The next major update to the iPhone operating system will be one of the biggest in history. In the fall, users will get access to new artificial intelligence features, have full control over their smartphone from a Mac, and for the first time, will be able to customize their workspace more flexibly. I’ve gotten to know some of the new features of the iOS 18 beta, and I’ll talk more about the most interesting ones in this article.
Disclamer
Beta versions of any operating system do not guarantee the proper functioning of all functions, and may also harm devices or adversely affect their operation. Therefore, those wishing to preview iOS updates are advised not to use their primary iPhone for this purpose and to make sure to have backups of all important data.
The editors would like to thank the PixoPhone online store for providing the iPhone 15 Pro Max for this article
Workspace organization
With the past updates, iOS has been getting more and more opportunities to customize the workspace. At the same time, they have long been quite basic in Android. And with iOS 18, Apple has given users even more freedom in such things.
As a result, application icons can now be freely moved within the familiar 6×4 grid. So each user will be able to arrange them more conveniently in space, depending on their own preferences.
Unfortunately, you can’t change the grid itself yet, and, for example, it would really be more convenient for me if I could place five icons across the width, as I always do on Android smartphones. But it seems that I’ll have to wait a couple more years for this feature.
Although the icons cannot be made smaller, they can be enlarged. However, you won’t be able to see the name of the program. But maybe someone will like this desktop look better than the standard one.
The background can be made darker. And now icons can change color. There are four options: automatic, dark, light (or standard), and custom. The latter even allows you to customize the shades to match the wallpaper.
Currently, not all icons can become dark, which may change in the future. But a custom color will change everything, even widgets. Personally, I like the option of dark icons with a darkened background. But I’m sure that there will be users who will be interested in adjusting the shades of the icons to match the wallpaper.
And while we’re on the subject of widgets, they’re also now much easier to interact with. Holding your finger down on a widget opens the quick settings menu. However, an even more convenient option is to simply drag the lower right corner and select the desired option.
By the way, the quick access on the lock screen, where the flashlight and camera are by default, can also be replaced with something more convenient and urgent in iOS 18. Moreover, with different Focus modes, they can also change.
As for the little things, just look at the new animation when you press the keys. The flashlight can now not only change the intensity, but also the angle of the beam (which is difficult to convey with a camera, it looks much more interesting in person). It’s an unusual detail that reminds us of the way matrix headlights work in modern cars.
Change the intensity and beam angle of the flashlight:
Control Center Update
Control Center has also undergone organizational changes. And if earlier it was one continuous space, now it has four separate tabs by default. Users can also add a few more or remove them at their discretion.
You can also place the switches necessary for the user on the main screen. They have been resized and reshaped to look neater. You can place them in the same way as icons and widgets on your desktop. Adding and removing them is also much faster, because you don’t need to go into the settings.
Navigating between tabs is intuitive and easy. You can swipe up and down or tap on the indicators on the right side. Along with the Control Center, you can now turn off your smartphone by holding your finger on the corresponding virtual key on top. This is also much more convenient than pressing the volume and lock buttons one by one.
In fact, it’s hard to say that this is the Apple-way, because many widgets can overlap with desktop widgets in one way or another, duplicating functionality. However, by organizing the space a bit and choosing more convenient functions for yourself, you can unload your desktops and get more quick settings at your fingertips. But in this case, it will take some time to adapt and change your habits.
Moreover, Control Center is now open to third-party developers. This will allow you to access certain functions of other applications and, for example, open the car or turn on the air conditioner with a single switch without Apple Home support. There are a lot of use cases and we just have to wait for developers to update their apps.
More powerful calculator
The announcement of the new calculator was almost the icing on the cake for the iPad, which has not had a native version throughout its existence. And with iPadOS 18, it will get one. However, the iPhone also got some cool updates.
In iOS 17, it has two interface options. With the update, Math Notes is added to this one. With them, you can even draw an example with your finger and automatically see the solution. And even more interestingly, the app can even draw a graph.
I agree that it is much more convenient to do such things on the iPad, and even with the Apple Pencil. However, the fact that the iPhone can back you up won’t make it any worse. The calculator can now search for history, delete only the last digits in case of an error, and has built-in currency and unit conversion.
And iPhone can count not only in the calculator and notes, but also in the notification bar, for example.
Password.app
And among the new apps from Apple, there is now a separate password manager with a concise name – Passwords. Users have been able to store passwords in iCloud Keychain before, but with a separate app, it will be a little more conveniently organized.
The app integrated into the system will help you store passwords for various services, websites, Wi-Fi, etc. It has a minimalist interface that is unlikely to confuse anyone. When creating new accounts, the app will also offer a good password for convenience (it will also automatically hide it in the screenshot).
At the same time, Passwords allows you to share your credentials with other users if you need to. And, of course, there’s synchronization between iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro, and even Windows with iCloud.
And if anyone thought that third-party password managers would be the end of the line, it’s unlikely. Other developers who offer third-party solutions and have been working on their own products for years are still capable of more and have wider support. This is especially true for business solutions.
View and edit photos
iOS 18 will bring many updates to the native gallery for viewing and editing photos and videos. Thus, the usual menu with four tabs at the bottom will no longer exist. The interface scrolls vertically, with the main feed at the top, allowing you to zoom in and out of all photos and videos.
Below are all the other collections, divided into separate categories. Users can also create their own. Of course, there is still the search, which the company promised to improve significantly compared to the previous one.
