iOS 18 Is Now Available: Explore Its Best Features

Each year, Apple launches new iPhones, but upgrading your phone isn’t the only way to access fresh features.

Even if you’re not buying the iPhone 16, you can still enjoy iOS 18, which was released today. With this update, you can further personalize your home screen, share high-quality videos with Android users, and manage your passwords using Apple’s newly designed password manager.

However, the highly anticipated AI features aren’t part of this initial release.

After testing the iOS 18 beta over the summer, here are some standout features to explore post-upgrade.

How to Install iOS 18

iOS 18 begins rolling out today, but it may not be immediately available for everyone. If you’ve set automatic updates on your device, your phone will notify you when the update is ready.

Can’t wait? You can manually check for the update by opening the Settings app and navigating to General > Software Update. Refresh the page by swiping down if nothing appears. To check if automatic updates are enabled, tap “Automatic Updates” at the top of the screen.

You don’t need to get a new phone every year, but updating to the latest iOS version is essential to ensure your device has the latest security and privacy enhancements. iOS 18 is compatible with the iPhone SE (2nd-gen) and newer models, including the iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, and all iPhones from 11 to 15.

Personalize Your Home Screen

Customizing your home screen on iPhones has never been as flexible as it is with iOS 18. While you could previously change app icons using Shortcuts, iOS 18 now allows you to tint your app icons to match your wallpaper. You can even set app icons to switch between light and dark modes or adjust based on the time of day. Long-press on the home screen, tap “Edit” in the top corner, and begin adjusting app sizes and background brightness.

Another great feature is the ability to freely position apps without being constrained to the traditional grid. Whether you want to design your home screen around a particular photo or keep just a few apps in view, iOS 18 makes it possible.

Enhanced Messaging for Everyone

Texting just got a boost for iPhone and Android communication with iOS 18’s support for the RCS messaging standard. This means higher-resolution images and videos when texting your Android friends, plus read receipts for confirmed delivery. Even though Android users still get the dreaded green bubbles, RCS improves cross-platform messaging. iOS 18 also brings exciting updates to Apple’s Messages, including new custom stickers, a wider range of emoji reactions, and scheduling texts for later.

Organize Your Photos with New Features

iOS 18 reorganizes the Photos app with automatic groupings based on themes like Trips and People & Pets. These new sections help you navigate your photo library with ease. If you prefer a different organization style, you can fully customize these categories. Apple also hinted that future updates will include more intelligent photo-sorting tools.

Offline Navigation with Apple Maps

For outdoor adventurers, iOS 18 offers offline trail maps for all U.S. national parks. You can search for hikes, download maps, and explore offline—a feature that previously required paid subscriptions on other apps. You can also create custom hiking routes in Apple Maps by tapping waypoints and letting the app map the route for you.

Tap to Send Money with Apple Cash

Need to send money without sharing personal information? iOS 18 introduces a new Tap to Cash feature in Apple Wallet, allowing you to transfer funds by tapping your iPhone with another iPhone running iOS 18. Although limited to iPhones, it’s a neat alternative to traditional payment apps like Venmo.

Manage Passwords with Ease

Apple’s new Passwords app consolidates your saved credentials, Wi-Fi passwords, passkeys, and two-factor authentication codes into one user-friendly interface. Passwords sync across Apple devices and Windows (via iCloud), making it easy to access credentials anywhere.

More to Come with Apple Intelligence

While the initial release of iOS 18 lacks the Apple Intelligence AI tools that have been much discussed, expect to see those arrive in iOS 18.1 this October. Features like smarter Siri, photo editing, call transcription, and AI-generated writing tools will only be available for newer models, including the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 series.

Apple is also taking a more cautious approach with generative AI, handling most processes on-device and ensuring better privacy. Time will tell how this strategy stacks up against competitors like Google and Microsoft.

Stay tuned for more exciting features as iOS 18 continues to evolve!

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