I tested iOS 18 all week and I’ve already switched OFF some new iPhone features – including app driving users mad
IOS 18 has been out for a week now and for the most part I think it’s a pretty successful upgrade.
The greater customisation is much-needed and the new Passwords app is super handy for most people.
But there are bound to be changes that don’t go down well.
And despite largely liking iOS 18, there are two in particular that have really got on my nerves.
Fortunately, one of those can be restored to before instantly.
The other, less so – but it’s possible to improve somewhat.
And looking on social media, it looks like I’m not alone.
Control Centre
The Control Centre’s biggest change is… more control.
Users can now choose what appears on Control Centre – for those who need reminding, the Control Centre is the screen that appears when you slide from the top right down.
As part of the overhaul, there are now extra pages with things like music kept in one place.
The problem I – and others – have found is when you try to dismiss the Control Centre and return to the Home Screen.
To do this, you usually need to slide from the bottom of the screen up.
However, it appears to have become a little temperamental, sometimes thinking that you’re trying to slide to the next Control Centre page.
I’ve decided that, ultimately, I really do not need these extra pages – so I’ve removed them.
If you tap and hold in empty space on each screen, the iPhone allows you to customise.
Rather than adding anything delete all the options and this will then remove the page entirely.
Now you can dismiss the Control Centre without other pages coming up.
Photos app
Apple completely revamped the Photos app in what the company aptly described as the “biggest redesign ever”.
Sadly, I really do not like the changes at all – and I’m not alone.
Social media is full of people saying the same thing.
“I hate the fact that as soon as you open the app all your photos are all exposed in the front page,” one user wrote on Reddit.
“It was fine before and they ruined it imo,” another said.
As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
I, and many others, feel like the old Photos app did the job perfectly fine.
I don’t like how everything is just there on one page to scroll down with no more tabs to keep things in their own place.
And there’s a lot going on on the main page as a result.
Unfortunately, you can’t restore the old Photos app layout but you can customise it to declutter at least.
Scroll to the bottom and look for Customise & Reorder.
Get rid of the bits you don’t care about or need – for me it’s parts like Wallpaper Suggestions and Shared Albums.
iPhone tricks to try today
Here are some of the best...
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
- Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen (or swipe left to right on an iPhone X or later model), then tap in the bar and type a currency (like $200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
- Check if you’re due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you’re down to 80% capacity. If you’re below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
- Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier