11 super useful iOS 18 tricks that could change the way you use your iPhone
iOS 18 delivered a flood of key features during Apple’s WWDC 2024 announcement, from a redesigned Photos app to a rebooted Siri and Apple Intelligence for the iPhone 15 Pro series. But what were some of the smaller tricks we were most looking forward to trying on our iPhone last year? We have collected them all here.
One of the biggest themes of iOS 18 is Android-style customization, with Apple now letting us (gasp) arrange app icons and widgets at the bottom or sides of the screen. Color tints and a new dark mode for app icons are also present en routebut it’s the super-clean potential of app label removal that we’re especially eager to try.
You can read about that feature, plus some other new tricks like satellite messaging and AirPods ‘head gestures’, in our overview below. You can download the iOS 18 beta right now, but it’s a bit buggy and missing some features. Most of us will receive the final version of iOS 18 in mid-September, alongside the likely launch of the iPhone 16. Until then, here are some of iOS 18’s best new features to whet your appetite…
1. You can go super minimalist by hiding app labels
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or later
iOS 18 is the biggest update yet to the iPhone’s software design language. Home screen customizations let you rearrange and position your apps wherever you want, just like on Android – and also hide app names.
You can do this by choosing ‘Large’ app icons in the Customize menu. Previously, the only way to get this kind of look was to jailbreak your iPhone, but we’re looking forward to giving our iPhones a super minimalist look like the one above, without that extra hassle.
2. Messages allows you to send text messages via satellite
- Compatibility: iPhone 14 or later
If you don’t have cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity, iOS 18 gives you a new emergency option on iPhone 14 or later: the ability to text someone via satellite.
This extension of Emergency SOS allows you to send or receive iMessages or text messages via satellite, supporting all the usual features including Tapbacks and emojis. Although sending emojis may not be at the top of your priority list if your car breaks down on a deserted highway.
Apple hasn’t said yet whether you’ll have to pay for satellite texting, although Emergency SOS is still free for two years after you buy an iPhone 14 or iPhone series model. After that, Apple will probably charge for it, but it could be worth it if it gets you out of a hole in a mobile dead zone.
3. AirPlay now supports spatial audio
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or later
Are you tired of the new Sonos app? You may be able to get around the weather by using AirPlay on your iPhone, which has now been upgraded with spatial audio support (including Dolby Atmos).
That’s good news for HomePod owners and also for anyone who owns one of the best AirPlay speakers that also supports spatial audio. We’re also looking forward to giving it a spin on our Sonos Era 300, although we haven’t had a chance to try it out with the iOS 18 beta yet.
4. You can type questions for Siri
- Compatibility: iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max
Siri is finally getting a new look and the brain transplant that’s been needed for years, albeit only on the iPhone 15 Pro series. That’s because the restart is powered by Apple Intelligence. Still, one of the most useful new features is the ability to type questions to Siri, essentially turning it into a chatbot.
If you don’t want to talk to Apple’s assistant out loud, you can double-tap the bottom of the screen and type a command, such as asking it to set an alarm. It is not yet clear whether this is only limited to Apple’s apps, but you can also quickly switch between speech and text.
5. AirPods Pro 2 owners can shake their heads to reject calls
- Compatibility: AirPods Pro (2nd generation), iPhone XS or later
If you own a pair of AirPods Pro 2 earbuds, ‘head gestures’ are a nice new iOS 18 feature. For example, if you’re stuck in a crowded elevator and receive a phone call, you can tell Siri to decline the call by shaking your head (or, if you want to accept the call, by nodding).
Okay, it’s arguably less important than the voice isolation and other cool free upgrades coming to the AirPods Pro 2, but it was one of the nicer features we saw at WWDC 2024.
These so-called Siri interactions will also extend to silent interaction with messages and more, and will be powered by Apple’s H2 chip – hence the limitation to the second generation of AirPods Pro.
6. You can lock and hide apps
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or later
Now that our iPhones hold our entire lives, you might feel a little awkward handing it over to someone, especially if you don’t want them to scroll through your Photos app or see your WhatsApp notifications.
Fortunately, iOS 18 finally brings the ability to lock or hide apps on your home screen. Apps you decide to lock or hide will be hidden from search and notifications, with locked apps accessible only in a hidden apps folder that can only be accessed with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode.
To enable the feature on iOS 18, all you need to do is press and hold the app, choose ‘Require Face ID’, then choose ‘Require Face ID’ or ‘Hide & Require Face ID’.
7. Texting Android fans gets a lot better
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or later
After being strong-armed by the EU last year to support RCS messaging – a standard adopted by most of the Android ecosystem – Apple will finally bring the feature to iPhones in iOS 18.
This means that your messages to Android fans will soon get many of the benefits of iMessage, including high-resolution images, read receipts, and more. Of course, Apple will still protect its precious blue iMessage bubbles by continuing to give RCS messages green bubbles.
Still, this move still largely solves the current problem with text messaging from Android to iPhone, which is downgrading your Android-owning friends to a texting experience, including low-quality compressed images.
8. You can finally change your lock screen shortcuts
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or newer
How many times have you accidentally turned on your iPhone’s flashlight and blinded a friend, because of the uselessly placed shortcut on the lock screen? Okay, maybe that’s just us, but either way, you’ll be happy to see that iOS 18 finally lets you choose different shortcuts on the lock screen.
You can have one of the shortcuts open to any app, or also assign it to other functions, like turning on dark mode, turning your iPhone into an Apple TV remote, or launching Shazam to play a song. help identify. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s a small quality-of-life adjustment that could change your iPhone routine.
9. The new Passwords app can help you switch to Passwords
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or newer
As rumors predicted, Apple has launched a new password manager app in iOS 18 – and it could be a handy new way for you to autofill passwords and verification codes on your iPhone, Mac, iPad, or even your PC (if the iCloud for Windows app). But another potential benefit is that you can switch to password keys.
Access keys let you log into websites or accounts with Face ID or Touch ID, instead of using a vulnerable password. And as noted by MacRumorsThere’s an option in the Passwords app that allows websites and apps to automatically upgrade existing accounts to password keys, saving you the hassle.
Existing passwords apparently aren’t affected, so it could be a quick win even if you’re not yet completely sold on passkeys, which Apple started supporting a few years ago.
10. The Home app can now automatically unlock doors so you can check your bills
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or newer
If you’ve never gotten comfortable with Apple’s Home app, iOS 18 comes with a few new tricks to convince you to give it a try.
It’s an especially good update if you have smart locks, because starting with iOS 18, the Home app will deliver “guest access” that lets you give guests quick access to front doors or garages. There is also a particularly sci-fi trick; With ‘hands-free unlock’, supported locks will open immediately when you’re two meters away, which sounds handy if you have a lot of groceries.
Another feature we like is electricity monitoring. Sadly, it will initially only be available in the US from the Pacific Gas & Electric Company in California, but it seems like the start of some potentially useful smart home monitoring to help you save on bills.
11. Gaming on older iPhones is about to get a lot better
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or later
- Compatibility: iPhone XS or newer
Yes, it’s a feature that’s been on Android phones for years, but iPhones are finally getting a dedicated gaming mode in iOS 18.
Like the Mac version, Game Mode minimizes background activity such as notifications so your game runs at the highest possible frame rate. Apple also promises that it will “dramatically” improve responsiveness with AirPods and wireless game controllers.
You might not notice the difference on an iPhone 15 Pro, but Game Mode can certainly help older models that would otherwise reach their performance ceiling during demanding games.