fix” the Photos app in iOS 18 and make it easier — or at least more comfortable — to navigate. However, the changes aren’t obvious. Here’s how to restore your sanity.

How do you set up your new iPhone the fastest way possible? The iPhone setup process gets easier every year.

So easy, in fact, that there are only a few things you need to do to move from your old iPhone to a new one. The hot new tip this year is that you can directly transfer data from your old iPhone to your new one using a cable. If you’re an Android switcher, you can copy your data using the Move to iOS app.

Setting up a new iPhone from scratch isn’t much harder — you just have a few extra steps you need to go through.

There are still a few tricks that will help things run smoothly, though. Let’s see how to set up your new iPhone the right way.

When Apple pushed out iOS 18, it trumpeted big changes to the Photos app (though it already rolled some back after negative feedback). Now, with the app’s public release, many users’ initial excitement has turned to disappointment and even anger on social media. The iOS 18 Photos app backlash is real — some people really hate it.

And amid that angst — and for that audience — developer LateNiteSoft put out the new Photon Library app designed along the lines of Apple’s old Photos app.

“We’re bringing back tabs, basic photo grids, a list of albums you can simply scroll through, and we even added some quick access to your Favorites!” Noël Rosenthal, a product manager atLateNightSoft, told Cult of Mac.

You’ve probably seen some of the beautiful custom iPhone Home Screens on social media after the iOS 18 launch. Some people go to great lengths to creatively customize their iOS 18 Home Screen layout, icons and widgets.

It makes sense. After all, you open your phone and look at your Home Screen dozens (or even hundreds) of times every single day. A custom Home Screen that matches your style can bring a little spark of joy to your daily life every time you whip out your iPhone. And iOS 18 makes Home Screen customization easier than ever.

Keep reading (or watch our video) for a quick introduction into the world of custom Home Screens. You’ll find out about new features coming in iOS 18, how to go above and beyond using Shortcuts, and how you can top off your iPhone aesthetic with widgets. I’ve scoured the internet (Reddit, mostly) to find the finest examples.

Apple Intelligence will go live with iOS 18.1 release in October with US English support. During the “It’s Glowtime” iPhone 16 launch event, Apple confirmed it will expand Apple Intelligence’s language support next year.

The list of supported languages will increase even further next year, with the company planning to add more languages than initially announced.

The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are among Apple’s most repairable iPhones in recent years. The company made several internal design changes to make battery replacements and component swaps easier.

The changes will allow you to seamlessly swap the TrueDepth camera system between the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro without issues.

With RCS support, iOS 18 brings a huge upgrade to the cross-device Android and iPhone messaging experience. It enables users of both devices to share high-quality media and enjoy features like read receipts and typing indicators.

However, RCS chats between Android and iPhone lack end-to-end encryption (E2EE). The GSM Association, which developed the RCS standard, is working to fix this security gap.

The new Photos app in iOS 18 brings the biggest changes ever to how you browse your pictures, videos and memories on your iPhone. Gone are the separate tabs across the bottom. Now the Photos app delivers a single, scrollable view. Scroll up to see your library; scroll down to sort through albums, people and memories.

It takes some getting used to — and the big changes are driving some people absolutely insane. To get a grip on all the changes, you need to learn where to find your recently saved images, deleted photos and your album of hidden photos.

Here’s how it works.

Apple released iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11 and macOS Sequoia Monday. After Apple showcased these operating systems in June at WWDC24, it revealed the release date for iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia’s first stable build at the “It’s Glowtime” event.

They are available now for download on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.

iOS 18 is a surprisingly rich software update with major new customization features and big changes in Photos, Messages, Notes and more. Although Apple Intelligence features are going to continue grabbing headlines for the next year, it’ll only be available on the latest iPhones later in the fall.

The iOS 18 update is packed with features — and it’s out right now. Find it in Settings > General > Software Update. It’s compatible with all the same devices as iOS 17.

After you update, here’s the big list of things you should check out. You should definitely start with editing your Home Screen, reading how the new Photos app works and checking out the new iMessage features.

iOS 18 will add a button to pause video recordings in your iPhone’s Camera app. Apple introduced the pause option in the Camera app with the iOS 18 Release Candidate build.

While basic, the pause option will ensure you don’t have to record multiple clips.

Like iPhones, Apple regularly updates AirPods with new features. iOS 18 will continue that trend by introducing several enhancements for Apple’s earbuds. They include interacting with Siri using head gestures, lowering audio latency while gaming, and more.

Read on to see what new AirPods features iOS 18 will bring to further improve the best earbuds for Apple fans.

iOS 18 is packed full of great features Cult of Mac has covered at length — but the upcoming iPhone software update packs many more tiny features and small improvements that Apple did not mention or talk about. If you know to look out for these features, they’ll make the everyday interactions with your phone faster and easier.

Here’s a roundup of 18 little changes and useful features in iOS 18. Keep reading or watch our video.

The new AI-powered Clean Up feature in the Apple Photos app got people raving about the magical ability to “fix” pictures — and posting examples of when things go horribly wrong. The positive experiences sound great, but the negative ones look like pure nightmare fuel.

Apple added the Clean Up feature in iOS 18.1 beta 3, released Wednesday, and users put the new photo touch-up tool to the test immediately. The results, posted on X, show a wide range of outcomes, including some hilarious misfires.

You’ve wanted to try iOS 18 since Apple showed it off in June but held off for fear of massive bugs. But the current iOS 18 beta is nearly the final one — and it’s really quite stable. Put it on your iPhone now and jump ahead of friends and co-workers by about a month.

And there are great new features to try, including a fully customizable Home Screen, an improved Control Center, a new Passwords app, and more.

Apple reportedly added support for JPEG XL to the iPhone Camera app in iOS 18. That’s left many iPhone users wondering, what the heck is JPEG XL?

It’s intended to be the replacement for the classic JPEG image format with new features for use on the web. And apparently, iPhone users soon can take pictures in this format, not simply view them.

The iPhone’s new Game Mode in iOS 18 will enhance graphics and reduce controller latency. It comes on automatically when you first launch a game.

Game Mode also reduces the background activities and services running on your phone. Luckily, if you don’t want that to happen, you can turn off Game Mode from your iPhone’s Control Center.

Here’s everything you need to know about how Game Mode works.

You can get rich topographical hiking maps of local trails and U.S. national parks on your iPhone, right in Apple Maps. New in iOS 18, you can build custom routes connecting walking paths and save them to your device for offline access.

You can use this feature to plan a hike as a day trip. Planning your route in advance could save you the hassle of getting lost without a signal — or keep you from starting an overly ambitious hike.

According to Apple, the update comes with data for “all 63 U.S. national parks.” In my testing, Apple Maps showed a thorough knowledge of the trails in northeastern and Appalachian Ohio, too. It could contain detailed trail data about your local park as well.

Here’s how to make the most out of the new hiking maps in iOS 18.