The iOS 18 public beta is live, letting Apple fans test-drive the cool features coming to the iPhone later this year. The operating system has many noteworthy changes to customization, messaging, photos, and other essential areas. However, Apple Intelligence (Apple's generative AI platform for Mac, iPad, and iPhone) isn't available for testing. Likewise, the Siri enhancements tied to Apple Intelligence, which would improve Siri's speech recognition and search functionality, are also unavailable. Nonetheless, the beta's improvements deepen the iPhone's personalization options and core Apple apps in many impressive ways.
How to Install iOS 18 on Your iPhone
If you're interested in an early look at iOS 18, you must sign up for the beta. You do so by visiting the Apple Beta Software Program page via your browser, preferably via your iPhone. Log in, then choose the iOS 18 beta to participate. If your handset can run iOS 17, it can run the iOS 18 beta. While you're there, check out the public betas for macOS Sequoia and watchOS 11.
Installing beta software can cause data loss or compatibility issues, so connect your iPhone to a computer to create a backup (or backup via iCloud from the settings menu). For more details, see our iOS 18 installation guide.
Apple iOS 18: Customization Options Galore
The most significant change is the new suite of customization features. Before iOS 18, iPhones were notoriously strict with how you could tweak your handset's Home and Lock screens. Sure, you could reorder apps and swap wallpapers, but you were limited to Apple's grid layout, default icons, and sparse widget placement. This is no longer the case in iOS 18. You have carte blanche to move and tint app icons, add new controls to the control gallery and lock screen, and resize icons as you see fit. This new customization is a big win for iPhone users.
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Control Center has many new customization options, too. In addition to quick controls for Bluetooth, screen brightness, and Wi-Fi, you can now swipe between several pages of controls. These include screens for favorite functions, media controls, smart home commands, and connectivity (Bluetooth, airplane mode, and cellular data). You can move these controls around the screen and add new pages with additional controls. This freedom extends to the Lock Screen. You can swap the traditional flashlight and camera toggle for any other quick control you like. For example, I replaced my camera with a QR scanner.
All in all, Apple is finally catching up to Android's rich customization, and it is a lot of fun to personalize your device. That said, Android still has the edge over iOS with its cinematic wallpapers that let you generate attractive, moving wallpapers from your photos. Android's Material You screen personalization features also have some advantages over Apple's. For example, it offers useful tint suggestions that match the color of your text and wallpaper, creating a more uniform look.
A Revamped Photos App
The Photos app receives an overhaul with iOS 18. When you view the library, a pill tab on the bottom of the screen lets you sort images by year, month, or media type. A new arrow key lets you further filter your search to display screenshots, videos, photos, edited media, and favorites. You can refine your hunt using the app's search button, but it felt slow and clunky in testing compared with iOS 17's similar functionality. I used search terms like "New York" and "cat," which worked well in iOS 17, but stalled or failed in iOS 18. I expect this will improve in subsequent beta releases, or when Apple's AI functions finally roll out and power your searches.
As you scroll down, your photos are sorted into new categories with specialized collections. These appear as panels, such as Recent Days, People & Pets, Pinned Collections, Trips, and Albums. Swiping left on these panels launches a carousel view, with the option to customize the collection by adding people and pets to the photo group. This new layout looks fantastic and feels vastly better to navigate than Photos' previous builds that featured too many menus and submenus.
Apple iOS 18: RCS Finally Comes to iPhone
Rich Communication Services (RCS) makes its Apple debut in iOS 18. This means you can now send and receive media from Android users without the drop in quality that made file sharing effectively useless before. With iOS 18, high-quality photo and video files stay high quality no matter the recipient. It works well in group messages, so including an Android user in a multi-person chat won't inadvertently break the conversation. You can even see typing indicators for RCS messages. Yes, message bubbles are still green, but that's a small concession considering the radically improved compatibility.
Messages has new text formatting and effects options. The A icon above the keyboard launches the format menu, which lets you bold, italicize, underline, or slash through text. Additionally, you can select from new graphical effects to make highlighted words pop. These include big, small, nod, shake, explode, and other animated effects. Tapbacks now allow numerous different stickers or emoji reactions. Another excellent addition is the ability to schedule messages. You can schedule a message up to two weeks in advance, which is a handy feature for forgetful people who fear missing an important date.
Overall, Messages feels much improved, though there are still kinks to work out. On occasion, some effects don't display correctly.
Useful Calculator Improvements
At this year's WWDC, presenter Craig Federighi joked that the iPad would finally get the Calculator app. This joke swelled into an impressive showcase of the app's various mathematical functions that tapped the tablet's computing power and touchscreen functions. What wasn't quite as obvious? That the improved Calculator was also coming to the iPhone.
You can play with the new Calculator app in the iOS 18 beta, and it is an impressive piece of software. By default, the app looks like the same calculator interface you've used for years. However, there's a new toggle to switch to a scientific calculator. You can also select the Math Notes option, which is a wholly unique spin on the classic calculator.
Math Notes is essentially a variation on the Notes app. With it, you can type or hand write math notes. Here's how it works. If you write an equation and add an equal sign, Calculator automatically solves the problem. This is true whether you type the numbers with a keyboard or jot it with a stylus or your finger. It also continually updates the solution as you continue to write or type. It's a cool app update, though scribbling with my finger felt a little cramped on the iPhone 14 Pro Max's screen. Math Notes feels much better on the iPad's more spacious display.
Like iOS 18 beta's other features, Calculator has bugs. Although the app provided accurate solutions to my handwritten notes, it frequently deleted the solution without my input.
Apple iOS 18: A Good iPhone Update With a Promising Future
Apple iOS 18 brings excellent improvements to compatible iPhones, especially in regards to customization and RCS support. Some of the bigger changes, such as Apple Intelligence and Siri improvements, are slated for later, and those lauded features can potentially turn iOS 18 into a powerhouse operating system. Of course, that remains to be seen, and we'll update this preview when we get hands on with those additions. For now, know that iOS 18 is a promising OS, and we're excited to see how it evolves between now and its full release.
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