12 New Things To Try In iOS 18

iOS 18 for the iPhone has a lot of new features even before we get to Apple Intelligence. Try some new Home Screen looks, lock apps, schedule messages, do math in Notes and much more.

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Video Transcript: This is Gary with MacMost. Let's take a look at what's new in iOS 18. 
So even before Apple Intelligence comes out there are a whole bunch of new features in iOS 18. So when you update, or get the new iPhone, check these out. 
First, you can now rearrange the icons on your screen and leave gaps putting the icons wherever you want. So, I'm going to tap and hold one of these and then drag it down and you can see I can place it here, at the bottom, leaving this gap. The rest work like a list, like before, but as soon as you drag them all out you really have complete control over where all of these icons go.
You can also change how the Home Screen looks completely. Tap and hold anywhere until you are in Wiggle Mode. Then tap Edit and Customize. Now you can go from Light to Dark Mode or if you just want to get rid of the colors of the icon completely go to Tinted. Now you can choose a color and all the icons will be tinted that color. You can use the Eyedropper Tool and select a color from the background there. You can also get rid of the labels and just go with larger icons. 
Now you know that Flashlight button at the bottom left hand corner of your Lock Screen, the one you accidentally tap every once in a while and now the flashlight is on draining the battery. Well you can get rid of that or replace it with something else. Go into Settings and then to Wallpaper. Then tap on the Lock Screen that you see right there. If you've got different Wallpaper Sets make sure to go to the one you're using. Once you get to that notice how you can use the Minus button here and get rid of the Flashlight. You could just leave that spot empty. Or you can tap the Plus button there and add a button that might be more useful to you. You can even add a Shortcut so you can do just about anything with that spot. 
Another thing you can do with the Home Screen is now Lock Apps so that it requires you to Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode to get into them even if your iPhone is unlocked. You can't do this for all apps but for the ones that work you can tap and hold and then select Require Face ID. Then Confirm. That will say Touch ID if you use Touch ID. It will say Passcode if you use neither. Now when you go to access that app it is going to have that extra layer of security to get into the app. 
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You can also customize the Control Center now on iOS 18. So you drag down from the top right to bring up Control Center. Tap and Hold on the blank spot at the bottom and then go to Add. Then you can add another button. So, for instance, let's add a button to start a Timer quickly. You can see how that is added there. You can also drag the bottom right corner of a lot of these to expand them to larger buttons, sometimes with more functions. 
In the Messages App, if you use Tap Back by tapping and holding on one of the messages you've received, you've got the standard six responses. But you can now use any emoji and respond with that. You can tap the last item there and you it gives you the full set of emoji to use and Tap Back Responses. You can also use Stickers that you've created as well. 
But the biggest new feature in Messages is the ability to, instead of tapping here to send the message right away, have Plus next to it. Now select Send Later. Now you can schedule a message to be sent at a later time or date. 
The functionality of a built-in iOS Password Manager hasn't changed much. But what is different now is instead of going into the Settings App there is now an independent App that you can use to access all your Passwords. 
The Voice Memos App lets you record memos just like before. But a new feature for now is the ability to see a transcript of what you recorded. So, I'll stop this recording here and you can see this little indicator here saying there's a transcript. You can tap the three dots button to view transcripts or go into Editing Mode and can see the transcript. You can jump right to a portion of the audio by clicking on a word. You could also Copy & Paste from the transcript. This also works in the Notes app if you use Record Audio there.
But the coolest new thing in Notes is the ability to do math. All you need to do is just type the math equation using standard math symbols. The Equals Key is what will trigger the calculation there. You could then go in and edit the equation, like that, and you can see the answer updated. You could also do all sorts of things like using parentheses, math functions, you can set variables and then have calculations based on those variables. Then simply update those variables to change the results. 
You also have the ability now in Notes to Highlight text. Just make the selection that you want and then use the Font Style button here and a new option is Highlight. You can select from several different colors. 
Finally, checkout this new functionality in the Maps App. If you go to a wilderness area, like at National Park, you're going to see topographic lines. Plus you can also plot a course using Trails. So, here I've got a trailhead that I looked up. I can use Create a Custom Route like that. Then I can select another point along a trail, like this one here, and it will plot the course along various trails. Even show me elevation gain. I can do all sorts of various things to track my progress along that trail. 
If you want to know if your iPhone will support iOS 18 all you need to do is go to the iOS 18 page at Apple.com. Scroll down to the bottom and you'll find this list of all the devices that are supported. But also if you scroll back up on the same page you'll find various footnotes for some of the features. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and you can read these footnotes that will often tell you if these features only work in certain languages, regions, or with certain models of the iPhone. 
So a lot of cool new things to checkout in iOS 18. Remember in iOS 18.1 and 18.2 later this year we're going to be getting some cool new Apple Intelligence features as well. 
I hope you found this useful. Thanks for watching.

Comments: 8 Responses to “12 New Things To Try In iOS 18”

Edward Smith

6 months ago

Sounds good..... but when will it be available! I just got an update to IOS 17.7.... but no sign of IOS 18 - is it delayed in Canada?

Sorry - found it hiding at the bottom of the screen announcing 17.7! how odd....

Jim Terrinoni

Yes. Delightfully useful. I’m interested in trying out the new Maps trail functions. By the way, your pick of the Bear Lake trail extended was a good one.

Mike Demke

Gary, do you recommend waiting for the first security update to iOS 18 before downloading it?

Gary Rosenzweig

Mike: I certainly don't. This isn't like it was 15 years ago where betas were sent only to developers using DVDs. The public beta has been around for months. No version will be bug-free, ever. So if you want perfection you'd never be able to update.

Jorge Rodriguez

Hi Gary, thanks for this video. I want some advice regarding mirroring my iPhone SE IOS 18 on my Macbook Sequoia. After opening the iPhone Mirroring app on my computer there was no connection, the app was timed out. Is there any setting on both devices that I have to double-check? I would appreciate your comments.

Best regards,

Jorge: Try restarting both devices.

Gary, thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I really like the update.