At Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple introduced the entire new options for its subsequent iPhone working system — iOS 26 (sure, iOS 26, not iOS 19). The subsequent model of iOS will add a gaming app and a complete interface redesign known as Liquid Glass.
If you are feeling courageous and are skilled sufficient to check out iOS 26 now, you possibly can obtain the developer beta, however most iPhone house owners will wish to look ahead to Apple to launch the totally baked model of iOS later this 12 months. Until then, there’s an entire host of cool options for the present model of iOS — 18.5 — that may make your iPhone a lot better within the meantime.
From the revamped Control Center and adjustable flashlight beam to customizable battery charging, I’ve chosen a couple of of my favourite hidden iOS 18.5 options it is best to find out about now.
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Restart your iPhone from the brand new management heart
If you are working iOS 18, you do not have to press any bodily buttons to restart your iPhone. The redesigned management heart options all of the traditional 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 you might want 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 heart. You cannot simply faucet it; you need to maintain it down for a second or so, after which the slider to energy off your iPhone will seem.
To flip your iPhone again on, you will nonetheless must press and maintain the bodily facet button.
On iOS 17 and earlier, the one method 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 a couple of methods you possibly can share a Wi-Fi community and password with individuals by way of your iPhone, and there is a new method to do it on iOS 18. Using a QR code fills in a couple of gaps for tactics to rapidly share your Wi-Fi data:
- Share with a number of individuals directly. Instead of individually sending out your Wi-Fi password, you possibly can have everybody scan the QR code out of your telephone.
- Share with somebody not saved as your contact. Nearby share for Wi-Fi does not work except that individual is in your contacts.
- Share with somebody who has Android. Nearby share and AirDrop do not work with Android gadgets.
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If you encounter any of these situations and do not wish 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 wish to share after which hit Show Network QR Code. If the opposite individual scans the QR code with their digital camera, they will be linked to the Wi-Fi community.
This solely works for Wi-Fi passwords, not common passwords.
Adjust the beam width of your flashlight
The flashlight on the iPhone is getting a giant improve. You’ve lengthy been in a position to change the depth of the flashlight, however on iOS 18 now you can additionally alter the beam width of the sunshine, so long as you’ve gotten a suitable mannequin. You can go broad, to cowl extra space with much less gentle, or go slender, to make use of extra intense gentle over much less space, and in all places in between. It’s a enjoyable function to mess around with for lighting individuals for pictures.
To use the brand new function, flip in your flashlight (use the lock display screen or management heart), and a brand new person interface will seem on the dynamic island. You can change the sunshine depth by swiping up and down, however to vary the beam width, you will must swipe left and proper. If you faucet wherever within the dynamic island, you possibly can flip the flashlight on and off.
A large flashlight beam (left) and a slender beam.
Note: This function solely works on iPhone fashions with the dynamic island, together with the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 15 collection and iPhone 16 collection.
Quickly flip off AI notification summaries for sure apps out of your lock display screen
In iOS 18.1, Apple launched notification summaries — Apple Intelligence-powered notifications that summarize your notifications from a single app. If you’ve gotten a number of unread notifications from an app like Gmail or Amazon, you will see an italicized abstract seem in your lock display screen, condensing all of them into a couple of sentences you possibly can rapidly digest.
However, notification summaries do not at all times work very effectively, particularly for textual content messages and information apps. In truth, as of iOS 18.3, notification summaries are disabled for all information apps throughout your machine, just like the Apple News and CNET app. But if you wish to disable the function for different apps, you possibly can simply accomplish that with out even unlocking your telephone.
From your lock display screen, discover a notification abstract for an app you need the function disabled for and swipe left on the notification. Tap on Options after which hit Turn Off “App Name” Summaries to cease notification summaries for that app. You’ll proceed to obtain notifications, they will simply be particular person, such as you’re used to.
You can see that notification summaries are italicized on iOS 18.3
Share your AirTag with different individuals
An AirTag permits you to simply observe your baggage if you’re touring or your keys after they’re misplaced, however generally you may want different individuals to additionally have the ability to observe your AirTag, particularly if you happen to’re on a household trip or weekend getaway together with your companion. With iOS 18, now you can share any AirTag you’ve gotten with as much as six individuals.
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To do that, go into the Find My app and discover the AirTag you wish to share. Go into the AirTag, hit Add Person underneath Share AirTag and select a contact, or a number of. Finally faucet Share within the top-right and that individual will then have to just accept your invitation. Once they do, they will have the ability to observe your AirTag from their Apple machine.
Anyone that’s monitoring the AirTag will not be notified when it is close to them.
Customize your iPhone’s charging restrict to enhance the battery’s lifespan
Your iPhone already has a function that is designed to enhance your battery’s lifespan. Optimized Battery Charging learns your every day charging routine to scale back the time your telephone is totally charged, delaying charging previous 80% when you sleep after which charging to 100% solely if you want it.
However, if you wish to lengthen your iPhone’s battery lifespan much more, you possibly can manually change your charging choice to wherever from 80% to 100%, in order that your iPhone by no means totally fees. Go to Settings > Battery > Charging and select an choice.
Optimized Battery Charging disables everytime you select an choice underneath 100%, which simply implies that your telephone will not routinely wait to complete charging to 100%, as a result of it could’t.
