iOS 18 has arrived, and people are buzzing about the cool new features like Apple Intelligence and Home Screen Customization. Apart from them, the iOS 18 packs several features under the hood. For example, you can control your iPhone via eye-tracking or can change the width of the flashlight. After exploring the iOS 18 beta for over a week, I found out several useful iOS 18 features that you need to check out.
Table of Contents
1. Find Contacts Faster with T9 Dialing
Remember the old days of flip phones when you could quickly find a contact by pressing a few number keys? This feature is also available on Android, and until now, iPhone users needed third-party apps to do this.
With iOS 18, Apple brings native way to use T9 Dailing and here’s how it works: number keys on the Phone app have letters on them. To search for a contact, press the corresponding number key that matches the letter. For example, to find “DAD,” press 3 (for D), 2 (for A), and 3 again (for the second D). This makes searching for contacts faster and easier.
You also get an option to search for contacts in your call history.
2. Control the Width of the Flashlight
You can change the brightness of the flashlight on your iPhone. With iOS 18, you can adjust the light beam’s width. For instance, a wide beam helps you see everything around you in a dark room. Whereas a narrow beam is ideal for finding small items under furniture.
However, this only works on the iPhone 15 series and may not work on the older models.
Your iPhone lets you share Wi-Fi passwords using AirDrop. That’s quite seamless, but you can add another layer of security. The iOS 18 lets you share the password with the QR Code. So you can share this QR code with anyone who doesn’t use an iPhone/iPad/Mac.
Open the Passwords app, go to Wi-Fi, select your network, and tap Show network QR Code. You can let others scan this WR code with any device to connect instantly, making Wi-Fi sharing a lot more convenient.
4. Power Off Your iPhone From the Control Center
Usually, you can power off your iPhone by holding the power and volume up button or from the Settings. The iOS 18 brings a power off button in the Control Center. Just tap on the power icon in the Control Center and swipe the slider just like before to power off your iPhone. And you’ll also hear a new, satisfying power-off sound too!
5. Improved Reader Mode on Safari
Reader mode on Safari offers a clean interface for reading without distractions like ads and interface elements.
With iOS 18, you can also customize the font and background color to suit your preferences in Safari. Apple has also announced plans to include an AI summary feature in Reader mode, although it’s not available just yet.
6. Read Voicemails Directly From Notifications
If you miss a call from someone, they can send you a voicemail which you can access from the Phone app. Previously, iOS transcribed your voicemails and showed you the text inside the app itself. With iOS 18, you’ll also see this transcription directly in the notification, similar to a text message. This is useful for quickly checking voicemails that may require immediate attention.
7. Light and Dark Mode For Editing in Photos App
The Photos app’s editing page follows the theme according to your default mode (either Light or Dark mode) on your iPhone. However, you can change the dark mode to light or vice versa, to match your prefence while editing images in the Photos app. If you prefer to have a dark mode or want to change the mode according to the photo you are editing, this is a welcome change.
To switch between light and dark modes, tap the menu option at the top right of the editing page, then go to Appearance, and choose your preferred mode.
8. Adaptive Copy and Paste Edits to Other Photos
Apple Photos already lets you copy edits from one photo and paste them to others. However, using the same contrast or filter might not work for every photo and won’t always give you the results you want.
On iOS 18, Apple made this feature adaptive. So instead of using the exact same amount of contrast you have copied with other edits, it applies the contrast according to the photo to give a similar look. This way, your photos won’t be over-blown or under-exposed; they’ll look just right according to your needs.
To copy the edits, tap the menu on the editing page and select Copy Edits. Enable the adaptive option while copying. Once done, you can start editing any photo and paste the edits with the Paste Edits option in the menu.\
9. Wallpaper Suggestions in Apple Photos
Apple Photos will suggest wallpaper-worthy images from your photo library. It even adds a nice wallpaper filter and clock style to make them look great. You can always change these settings to fit your preferences. Scroll down in the Photos app to find the Wallpaper suggestions section where you can find all the suitable wallpapers.
10. Fix Mistakes Easily in the Calculator
If you entered the wrong number in the Calculator, you had to start over because there was no way to delete it. After a decade, the calculator app finally got a delete button. You can just tap the delete button to remove the wrongly entered number and continue with your calculation.
11. Convert Units With the New Calculator
Besides calculating, you can use the Calculator app for conversions. Whether it’s currencies, measurements, or other units, the updated Calculator app lets you convert from one unit to another directly.
With iOS 18, the app supports conversions of angle, area, currency, data, energy, force, fuel, length, power, pressure, speed, temperature, time, volume, and weight.
Note that the currency conversions might not use the live rates. If you need live and accurate conversions, we recommend you use a different conversion app or Google Search.
12. Search Suggestions and Recent Searches in Settings
Apple made several small improvements to the Settings app. The most interesting one is the new search feature. The Settings search will make suggestions based on what it thinks you might need. It also shows your recent searches, so you can quickly return to a setting you recently adjusted.
Additionally, all app-related settings are now categorized under the Apps option, and there are new icons for many options in the Settings app.
13. Identify Objects with Live Recognition
There is a new accessibility feature for the visually impaired called Live Recognition. You can access it by going to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > VoiceOver Recognition > Live Recognition, which opens a camera-like interface. When you point the iPhone’s camera at an object. Then, the iPhone will describe what’s in view with audio.
This feature is a bit slow in beta, and object identification is a hit-or-miss. You can also add this option to the Control Center for faster access.
14. Feel the Beat With Music Haptics
iPhones have great haptics, thanks to the Taptic Engine (vibration motor) inside them. You can make the Taptic Engine on your iPhone vibrate along with the rhythm of the music. This is also useful for the hearing impaired to enjoy the music.
You can find this option in Settings > Accessibility > Music Haptics. However, it only works with Apple Music for now.
15. Control Your iPhone With Eye Tracking
Another useful accessibility feature is to control your iPhone with your eyes. After a quick setup from Settings > Accessibility > Eye Tracking, you can simply look at any option for a longer duration to select it. However, currently, scrolling through feeds or switching between apps using eye tracking isn’t supported. These features are expected to be available by the time iOS 18 is officially released.
16. Vocal Shortcuts
You can open apps, activate Siri shortcuts, or toggle options from the Control Center using your voice. While Siri can handle many tasks, Vocal Shortcuts allow you to perform actions without needing to say “Hey Siri” first. Once set up from Settings > Accessibility > Vocal Shortcuts, simply say the command, and it will execute the action flawlessly. For instance, I have mine set to launch the Camera when I say “Open Camera,” it opens the app instantly.
This feature listens to the surroundings with the mic all the time which can raise privacy concerns. However, Apple claims all the processing happens on the device.
17. Rotate Wi-Fi Address
Previously, you might have seen an option called Private Wi-Fi Address in your Wi-Fi Settings. It creates a different, random MAC address for each specific Wi-Fi network your iPhone joins.
That option is changed to Rotate Wi-Fi Address in iOS 18. It takes concept further by changing your Wi-Fi address at random times. This feature is enabled by default on all Wi-Fi networks, and you can disable/enable it by going to Settings > Wi-Fi > select the network and toggling the Rotate Wi-Fi Address option.
18. Gradient Clock on the Lock Screen
Personalize your lock screen with the new custom gradient clock feature in iOS 18. Now you can choose a gradient color scheme for the clock display, giving your lock screen a unique and vibrant look. When customizing the clockface, simply select the gradient option and it will pick the colors from your lock screen wallpaper automatically.
19. Adjust the Size of Widgets and Control Center Icons
Now you can change the size of widgets directly from the home screen in iOS 18. Simply long-press on the widget and drag its bottom-left corner to adjust the size as needed.
Additionally, you can now resize options within the Control Center. This customization allows you to create a more personalized user interface tailored to your preferences.