At first glance, the logic of the interface is not very familiar, but it won’t take long to adapt to it. The redesign has refreshed the gallery quite nicely, while retaining all the previous editing capabilities.
However, there is one element that I didn’t like. When watching a video, there are no tambnails at the bottom anymore, and this can make it difficult to find the right place in a long recording. Theoretically, the developers can still change their minds and bring back the more familiar option, and there’s enough time before the release to do so.
Apple Intelligence
Apple seems to be one of the last to jump on the AI bandwagon. However, it happened. Therefore, iOS 18 will receive Apple Intelligence features – artificial intelligence in different parts of the system and specific capabilities.
Siri will become much smarter and you will be able to actually communicate with it, not only by voice but also by text. The Safari browser will be able to summarize page content in a user-friendly format. Notes will have additional text transformation and processing capabilities. You’ll even be able to generate images.
To begin with, many of these functions will be implemented with Open AI, but later Apple promised to add other options, such as Google Gemini. And it is quite possible that Apple will not abandon its own option either.
However, unfortunately, we have not been able to test the Apple Intelligence features yet. First, at the time of writing, public betas have not received this functionality, only developer betas. Secondly, even with a developer account, Apple Intelligence features are not available for our country. And where they are available, you still need to get your place in the virtual queue.
Moreover, Apple Intelligence may be delayed and not appear with the release of iOS 18. And even when it does, only users of the current iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models, and, logically, newer versions of the smartphone, will receive support.
Nice little things
Of course, in addition to big and really noticeable changes, the company adds hundreds of details and small updates every year. Some of them will not be noticed by many users, and some of them can greatly improve the user experience.
Among the things I noticed in iOS 18, there are several useful things:
• For example, Action Button now includes Shazam among the basic functions, which will be a noticeable speedup for some music lovers.
• Each individual application can be closed with Face ID, and if you pass your smartphone to another user, a stranger will not be able to access the photo gallery, messengers, mail, or any other sensitive areas.
• Owners of the second-generation AirPods Pro will be able to nod or shake their heads instead of answering “yes” or “no” when communicating with Siri. The feature is called Siri Interactions, and it can add some “humanity” to your interactions with the voice assistant.
• Players will also appreciate Game Mode, which should reduce latency for wireless controllers and headphones, while also reducing background application activity, freeing up more resources for demanding games.
• It may not be the most relevant thing for Ukraine, but the native messaging app in iOS 18 now supports Google’s RCS protocol, which will allow you to share better quality files, reactions, and more with Android smartphones.
• In the meantime, iMessages on iPhone 14 and later will be able to work via satellite in places where there is no Wi-Fi or cellular network. Again, unfortunately, this functionality is not yet available in Ukraine.
• The phone app now has a call recording feature. When you start it, the generated voice will warn the other person about the recording, and then you can listen to the conversation in the notes, which will also have a transcription option (but not for all languages at the moment).
• When the stopwatch is running, it shows the time in Dynamic Island, not just an icon. Quick access allows you to record intervals, pause the time, and reset it.
• In the battery settings, there is an option to limit charging to 80% in increments of 5. And once you set the limits, you can change them to full charge for a certain time when you need your smartphone to have more battery life. In the settings, you can also see a slow charge indicator if you’re using a less powerful power supply.
• And another potentially very useful feature for individual users will be Vehicle Motion Cues. This is a mechanism to improve the condition of those people who get motion sickness in cars or public transportation.
When the smartphone detects that the work process is in motion, it displays several dots on the screen that move depending on the position of the device or the acceleration and deceleration of the car. This should improve the ability of the user to take their eyes off the road and look at the smartphone without any unpleasant consequences.
Although this is not entirely relevant to me personally, I cannot confirm the benefits of such an innovation from my own experience. But judging by the reviews on the Internet, this idea will really help you use your smartphone on the go.
• And the latest, albeit very useful, update is the ability to access your smartphone from a Mac. This means that at the workplace, you will be able to avoid touching your smartphone and perform all the necessary actions directly from your laptop or desktop. This means that, for example, you don’t have to reach for your smartphone lying on the other side of the desk or charging in the corner to respond to a notification.
Likewise, if you need a specific application or service that can only be accessed on a smartphone or is more convenient in the form of a mobile application, you can access it from a laptop.
I haven’t tried this feature yet either, but it’s probably the reason I’m waiting for the official releases of updated operating systems for iPhone and Mac.
Preliminary conclusions
Of course, everything we’ve seen and discussed so far may change several times before the final release. However, the preliminary updates look really good and I think they can really improve the iPhone experience. Perhaps not all of these features are original or necessary. For example, it’s hard for me to imagine that icons with bright colors will become extremely popular among users. However, I really liked the darker versions and more options for organizing my workspace. As well as the “fresh” interface of the Photos app.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest parts of iOS 18, namely Apple Intelligence, hasn’t been released yet. However, smarter Siri, text summarization and formatting, and other small app tweaks will still be able to improve daily tasks a bit. However, many people will have to upgrade their smartphone for this, and I’m not sure that artificial intelligence should be a reason for additional spending if the current iPhone still works as it should.
If you’ve already had a chance to check out iOS 18, please tell us in the comments which updates you liked or disliked the most and whether there were any small moments that affected your work with the gadget.
The editors would like to thank the PixoPhone online store for providing the iPhone 15 Pro Max for this article
Loading comments …