The iOS 18 cycle is almost over, as Apple nears the release of iOS 18.5, and iOS 19 will be announced in a month. However, a shocking number of users haven’t updated to iOS 18 yet. If you’re one of those, you’re not only making your device less secure, but you’re also missing several great features.
That said, if you don’t like to be one of the first to update your iPhone after a new iOS update. Don’t worry, iOS 18 is already stable enough and offers many new perks to make your device feel brand new. These are 11 iOS 18 features you’ve been missing without properly updating your iPhone.
iOS 18 supported devices
- iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (2nd gen)
- iPhone 12 mini and iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone SE (3rd gen)
- iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 16e
Also, don’t worry about iOS updates slowing down your phone. This is not a thing. Always update your device.
Top iOS 18 features you should be using right now
Home Screen redesign: You can’t talk about iOS 18 features without highlighting the Home Screen redesign. Apps can be organized in any way, which means they can be placed anywhere. In addition, app icons and widgets can take on a new look with a dark or tinted effect, and users can make apps appear larger to create the perfect experience. Here’s how to customize the iPhone’s Home Screen in iOS 18.
Lock Screen widgets: For the first time in forever, you can replace the flashlight and camera widgets from the Lock Screen. Users can add whatever widget they prefer, including third-party app options.
More useful Control Center: iOS 18 also gives iPhone users the best control over the Control Center. Users can create new groups of widgets for home controls, connectivity, and music listening, as well as reorganize the widgets’ locations. The new controls gallery displays the full set of available options, and users can customize how the controls are laid out, including adjusting them to the ideal size and creating entirely new groups.
Texting is funnier than ever: Apple also did a great job with iMessage. If you love using this app, iOS 18 adds all-new text effects, personalized messages by adding formatting styles, adding any emoji or sticker as a tapback, and even scheduling messages.
Passwords app: If you’re still running iOS 17, you’re missing one of the greatest iOS 18 features, the Passwords app. It lets you easily access passwords, passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes.
Lock and hide apps: If you care about your privacy, Apple lets you lock or hide and lock apps. When an app is locked or hidden, content like messages or emails inside the app is hidden from search, notifications, and other places across the system. Users can only unlock it with Face ID and Touch ID. BGR teaches you how to hide and lock iPhone apps in iOS 18.
iPhone Mirror: You can control your iPhone on a Mac running macOS Sequoia; it’s possible to follow notifications and even drag and drop content.
Language Detection: Using a bilingual keyboard has been available for years now. However, the new multilingual keyboard recognizes the language you were last using in messages and switches automatically, so if you were messaging a friend in Hindi and your family in Marathi, you can pick up right where you left off.
Dual SIM in Control Center: If you have multiple carriers on your iPhone, you can seamlessly switch between them. You can swipe to the Connectivity panel on Control Center to create a Cellular Data toggle that will let you quickly switch between carriers.
Hide screenshots from your library: Apple revamped the Photos app. Even though some people are not fond of it, a new button in the grid helps you reduce clutter by filtering to specific media types, your favorites, or hiding screenshots from view. This is one of my favorite hidden features in iOS 18.
All-new Mail app: Mail added new ways for users to manage their inboxes. On-device categorization organizes and sorts incoming emails into Primary for personal and time-sensitive emails, Transactions for confirmations and receipts, Updates for news and social notifications, and Promotions for marketing emails and coupons. Mail also features a new digest view that pulls together all of the relevant emails from a business, allowing users to quickly scan for what’s important at the moment.
Wrap up
These are 11 iOS 18 features you’ve been missing out on this whole time, and I’m not even talking about Apple Intelligence, which is only available for iPhone 15 Pro or newer devices.
That said, if you’re still running iOS 17, hit that Update button on your Settings app immediately.
