I updated to the iOS 18 beta (iPhone 15 Pro) when it was announced early this week. I am very impressed by the new features of this update! It’s all about customizability.

iOS 18’s Customizable control center

I was an Android phone user until December 2022. That’s being said, I am a pretty new iPhone user. I have been used to the iPhone and the Apple Ecosystem, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes miss the customizability of Androids.

This iOS18 gives me back some customizability I used to have – customizing the control centre. And I’d like to say it’s even better because I can customize the size of each “Control” (you see how large the Media Control is?).

Customizable Home

Now we can decide which two icons at the bottom of the screen.

And it’s integrated into the wallpaper settings. That’s being said, you can have different sets of “controls” for different wallpapers.

More choices of Charge Limit

Before iOS 18 we can only limit the charging up to 80%. But now with iOS 18, we have much more choices. Better for your battery health!

FaceId protected apps

Now your iPhone is safer in iOS 18, because you can now use Face Id to protect apps.

You can either make an app “Require Face ID” or “Hide and Require Face ID”.

The first option makes it required to pass Face ID every time someone tries to open an app on your phone. The notifications will only have a preview in this case.

The second option hides the apps in a “Hidden” folders in the App Library. It won’t show up in the search results as well.

Redesigned Gallery

iOS 18 comes with a re-designed gallery app. It looks surprisingly different than the old one. We can customize the layout of the library.

But where is the Hidden Folder?

What am I still looking for as a previous Android user?

Focus mode

Focus mode! When I used my Galaxy S20, I could turn on Focus Mode, and all muted notifications would be indeed “muted” – I wouldn’t be able to see those notifications in the “Notification Center”. But using my iPhone, every time when I open the notification center (by scrolling down), I see the notifications from the muted applications.

Fonts

Using my Android phones, I could change the fonts of my phones, globally. I don’t think iOS 18 supports this feature.

Smart Lock

I have been missing this feature since early 2022 when I made the shift to the Apple Ecosystem. I hope that Apple can consider this feature in the near feature.

Issues/Bugs

So far, I have seen the following lists of issues/bugs:

1. I can not access Screen Time in Settings. Every time I click Screen Time from Settings, Settings crashes, and I am redirected to the homepage.
2. When I use the larger icons (which is also a new feature), the icon of the Contacts app will be blank. This issue only exists in dark mode.
3. Sometimes I experience a slow refresh rate, but that’s not very often and I think it’s okay considering it’s the first beta of iOS 18.