iOS 18: How to customize your iPhone lock screen and control center
Apple’s iOS 18 update lets you customize your lock screen and home screen and expand the features of your iPhone’s Control Center.
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Apple has released iOS 18, the latest software update for its iPhone devices. Monday’s update comes ahead of the release of the new iPhone 16 and includes changes to the Home screen and Control Center, updates to Messages, and a redesign of the Photos app, among other changes.
The software update was first teased during the technology company’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, along with an Apple Intelligence announcement that was not included in Monday’s release.
Here’s everything you need to know about the update and some of its top features:
Customize your home screen and control center
Make your phone’s home screen ✨aesthetic✨. Apple is finally giving users more customization options for the iPhone home screen.
In the iOS 18 update, users can arrange app icons and widgets more flexibly, virtually anywhere there is a free space on the screen. Users can also make app icons and widgets larger or remove the name underneath.
There are also color tinting options that allow users to assign any color to apps/widgets or get color suggestions that match the wallpaper.
Dark mode now extends to icons, so they automatically adjust when an iPhone switches to dark mode or always stay in that state.
Additionally, Control Center offers more customization options, such as grouped controls, the ability to resize controls, a gallery view of all available controls, and more support for controls from third-party apps.
More: iPhone 16, new Watch and AirPods are coming: But does Apple think differently enough?
News app updates
Changes to the Messages apps in iOS 18 include more text effects and the addition of animated effects like waves or nods for letters, words, and emoji in iMessage. Users can also format text in Messages and make letters and words bold, underlined, strikethrough, or italic.
There are additional “Tapback” reactions, where users can add emoji and sticker reactions to messages, as well as the ability to access the Tapbacks you and your friends send most often.
Users can select the “Send Later” option and schedule messages for later delivery.
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is now supported, including delivery and read receipts and higher resolution photos and videos for messaging people who don’t use an iPhone.
Passwords app
iOS 18 introduces a new standalone Passwords app. Passwords were previously hidden in Settings, but now they are more easily accessible. Verification codes for two-factor authentication can also be set up in the Passwords app.
Photos changes
The Photos app has been redesigned in iOS 18. Collections organize the library by theme and users can pin a collection or further customize collections. Users can also view photos by “recent days.”
A filter button allows you to display specific media types, favorites or other views, thus contributing to clarity.
Apple Intelligence
Apple Intelligence, the much-discussed new AI-based feature first announced at WWDC, is not part of the 1OS 18 update rolling out on Monday. Apple said in a press release that users will be able to experience the Apple Intelligence features when iOS 18.1 rolls out next month.
When released, the Apple Intelligence integration, which will be available on the new iPhone 16 devices as well as the iPhone 15 Pro models, will bring functionality to Siri, Photos, and many other apps, such as helping you write emails and other documents, find and organize files and photos, and perform tasks. Apple Intelligence will also offer AI-generated emojis, called “Genmojis,” and a new Image Playground.
More: Apple is launching new AI features. What do they mean for your privacy?
Additional updates and new features include:
- Live audio transcriptions
- Map improvements
- “Tap to redeem” in Wallet
- Ability to adjust the beam width of the flashlight
- Option to restart the phone in the Control Center
- Custom lock screen controls
