iOS 18 Features: The Ultimate Mega Guide

During the iOS 18 beta testing process that took place from June to September, we here at MacRumors put together a series of in-depth feature guides and how tos that walk you through all of the new features in the latest update.

This comprehensive guide includes all of our coverage, and it is a great resource for iPhone and iPad users who haven't had a chance to test out ‌iOS 18‌ and those who might not remember all of the new features. Everything is organized by app or feature to make it easy to find what you're looking for, and we'll be adding to it over time as we publish new guides and how tos.

Home Screen Updates

Apple overhauled the Home Screen, introducing new options for personalization and customization. You can put icons where you want, change their size, change colors, and even hide apps.

Every new feature for the iOS 18 Home Screen and Lock Screen

How to Lock and Hide iPhone Apps

How to Hide App Names on Your iPhone Home Screen

Arrange Icons Around Your iPhone Wallpaper

Switch Out Camera and Flashlight Buttons on Your Lock Screen

Make Your iPhone Home Screen Icons Dark

Add a Tint to Your iPhone Home Screen Icons

Control Center

The Control Center can be rearranged to put your most used controls front and center, plus you can set up multiple pages for improved organization. Third-party app developers can create Control Center controls for the first time, and as part of the Control Center tweaks, you can swap out the Flashlight and Camera icons on the Lock Screen with other quick access buttons.

10+ Changes to the iOS 18 Control Center

How to Reorder, Resize, and Remove Buttons in Control Center

How to Use the Controls Gallery to Customize Control Center

How to Add Multiple Pages to Control Center

Passwords App

Apple added a dedicated Passwords app in ‌iOS 18‌, where logins and passwords stored in iCloud Keychain can be accessed. It's essentially the Passwords section that used to be located in the Settings app, but in a dedicated app that makes it easier to find your stored login information.

iOS 18 Passwords App: All the Features

How to Share Wi-Fi Passwords With a QR Code

Safari

Safari adds a Highlights feature that surfaces the information you most want to know on a website, such as driving directions and hours.

Every iOS 18 Safari Feature

How to Use the Redesigned Reader Mode in Safari

How to Get Rid of Website Distractions in Safari

Messages

The ‌iOS 18‌ Messages app has a long list of new features, from Send Later for scheduling messages to support for using any emoji when you send a Tapback response. There's RCS support that improves texts with Android users, and support for sending messages via satellite when you don't have a Wi-Fi or Cellular connection.

Everything new in the iOS 18 Messages App

How to Schedule Messages to Send Later

How to Use Emoji as Tapback Reactions in Messages

How to Use New Text Effects in Messages

How to Use the New Text Formatting Options in Messages

Perform Calculations and Conversions in Messages

Phone

You can record, transcribe, and summarize phone calls for the first time (with consent from everyone on the line), plus there are some other useful changes in Apple's Phone app.

Five New Features in the iOS 18 Phone App

Photos

Apple redesigned the Photos app and gave it a unified design that gets rid of all of the navigation tabs. There's a new focus on Collections, plus improved search, new utility albums, and more.

iOS 18 Photos App: All the New Features and Design Updates

Navigating the Redesigned Photos App in iOS 18

How to Customize and Reorder the Photos App Interface in iOS 18

Notes

Along with the aforementioned Math Notes feature, the Notes app has support for transcribing and summarizing any audio recording (Apple Intelligence required for that last part), and there are several other quality of life improvements worth checking out.

iOS 18 Notes App: All the New Features

How to Record Audio With Transcripts in Apple Notes

Calculator

Apple overhauled the Calculator app in ‌iOS 18‌, adding a new Math Notes feature that's useful for solving equations and making conversions in Notes, the Calculator app itself, and across the operating system. There are also a few other notable changes.

iOS 18: All the New Calculator App Features

Maps

Maps on the ‌iPhone‌ has support for detailed topographic maps, including maps that cover all of the U.S. national parks, plus support for custom routes.

iOS 18: What's New With the Maps App

Using the New 'Search Here' Feature in Apple Maps

Camera

There are some minor new features in the Camera app, the most notable of which is an option to continue having music playing while recording video.

What's New With the Camera App in iOS 18

AirPods Pro

If you have the AirPods Pro 2, you're in luck because there are a handful of new ‌AirPods Pro‌ features in ‌iOS 18‌ like head gestures for controlling Siri.

Six New Features iOS 18 Brings to the AirPods Pro

Accessibility

Every iOS update adds new Accessibility options, and iOS 18 is no exception. There's an Eye Tracking feature for navigating with just your eyes, a Motion Sickness reduction tool, and Vocal Shortcuts that let you change the wake word for activating ‌Siri‌. You can also set up all kinds of special phrases that can activate ‌iPhone‌ features.

Prevent Motion Sickness With Vehicle Motion Cues

Read More

We have a complete overview of all of the new features in ‌iOS 18‌ in one handy place in our iOS 18 roundup, which is also well worth checking out for all of the little details that didn't make it into our guides and how tos. Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18This article, "iOS 18 Features: The Ultimate Mega Guide" first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums