You’ve got most likely seen marquee iOS 18 options akin to customizing your private home display screen and sending formatted texts, however the newest iPhone system replace is stuffed with a number of different gems — and that is earlier than Apple Intelligence arrives subsequent month.
For those who’ve simply upgraded your present iPhone to iOS 18 otherwise you obtained an iPhone 16 immediately, these hidden methods will enhance your telephone expertise.
Yearly, we undergo the most recent iOS and search for any hidden options that are not solely hidden, however that can also and can have an effect on how we use our iPhones every single day. For those who’re operating iOS 18, these are just a few of the options and settings that Apple did not actually speak about, however that it’s best to positively know.
For extra, listed below are seven iOS 18 settings you need to change straight away, the best way to again up your iPhone the fitting approach and the best way to repair these two annoying iOS 16 settings.
Restart your iPhone from the brand new management middle
You do not have to press any bodily buttons to restart your iPhone if you happen to’re operating iOS 18. The redesigned management middle options all of the basic controls you are used to, like brightness, quantity, orientation, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, however there are a number of new controls, together with one to restart your iPhone.
All it is advisable to do is swipe down from the top-right of your iPhone and press and maintain down on the brand new energy button within the top-right of the management middle. You possibly can’t simply faucet it although, it’s important to maintain it down for a second or so, after which the slider to energy off your iPhone will seem.
To show your iPhone again on, you may nonetheless must press and maintain the bodily facet button.
On iOS 17 and earlier, the one technique to restart your iPhone is to press and maintain both quantity button and the facet button.
Use a QR code to share your Wi-Fi password
There are just a few methods you’ll be able to share a Wi-Fi community and password with folks through your iPhone, and there is a new technique to do it on iOS 18. Utilizing a QR code fills in just a few gaps for tactics to rapidly share your Wi-Fi info:
- Share with a number of folks directly. As an alternative of individually sending out your Wi-Fi password, you’ll be able to have everybody scan the QR code out of your telephone.
- Share with somebody not saved as your contact. Close by share for Wi-Fi would not work except that individual is in your contacts.
- Share with somebody that has Android. Close by share and AirDrop do not work with Android units.
Watch this: 11 Hidden Options in iOS 18
So if you happen to meet any of these situations and you do not need to textual content the Wi-Fi password to them, you need to use the QR code. Go to the brand new Passwords app, go to the Wi-Fi part, faucet on the community you need to share after which hit Present Community QR Code. If the opposite individual scans the QR code with their digital camera, they’re going to be related to the Wi-Fi community.
This solely works for Wi-Fi passwords, not common passwords.
Alter the beam width of your flashlight
The flashlight on the iPhone is getting an enormous improve. When you’ve lengthy been capable of change the depth of the flashlight, on iOS 18 now you can additionally alter the beam width of the sunshine, so long as you have got a appropriate mannequin. You possibly can go vast, to cowl extra space with much less gentle, or go slender, to make use of extra intense gentle over much less space, and in every single place in between. It is a enjoyable characteristic to mess around with for lighting folks for images.
To make use of the brand new characteristic, flip in your flashlight (use the lock display screen or management middle), and a brand new person interface will seem within the dynamic island. You possibly can change the sunshine depth by swiping up and down, however to alter the beam width, you may must swipe left and proper. For those who faucet anyplace within the dynamic island, you’ll be able to flip the flashlight on and off.
A large flashlight beam (left) and a slender beam (proper).
Observe: This characteristic solely works on iPhone fashions with the dynamic island, together with the iPhone 14 Professional, iPhone 14 Professional Max, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Professional and iPhone 15 Professional Max.
Transcribe Voice Memos and make them searchable
The Voice Memos app is extremely handy for capturing concepts or track snippets, however they’ve all the time been obfuscated. You can provide them a descriptive title, however that does not assist whenever you need to discover that one memo you recorded that incorporates the phrase “porcupine.” In iOS 18, although, the app can create transcriptions of your voice memos and seek for phrases that had been beforehand obtainable solely as audio waveforms.
Within the Voice Memos app, faucet one in every of your memos to disclose its controls after which faucet the Edit Recording button, which seems to be like a waveform. Or, faucet the three-dots button to the fitting of a memo and select Edit Recording.
Subsequent, faucet the Transcribe button to create the transcription (or view the textual content if it is already been transcribed). Faucet Achieved.
Take an present voice memo (left) and create a transcript of the recording (proper).
Now, whenever you use the Search discipline, the app seems to be by way of the transcripts along with the titles for outcomes. The textual content can also be obtainable all through iOS – whenever you carry out a search from the house display screen, you may see Voice Memos as a class with the memos that embrace the search time period (you could must faucet Present Extra Outcomes to disclose it).
With transcripts made, voice memos are extra simply searchable.
Cover app labels for a cleaner dwelling display screen
Is your private home display screen feeling a bit too cluttered? In that case, this new characteristic may assist. Now with iOS 18, you’ll be able to eliminate app labels, or the names of the apps that you just see beneath every app icon on your private home display screen. For those who can acknowledge an app from simply the icon, who wants the label?
On your private home display screen, press and maintain down on any clean area, till you enter jiggle mode, after which hit Edit > Customise. A menu will seem on the backside of the display screen; select the Giant choice, which is able to make your app icons barely bigger and take away the app labels.
This may even take away the app labels from the folders within the App Library.
Change an app to a widget with out leaving the house display screen
Not each iOS app has a widget to your dwelling display screen, but when it does, you needn’t dig by way of the widget edit web page to seek out it. For those who’re operating iOS 18, and there is an app that you just need to flip right into a widget, you are able to do so in a short time proper from your private home display screen.
On a supported app, press and maintain down on the icon on your private home display screen to convey up the fast actions menu. If the app has a widget, you may see an app icon subsequent to a wide range of widget icons (as much as three). Faucet on any of the widget icons to alter the app to a widget. If you wish to return from the widget to the app, go to the fast motion menu and hit the app icon on the left.
This solely works for apps which have widgets on iOS.
Secretly establish songs utilizing the Motion Button
No lie, it is satisfying when somebody asks, “What track is that this?” to have the ability to activate Music Recognition on the iPhone and get a solution rapidly. However to get the reply means very noticeably asking Siri to run Shazam or activating Music Recognition within the management middle. Would not or not it’s enjoyable to let your pals assume you’ve got been blessed with an encyclopedic information of pop music?
In iOS 18, you’ll be able to come shut utilizing the Motion Button (at present obtainable simply on iPhone 15 Professional fashions). Go to Settings > Motion Button and swipe by way of the choices till Acknowledge Music is chosen.
Assign the Acknowledge Music characteristic to the Motion Button after which establish songs by simply holding the button.
To make it work, simply press and maintain the Motion Button for a few seconds. Shazam seems within the dynamic island to hearken to what’s enjoying and identifies the track. For those who’re sneaky about activating Shazam and peeking at your telephone, nobody must know you bought some assist from a supercomputer within the cloud.
Discover pictures with handwriting and illustrations within the Pictures app
Loads is altering within the Pictures app in iOS 18, from the best way issues are organized to the flexibility to make use of generative AI to take away objects in pictures (coming subsequent month). Apple has additionally tucked just a few surprises into the app that will help you type by way of your library.
Scroll down previous the principle library itself to view classes akin to Individuals and Pets and Recollections till you attain Utilities. Faucet it to view the complete listing – however notice {that a} new characteristic of this interface is the flexibility to swipe left to view further panels. Previous to iOS 18, Utilities included choices to view hidden, just lately deleted and duplicate images.
Now, it consists of many extra choices. Faucet Handwriting to view pictures with handwriting in them. On the lookout for pictures which might be illustrations and never pictures? Faucet Illustrations (although in our testing this appears to seize a variety of screenshots, too).
View pictures that include handwriting in your Pictures library in iOS 18.
Share a particular part of a podcast
Did the hosts of your favourite podcast say one thing particularly humorous or considerate that you just need to share with somebody? Within the Podcasts app in iOS 18, you’ll be able to ship an episode to a pal with the playback superior to that second — however the functionality is not simple to seek out.
Faucet the Now Taking part in bar within the app on the backside of the display screen to view the playback controls and pause the episode. Use the progress bar to return to the beginning of the part you need to share.
Subsequent, faucet the Extra (…) button and select Share Episode. Within the sharing choices that seem, faucet From Begin under the episode title, after which choose From [the current time]. Faucet Achieved.
Begin by sharing the episode itself.
Lastly, select the tactic of sharing, akin to through Messages or Mail. When the recipient receives the shared episode and opens it within the Podcasts app, they’re going to see the choice to Play from [the time].
Specify that the shared episode begins on the time you selected.
