iOS 18 has several features that not everyone knows about. In this article, we list 7 tricks to use your iPhone.
Making full use of the iPhone requires a good knowledge of iOS, Apple’s mobile operating system. Over the past year, iOS has been populated with interesting new features (introduced with iOS 18 ), which make using the “apple phone” more interesting. From the new customizable app icons to adding reminders in the Calendar app, there are many features that may not be fully known (or exploited) by those who own a smartphone “made in Cupertino”. In this in-depth study we decided to create a collection of 7 tricks to make the most of your iPhone . Let’s discover them together!
1. Customizing App Icons
One of the most interesting new features introduced by Apple with iOS 18 is the ability to customize the appearance of app icons . This can be done by holding your finger down anywhere on the Home screen, tapping on Edit (top left) and then selecting Customize from the menu that opens. You can then decide the format of the icons ( Small or Large ) and their appearance ( Light , Dark , Automatic or With tint ).
2. Reminders in the Calendar app
Viewing reminders in the Calendar app is a feature that can definitely improve your productivity. To view your scheduled reminders, simply go to the Calendar app, tap Calendars (at the bottom of the screen), and then turn on Scheduled Reminders .
Furthermore, by pressing the + button (top right), you can create a reminder (rather than a “classic” event), selecting Reminder from the menu that opens and defining its details using the appropriate text fields and menus.
3. Search for contacts in the dialer
After years of waiting, Apple has finally decided to include contact search in the dialer . To use this feature, when you are in the Keypad section of the Phone app , just type a number via the dialer and suggestions corresponding to the number typed will appear at the top of the screen. Very convenient!
4. Customizing the flash and timer for photos
Customizing the flash on iPhone has become even easier with iOS 18, as it can be done conveniently via a dedicated function accessible in the Camera app. To use it, open the Camera app, hold your finger on the lightning icon (top left) and select one of the options you prefer between Automatic , On or Flash Off .
Also in the Camera app, you can now set a 5-second timer to take selfies, which is halfway between the two options previously available (3 seconds and 10 seconds). To use this new option, once you open the Camera app, swipe up from the bottom, tap the timer symbol , and then tap 5 s .
5. New charging limits
To preserve the health of the battery, avoiding that it is charged to 100% (a practice notoriously unhealthy for lithium batteries), Apple has already introduced functions for some time that block charging when the threshold of 80% is reached. With iOS 18, it is possible to customize the charging limits . To do this, simply open the Settings app , go to the Battery section, activate the Optimized Charging option and use the appropriate adjustment bar to select the preferred limit (e.g. 85% , 90% , 95 % , etc.).
It is important to note that this new feature is not available for all iPhones, but only for iPhone 15 , iPhone 15 Plus , iPhone 15 Pro , iPhone 15 Pro Max , iPhone 16 , iPhone 16 Plus , iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max .
6. Check the charging speed
With iOS 18, Apple also allows you to view the charging speed achieved with the power adapter used to charge your iPhone in the battery statistics. By going to the Settings > Battery menu while your iPhone is charging, you should see the wording Slow Charging and orange bars in the Battery Level graph (obviously in the event that you charged your phone with a low-power charger).
7. Record video with music
As for video recording, with iOS 18 you can record them without having to pause any music that is playing on your iPhone. To record videos while music is playing , simply go to Settings > Camera > Record Sound and activate the Allow Audio Playback option .