20. Add Home and Work Locations in the Weather App
In the Weather app, you can now easily check the weather for both your home and work locations with a quick glance. This feature retrieves the location details from Apple Maps, helping you prepare whether you need to bring a raincoat or sweater for your commute. It’s disabled by default. To enable it, open Settings > Apps > Weather and turn on the toggle for Show Home and Work Labels.
21. More Options With Action Button
Starting from the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhones come with an Action Button instead of a Mute Switch. This button can be customized to either start voice memos, trigger Siri Shortcuts, turn on the flashlight, open the Camera app, and more.
With iOS 18, you can now also control any Control Center toggles using the Action button.
22. Use Apple Pay With QR Codes
Apple Pay only works on Apple devices. What if you want to complete a purchase using Apple pay on your Windows PC or Android phone/tablet? You can do that with the help of QR Codes.
Just continue the payment using Apple Pay on a non-Apple device. It generates a QR Code that you can scan using your iPhone to complete the payment.
23. Schedule Your Messages
Whether you want to send a birthday greeting that reaches exactly 12:00 AM or send a reminder to someone at any particular time, now you can schedule that message on your iMessage app.
However, you can only schedule messages up to 7 days in advance. This means you can’t set up birthday or holiday greetings for the entire year, but can only be scheduled a few days prior.
24. Remove Previews in iMessage
When you send a link on iMessage it shows a preview of what’s inside the link. With iOS 18, you can check this preview immediately after adding it to your message. If you prefer to hide the preview for your contact, you can remove the preview in iMessage before sending it. This feature applies to all types of links, including web links and social media posts.
25. Add Files and Recordings to Your Notes
With iOS 18, you can add various file types including documents, PDFs, voice memos, etc. to your notes.
Additionally, iOS 18 introduces the ability to color text in Apple Notes. Whether you want to highlight important parts or use visual cues, you can customize the text color to suit your needs.
26. Check the Time Even When Your iPhone Is Dead
Do you know, you can find your iPhone’s location with Find My even if it is switched off? Yes, this feature is available on the latest iPhone 15 series. With iOS 18, you can check the time even when your iPhone is powered off.
27. Play Music While Recording the Video
Until now, as soon as start recording the video in the Camera app, the music playing in the background pauses. There are workarounds like long-pressing on the shutter icon in the photo mode to record even when the music is playing.
With iOS 18, Apple natively allows you to continue playing the music even when you start recording the video. By default, this option is enabled, but you can customize it by going to Settings > Camera > Record Sound > Allow Audio Playback.
28. Filter Screenshots from Your Apple Photos View
If your Apple Photos are filled with screenshots, it’s hard scroll through it to check the photos. What if you can easily remove screenshots from the library view? To filter out the screenshots, open the Photos app > menu > View options and disable the toggle beside Show screenshots. This will not delete the screenshots, but only hide them from the library view.
29. Reduce Motion Sickness With Vehicle Motion Cues
Some people may feel motion sickness while using the phone in a moving vehicle. To combat this, Apple introduced a new feature called Vehicle Motion Cues. This places a few small dots on the screen that are more at the same rate as your vehicle, making it easier to look at the screen for longer in a moving vehicle.
Once enabled in Settings > Accessibility > Motion > Show Vehicle Motion Cues, your phone will automatically detect when you are in motion and activate this feature.
30. Sync Offline Apple Maps With Apple Watch
With iOS 18, Apple Maps introduces the ability to sync downloaded maps with your Apple Watch. With that, you can access maps on your Apple Watch even in remote locations without an active internet connection. It’s a convenient feature for navigating while driving or exploring areas where connectivity may be limited.
31. Custom Charge Limit to Extend Battery Health
Apple introduced a Charge Limit on iOS 17 that stops charging your iPhone when it reaches 80%. Avoiding a full charge cycle could potentially extend the overall battery health of your device.
With iOS 18, you can customize the charge limit to stop charging at 80%, 85%, 90%, or 95% of its capacity. This way, you can choose not to charge the full cycle but can also take advantage of more battery on your device.
These are all the features we have found in the first iOS 18 Developer Beta. Some of them are bound to change with the future beta builds and we shall update this list accordingly.
