iOS 18 beta 2 lets you control others’ iPhones via SharePlay

Apple just released a number of new features and changes with its second beta build for iOS 18. Fixing some of the bugs from the first beta (and adding a few new ones), the new build some new, interesting features to the platform. One of these is the ability to control another iPhone’s screen remotely via SharePlay.

With the new feature, an iPhone on a FaceTime call with another iPhone will be able to control the other iPhone (if the second user allows it) while screen sharing. The feature emulates what popular third-party tools like AnyDesk have been doing on smartphones and laptops for a while, now being a natively available feature.

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The feature is great for those with older parents or relatives, or simply clueless friends who need help setting up their phone or doing more complex tasks. It’s unclear to what extent the feature will be able to control other iPhones, and whether abilities like triggering Face ID to get past a passcode-protected screen will be possible via the feature.

Regardless, the feature is a great addition, because unlike third-party apps, it will work right from FaceTime. This means there is no need to install any additional third-party apps or give them all kinds of permissions and data access for similar features to work.

iOS 18 beta 2: Other features

iOS 18 beta 2 also brings some other features. This includes iPhone Mirroring, which lets you control an iPhone wirelessly from a Mac, complete with notification support and navigation gestures, all while your iPhone stays locked.

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The App Store icon on the home screen also finally gets a new dark mode icon theme that makes it look more in-line with other dark mode icons. There is also a new RCS Messaging toggle under Settings/ Messages, but enabling it has no effect just yet. That’s probably something that will be fixed in an upcoming build. The new Password app meanwhile, adds a new ‘+’ button in the bottom right, which enables easier addition of new login credentials.

iOS 18 will remain in beta for a couple more months, and we will then get a stable version of the new update for everyone. If you’re up for facing some pesky bugs, you can go ahead and try out iOS 18 right now in beta. However, if your iPhone is your daily driver, we recommend just waiting for the stable update to come out.