Apple organized its WWDC this June and announced the most awaited release of the year. Apple plans to launch its latest iOS 18 version sometime in the latter part of 2024. With the release, we can anticipate a lot of interesting new functionalities you will get as an iOS
user. But, do you know, Apple, with each release, pushes many Hidden iOS 18 Features that most people don’t pay heed to. If you wish to know such features, we will cover twenty-five such features below.
1. Power Button Access via Control Center
If you always find it confusing to activate the power-off mode of an iPhone. And just like many other people, you hit and try your luck to power off your Apple device, then it’s going to make your life easy with the introduction of the Power button in the Control Center. You
can simply scroll down on your screen and tap the power icon to switch your device off. It will be really helpful when either your power or volume button isn’t working due to a hard mobile case and you want to restart your device.
2. Hide App Label
Another very cool feature that will come with iOS 18 is the functionality to remove app labels. If you can recognize apps on your device using the app icon and want to provide an aesthetic look to it, then you will have the flexibility to remove its label. It will hide the app name below its icon, and you will get a sleek and large app logo. If you wish to implement this setting, use the below steps:
- Tap and hold your home screen for a couple of seconds.
- Tap Edit and then Customize.
- Select the Large tab to hide the App Label.
3. T9 Calling
Do you envy an Android user as they can type a name on your dial pad to get its number? It’s called the T9 dialer feature. Android users have now using it for quite some time. But it’s the latest addition to iOS devices. You can now open your iPhone Dial pad and type the name of the user like we used to do in keypad mobile devices, instead of his number to search and dial his number.
4. Search Call History
Have you ever encountered a situation where you wanted to search for a mobile number in your Recents, and instead, you accidentally clicked one of your contacts and called them? It’s an embarrassing situation. Well, the iPhone is now introducing a search bar in its Recents section by default to allow users to type a contact name or mobile number to search for them directly. So, no more scrolling and accident phone calls from your Recent section. This feature is going to reduce your excessive scrolling.
5. Customizable Flashlight Width
Another cool iOS feature is the Adjustable Flashlight width. iOS devices will have the flexibility to Adjust the coverage area of Flashlight depending on your requirements. However, this feature will be available for iPhone 14 Pro and higher versions along with iOS 18. To access this feature, you can open the Dynamic island and control the Flash beam width with the slider at its right. The light intensity will vary from a beam to a widespread burst.
6. The Rainbow clock on Home Screen
You will be stunned by looking at the home screen customization Apple provides with iOS 18. We bet Apple has worked on its UI/UX to introduce customization and make the look and feel more appealing. And another such addition includes a Rainbow-colored clock on your home page. The big white clock on your screen can now have a rainbow color to make it more appealing so that it contrasts with your background.
7. Color Option in Notes
Are you habitual in taking colorful notes and highlighting the crucial parts with different colors? iOS now provides an option to add colorful text in its notes section to make them more appealing and helpful. Users have the flexibility to update the Note color or highlight specific parts. Currently, Apple offers five color options that include purple, pink, orange, blue, and mint. To access these colors, go to notes and tap the Aa icon.
8. Links Preview in iMessages
Another beneficial iOS feature you will get with the iOS 18 release involves the link Preview in iMessages. Similar to other messaging apps, iMessage will also update a simple text URL into the website preview. However, you can only see the link preview once you send it to someone. This feature will apply to Safari, social media and other kinds of links.
9. Backspace & Unit Conversion Keys in Calculator
People generally prefer to use their mobile calculators to make quick calculations. However, on iOS devices, the calculator didn’t have a backspace button. So, if you accidentally typed a wrong number, there is no way to correct it. You will need to restart the calculation from scratch. However, with iOS 18, Apple will provide a backspace option in its Calculators to make our lives easy.
Additionally, like Android Calculators, you will also find a button for unit conversion. No need to go to the web page for quick unit conversion, you will now have the feature offline available within calculators.
10. App Section in Settings
Apple doesn’t have a specific App section in its Settings. You can find the apps scattered on the Settings home page, which makes it quite a job to search for the apps. We have heard that Apple will introduce a dedicated Apps section in its Settings to make navigation easier. At the bottom of the settings, instead of your app list, you will find a dropdown to find a list of apps on your device.
11. Pop-Out Bezel Animation
If you press the power and volume button simultaneously on your iOS device, the Bezel expands. Although not a very significant update, it shows that Apple focuses on Attention to detail.
12. Customizable Photos App
With iOS 18, you will have the option to customize and edit your collections present at the bottom of your Photos App. This includes memories, timelines, Trips, or other collections.
13. Audio Recording Notes & Attachment Menu
Your notes section will now have an attachment option at its bottom right to add media to it. Also, you can now record audio notes on an iPhone or iPad from its Notes section.
14. Rotate Wi-Fi Address
If you wish to minimize Wi-Fi tracking on your iOS device, the new release will have a Wi-Fi Rotate feature. To enable this, Go to Settings on your device and select Wi-Fi. Tap on the Wi-Fi network you are connected to and enable the Change Wi-Fi option.
15. Added Charging Limits on Your Device
You must have used the charge limit option on your device. It doesn’t allow your device to charge past a particular battery percentage. Earlier, there was only one charging limit set at 80%. Now, iOS 18 will provide lesser charging limits on your device.
16. Music Haptics
if you like the little haptics sound on tapping an app or doing any activity on your device, then iOS will now provide Haptics customization for its users.
17. Sound Actions
As the name suggests, you can now set keywords for specific activity on your iPhone. For instance, you can set the photo keyword to automatically open the camera on your device. To activate this setting, go to the device Settings app, tap Accessibility, then Touch and lastly, Sound Actions to set them.
18. The Weather App Will Have Home & Work Locations
If you have a separate home and work location, your iPhone will now show Weather conditions at both these places on your device. Thus, you can decide if you want to carry an umbrella from home depending on the weather conditions at your office location. You can enable this setting via the Weather Setting option on your iOS device.
19. Share Wi-Fi via QR Codes
Like Android, iOS also launches the feature to scan a QR code for connecting to the Wi-Fi network. To access the QR Code, go to the Passwords App on your iPhone and Tap the Wi-Fi that you wish to link. Tap Share Network QR to avail of the option.
20. Customized Way to Resize & Add Widgets on Home Screen
With iOS 18, you will get a widget customization option if you tap and hold the home screen on your device. It will allow you to add a new widget and even change its size manually.
21. Revamped iCloud Screen in Settings App
If you don’t find the list view of iCloud Settings, then Apple has redesigned it now to show these specifications in a grid instead. You don’t need to scroll a lot to access iCloud Settings on iOS anymore.
22. Reminders in Calendar App
Till now, iOS Devices were lacking the Reminder option in their Calendar. But now, you can add reminders for an upcoming event on your iPhone or iPad device.
23. Remove Icons From Lock Screen
If currently, your iOS lock screen shows an icon for a camera or flashlight, you will now have an option to remove them and get a sleek lock screen.
24. Get Access to Someone’s Screen
iOS devices will now provide Remote control access on the devices, such that any other user can remotely control your device with the help of its screen-sharing capabilities.
25. Emergency SOS Live Video
When dialing an emergency call, you now have the option to stream your audio and video to provide more details about the location, background, and culprits.
Wind Up
These were some of the underrated Hidden iOS 18 features that developers won’t talk about at an event like WWDC. But these features will make life easy for regular iOS users. No doubt, there are still many loopholes in Apple devices, but with the above enhancements, you will find it easier to navigate and make your device more customizable per your requirements.
