At its annualWWDC conference for 2024, Apple finally pulled the curtain off its highly anticipatediOS 18software update. Headlining features includeApple Intelligence– the company’s first major foray into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – as well as a more customizable home screen and a redesigned Control Center.
As always, when it comes to major iOS updates, there are tons of smaller UI features being uncovered post-keynote, including a number of tweaks, which are detailed in a thread byGreg Sarafian on X.
Here are 5 such features that Apple neglected to mention on stage, but are cool and worthwhile additions nonetheless.
At WWDC 2024, Apple had no new ideas to share
The updates Apple is bringing with iOS 18, watchOS 11, and Apple Intelligence are polished, but awfully familiar.
1The redesigned flashlight interface
Giving you more granular control over your iPhone’s LED flash module
For a number of years now, it’s been possible to adjust your iPhone’s rear LED intensity when using it as a flashlight. While nice conceptually, it’s been fairly limiting as it only allows for 4 distinct intensities of brightness.
That’s where iOS 18 comes in – toggling the flashlight tile in Control Center reveals an entirely brand-new interface.
This new design not only looks cool with its fresh coat of paint, but it actually unlocks new functionality as well. You can now adjust the width of your flashlight beam in real time, to focus in on or diffuse the light according to your needs.
2The brilliant new volume control animation
Apple’s attention to detail remains unrivaled
Apple snuck a delightful new animation into iOS 18, one that’s incredibly easy to miss but serves as a testament to the company’s attention to detail.
Pressing the volume up or volume down keys on your iPhone will net you the same slider interface as before, but with the playful new addition of your phone bezel animating to the tune of each button press.
It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it addition, to be sure, but once you’ve noticed it, it quickly becomes addictive to trigger the animation over and over again.
3Real-time widget and app icon resizing
Live Tiles live on, at least in spirit
When Apple first introduced widgets to the iPhone, it designated distinct size categories: small, medium, and large. With iOS 18, it’s now become far easier to switch between these size classes, or to even turn an app icon directly into a widget or vice versa.
This functionality comes courtesy of a new option when long pressing an app on the home screen, and it has to be said that the entire experience feels deeply inspired by Windows Phone. Live tiles worked precisely in this way, allowing for real-time shape and size shifting to make your home screen truly your own.
4A power button within the Control Center
A small but very welcome tweak, indeed
A few years back, Apple remapped the long press of the sleep/wake button to invoke Siri as opposed to the power menu by default. The power menu is still accessible via a long press of the sleep/wake + volume up button combination, or by finding the option within the Settings app.
With iOS 18, Apple has poached an idea from competing platforms by simply introducing a power button into the Control Center interface. This is a small but incredibly welcome addition, as it’s far more accessible than the aforementioned ways of invoking the power menu.
I’d love to see Apple add a shortcut to the Settings app within the Control Center as well, but the new power button is certainly a step in the right direction if you ask me.
5The new Details view in the Calendar app
You can finally say goodbye to those annoying, nondescript dots littering your screen
Apple’s default Calendar app on iOS has always been good enough at the basics, but I’ve long felt that the interface lacked some needed flexibility. While my complaints haven’t yet been fully addressed, I’m happy to learn that a new Details view has indeed been incorporated into the app.
This new Details view replaces those annoying dots that each represent a calendar event, with a far more useful view that actually displays the title of your events in question. This is a bigger quality of life improvement than it sounds, especially when you’re trying to quickly skim through your calendar week-by-week.
We now know more details about Apple’s RCS implementation in iOS 18 Messages
It looks like China’s rules are forcing Apple to stay reasonably current.
