Discover 25 Hidden Features Of IOS 18 That Enhance Your Daily Experience

The new iOS 18 brings an array of big and brand-new features like Home Screen Customization, a new Passwords app, and a redesigned Photos app. Apart from these already popular additions, Apple also silently pushed a bunch of handy features that can make a big difference in your day-to-day life. In this article, I’ve shared 25 hidden iOS 18 features that Apple didn’t mention on the stage. Without any ado, let’s begin!

Power Button in Control Center

You might have seen the customizable Control Center in iOS 18. But, do you also know there’s a Power Button in the revamped Control Center? Yes, there’s a virtual Power Button in the top-right of the Control Center that offers a quick & easy way to turn off your iPhone. So, you no longer have to memorize those weird key combinations to trigger the power slider. This hidden iOS 18 feature will also come in handy when your Power or Volume aren’t working properly, which is pretty common when you’ve installed a hard or bulky case.

Hide App Labels

Home Screen customization is one of the main iOS 18 attractions and grabbed a lot of attention when Apple previewed it at WWDC 2024. The new iOS 18 offers a lot of home screen customization options, including the app icon tinting, the ability to place apps anywhere, and more. Also, if you prefer a minimalistic Home Screen, you can remove the text labels from your apps. For this, touch & hold an empty area on the Home Screen, then tap on Edit -> Customize, choose the Large tab and the app labels will disappear. It’s worth noting that doing this will also slightly increase the size of the app icons themselves, which looks pretty neat.

T9 Calling

The latest iOS 18 finally brings the much-awaited T9 dialer on iPhones. It lets you type someone’s name via the numeric keypad (like on old keypad phones) and your iPhone will show up the matching entries. For instance, if I want to call up Anmol, I will just type “26665” and I’ll instantly see his contact details at the top of the keypad. Android smartphones have had this T9 dialer for ages.

Search Call History

The Phone app also got some quality-of-life improvements with the new iOS 18. First, you’ll now see a call icon beside every entry on the Recents page. Thankfully, you can now don’t have to worry about those embarrassing calls due to accidental taps. You have to intentionally tap on a number to place a call from within this screen. The second, and equally useful addition is the ability to search Call History. With this hidden iOS 18 feature in the Phone app, you can save yourself from aggressive scrolling.

Adjustable Flashlight Width

You can already adjust the brightness of your iPhone’s flashlight. With iOS 18, you can even tweak the beam width from the Dynamic Island. When the flashlight is turned on, you can long-tap on the Dynamic Island and slide your finger to change the flashlight width, going from a concentrated light beam to a more widespread burst. This secret iOS 18 feature is exclusive to iPhone 14 Pro models and iPhone 15 Pro models.