iOS 18: 5 things to do first after updating your iPhone

Ever since iOS 18 was announced, we have been waiting to try out all the new features. Now that Apple has released the new update to all supported iPhones, Here are the five new features to explore first before everything else.

Customise your Home Screen

In order to provide more personalised customisation, the Home Screen comes with several design changes. You can move the icons, change their sizes and colours as per choice. The grid system still exists, the icons can be adjusted while creating unique looking widgets.

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After the icons have been rearranged, you need to long press on the Home Screen, tap Edit and then choose Customise. Here, you can make the app icons bigger by removing the app names. You can also toggle on Dark Mode icons and even change the tint of the icons to match the wallpaper.

Tailor your Control Centre

The Control Center interface can also be customised in iOS 18. You can reorder the controls, put them on different pages and even access it from Action Button and the Lock Screen.

To set it up, swipe down from the upper right corner of your iPhone and long press on any empty space until the grid shows up, or tap on the ‘+’ button on the upper left of the display.

From there, grab an icon and move it to where you want it to be, on the same page or drag it to a new page. You can have a different page for related controls like music and home or mix them all up.

You can drag on the corner of an icon to change its size. You can tap on ‘Add a Control’ to get to the Controls Gallery where you can see all your Control Center options organised by category.

Change lock screen shortcut buttons

With the new iOS 18, you can swap the Camera and Flashlight shortcuts to others that may be more relevant for you. You can even remove them altogether. You can also add third-party controls to the Lock Screen.

From the Lock Screen, long press and tap on Customise, select the Lock Screen and then tap on the ‘-‘ buttons on the Camera and Flashlight to remove them or swap them for other shortcuts.

Math Notes

The iOS 18 has introduced Math Notes, an interesting integration between the Calculator and the Notes app. This app solves equations automatically to save time and help with your daily needs. It can add your monthly expenses, calculate what people owe you or aid you in splitting the bills at the restaurant.

You can use Math Notes in the Notes app or in the Math Notes section of the calculator app. It functions like the Messages app where it is more of a conversation. You can also try using variables to form equations and graphs which get adjusted later to change the result.

It also supports unit conversions along with solving same functions as the scientific calculator.

iPhone Mirroring

The iOS 18 update also adds the iPhone Mirroring feature we saw back at WWDC 24. This feature lets you access your iPhone from your Mac. However, this is only possible when you upgrade your Mac to macOS Sequoia too.

It will require an authentication on your first try. Post that, you can access your iPhone automatically using the app. It even accesses the notifications. The app can even be used when the iPhone is locked, tucked away somewhere or positioned in StandBy mode.

Soon, Apple will offer drag and drop option for direct data transfer between devices.

iOS 18 also comes with many more features that you can explore once you update your iPhone. You can check all about the update in our detailed guide. Stay tuned to Unboxed by Croma for all things tech.