iOS 18: The 18 most important features and changes for iPhone [Video]

In this initial hands-on guide, I discuss 18 of my favorite changes and new features from the first beta of iOS 18 for iPhone. I explain why you should be excited about the long-awaited new updates to iOS Calendar, Reminders, Notes, Messages, and more. Watch our practical video and see for yourself Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube For more hands-on coverage of iOS 18.

NB: For your convenience, clicking on each section title will jump directly to the corresponding timestamp in the video embedded below.

In iOS 18, the Home screen is receiving several radical changes (for iOS). For the first time, users are allowed to place app icons anywhere, as long as they adhere to the traditional grid structure. The same is now true for widgets on iPhone, a feature previously exclusive to iPadOS.

Speaking of widgets, in iOS 18, you can now dynamically resize widgets via an easy-to-use drag handle that appears while you’re in edit mode. Widgets can also be zoomed in and out, down to the regular app icon, using the context menu option that appears when you long press on the app.

Video: The most important features and changes of iOS 18

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There’s also the ability to zoom in on app icons, which also brings the ability to hide app names on the home screen for the first time. Hopefully Apple will expand this feature to smaller icons as well.

Users will also like the new option to enable dark mode for icons. Currently, only Apple’s pre-installed first-party apps are affected by the dark mode option, but developers will be able to offer it in their apps as well. Additionally, there’s a new option to color all app icons the same color for a more cohesive look on the home screen.

So far, the calendar app has been a major disappointment for me, as the monthly view offers almost no detail. In iOS 18, Apple finally This feature addressed this glaring omission by providing a month view in different colors for each calendar, and the ability to zoom out to view specific details about upcoming events.

But Apple has taken it a step further in iOS 18, tightly integrating Calendar with Reminders. You can now schedule a reminder directly in your calendar and add a calendar event directly from Reminders. These are two quality improvements that are sure to simplify event and task management.

In iOS 18, the Messages app gains several new features, such as the ability to use emojis and stickers with back taps, and very handy one-icon replies for quick acknowledgment of a message that doesn’t require a full text response.

Users will also love the ability to schedule messages, a feature that I and many others have wanted for years. Apple has also included a new Text Effect option that allows you to apply special effects and format text to your messages down to a single word or emoji.

Notes has received some great updates over the years, and that trend continues with iOS 18. One of my favorite new features is the ability to collapse headings, which is great for organizing dense text. Notes also gains the ability to record and embed voice notes and highlight text with one of five new color options.

As always, this year’s major iOS update includes quite a few noteworthy accessibility improvements. The new Vocal Shortcuts option, which lets you create specific keywords to execute Siri commands and shortcuts, provides an incredibly powerful new automation tool.

There’s also a new VisionOS-like eye tracking feature that lets you control your device using just your eyes. I can only imagine that this feature has become more powerful over time and might be a good enough reason for a significant front-facing camera hardware update in future iPhones.

13 additional features

In addition to the five areas touched upon above, I also cover 13 additional sections These are the initial instructions for iOS 18. Sections include:

I’ll be back with more in-depth hands-on coverage of iOS 18 and all Apple platforms in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, tell me, what’s your favorite new feature in iOS 18? Sound off in the comments below.