If you select something decrease than 100%, that is the best share your battery will cost to. The advantage of that’s that lithium-ion batteries, just like the one in your iPhone, degrade sooner when constantly charged to 100%, so retaining the cost decrease reduces stress on the battery.
Transcribe Voice Memos and make them searchable
The Voice Memos app is extremely handy for capturing concepts or tune snippets, however they’ve at all times been obfuscated. You can provide them a descriptive title, however that does not assist if you wish to discover that one memo you recorded that comprises the phrase “porcupine.” In iOS 18, the app can create transcriptions of your voice memos and seek for phrases that had been beforehand obtainable solely as audio waveforms.
In the Voice Memos app, faucet one among your memos to disclose its controls after which faucet the Edit Recording button, which appears to be like like a waveform. Or, faucet the three-dots button to the fitting of a memo and select Edit Recording.
Next, faucet the Transcribe button to create the transcription (or view the textual content if it is already been transcribed). Tap Done.
Take an present voice memo (left) and create a transcript of the recording (proper).
Now, if you use the Search discipline, the app appears to be like by way of the transcripts along with the titles for outcomes. The textual content can be obtainable all through iOS. When you carry out a search from the house display screen, you will see Voice Memos as a class with the memos that embrace the search time period (you could must faucet Show More Results to disclose it).
With transcripts made, voice memos are extra simply searchable.
Hide app labels for a cleaner residence display screen
Is your own home display screen feeling just a little too cluttered? If so, this new function might assist. Now with iOS 18, you possibly can eliminate app labels or the names of the apps that you simply see beneath every app icon on your own home display screen. If you possibly can acknowledge an app from simply the icon, who wants the label?
On your own home display screen, press and maintain down on any clean house, till you enter jiggle mode, after which hit Edit > Customize. A menu will seem on the backside of the display screen; select the Large 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.
Use AI to get precedence notifications in your lock display screen
As lengthy as you’ve gotten an Apple Intelligence-supported telephone, you possibly can allow a brand new function to get notifications that AI thinks could also be vital in a separate part in your lock display screen. The prioritized notifications seem on the high of your notification stack, glowing in coloration.
To allow Priority Notifications, go to Settings > Notifications > Prioritize Notifications and toggle the function on. Notifications like missed calls, textual content messages and vital emails will replenish this part, in addition to notifications from third-party apps that you simply use ceaselessly.
You’ll see missed calls, textual content messages and notifications out of your most used apps on this new Priority Notifications part on the high of your lock display screen.
Change an app to a widget with out leaving the house display screen
Not each iOS app has a widget to your residence display screen, but when it does, you needn’t dig by way of the widget edit web page to search out it. If you are working iOS 18, and there is an app that you simply wish to flip right into a widget, you are able to do so in a short time proper from your own home display screen.
On a supported app, press and maintain down on the icon on your own home display screen to carry up the short actions menu. If the app has a widget, you will see an app icon subsequent to a wide range of widget icons (as much as three). Tap on any of the widget icons to vary the app to a widget. If you wish to return from the widget to the app, go to the short motion menu and hit the app icon on the left.
This solely works for apps which have widgets on iOS.
Secretly determine songs utilizing the Action Button
No lie, it is satisfying when somebody asks, “What tune is that this?” to have the ability to activate Music Recognition on the iPhone and get a solution rapidly. To get the reply means very noticeably asking Siri to run Shazam or activate Music Recognition within the management heart. Wouldn’t or not it’s enjoyable to let your mates suppose you’ve got been blessed with an encyclopedic data of pop music?
In iOS 18, you possibly can come shut utilizing the Action Button. Go to Settings > Action Button and swipe by way of the choices till Recognize Music is chosen.
Assign the Recognize Music function to the Action Button after which determine songs by simply holding the button.
To make it work, simply press and maintain the Action Button for a few seconds. Shazam seems on the dynamic island to take heed to what’s enjoying and determine the tune. If you are sneaky about activating Shazam and peeking at your telephone, nobody must know you bought some assist from a supercomputer within the cloud.
Find pictures with handwriting and illustrations within the Photos app
Rather a lot is altering within the Photos app in iOS 18, from the way in which issues are organized to the power to make use of generative AI to take away objects in pictures. Apple has additionally tucked a couple of surprises into the app that can assist you type by way of your library.
Scroll down previous the primary library itself to view classes resembling People and Pets and Memories till you attain Utilities. Tap it to view the complete record — however notice {that a} new function of this interface is the power to swipe left to view further panels. Prior to iOS 18, Utilities included choices to view hidden, not too long ago deleted and duplicate pictures.
Now, it consists of many extra choices. Tap Handwriting to view pictures with handwriting in them. Looking for pictures which might be illustrations and never pictures? Tap Illustrations (though in our testing this appears to seize lots of screenshots too).
View pictures that include handwriting in your Photos 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 simply wish to share with somebody? In the Podcasts app in iOS 18, you possibly can ship an episode to a good friend with the playback superior to that second — however the functionality is not simple to search out.
Tap the Now Playing 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 wish to share.
Next, faucet the More (…) button and select Share Episode. In the sharing choices that seem, faucet From Start under the episode title, after which choose From [the current time]. Tap Done.
Start by sharing the episode itself.
Lastly, select the tactic of sharing, resembling by way of Messages or Mail. When the recipient receives the shared episode and opens it within the Podcasts app, they will see the choice to Play from [the time].
Specify that the shared episode begins on the time you selected.
