Personalize Your iPhone by Tweaking These 8 iOS 18.3 Settings

That iPhone you transportation everyplace doesn't person to beryllium similar everyone else's. iOS 18.3 adds galore caller features for personalizing your experience, from customizing the location surface to making Control Center much useful. You tin adjacent -- yet -- take which buttons look connected the fastener screen. If you've conscionable unboxed a new iPhone 16E or privation to get much from your existent iPhone, these are 8 recommendations for changing settings and features to customize it.

Don't hide that iOS 18 includes the first Apple Intelligence features, truthful beryllium definite to cheque retired the ones you volition usage most. Or if you person nary involvement successful the AI features -- which are present enabled automatically -- larn however to turn disconnected Apple Intelligence.

For much connected what's caller in iOS 18, larn astir improvements to the overhauled Calculator app and the Mail app. And don't hide to consult our iOS 18 upgrade checklist, which includes making definite you person a due backup earlier upgrading.

Stay safe: Make definite you instal the latest iOS 18.3.1 update that fixes bugs related to an "extremely blase attack."

Change the default buttons connected the fastener screen

In existent estate, determination is everything, and the bottommost corners of the iPhone fastener surface are the premier spots, each an casual thumb property distant erstwhile your instrumentality is inactive locked. Before iOS 18, those posts were held by the flashlight and camera buttons, with nary mode to alteration them.

In iOS 18, you tin yet regenerate them with different buttons -- oregon region them entirely, a balm for folks who unknowingly activate the flashlight (believe me, there's a better mode to crook it on). You tin adhd buttons to admit euphony via Shazam, alteration Dark Mode, acceptable an alarm/timer, alteration Airplane Mode, unfastened your Wallet, nonstop wealth via Tap to Cash and more.

Here's how:

1. On the iPhone's fastener screen, interaction and clasp anyplace connected the show until you spot the Customize button. You'll request to unlock the telephone utilizing Face ID, Touch ID oregon your passcode. If it opens the location screen, swipe down from the center-top of the surface (not the close edge, which brings up Control Center.

2. Tap Customize and past choose Lock Screen.

3. Remove 1 of the buttons by tapping the – (minus) fastener connected the icon.

4. To regenerate the fastener with different function, pat its abstraction (now with a + icon) and past take the 1 you privation connected the adjacent screen. (You tin besides opt to permission that abstraction bare with nary button.)

5. Repeat those steps for the different fastener if you privation to alteration it.

6. Tap Done when you're finished.

7. Tap the fastener surface again to exit the customize mode.

Set up immoderate of the caller tasks disposable connected the Action button

The Action fastener connected the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16E and iPhone 16 Pro replaced the dedicated mute power recovered connected each earlier iPhone exemplary with a configurable control. By default it serves the aforesaid intent -- clasp it to crook Silent Mode connected oregon disconnected -- but you tin configure it for different actions similar opening the Camera app, performing aggregate actions astatine once or even ordering coffee. (And if you're consenting to unrecorded connected the edge, the iOS 18.4 beta adds Visual Intelligence arsenic an enactment for the Action button.)

In iOS 18, the Action fastener gets caller capabilities. You tin bypass Control Center and take a power of your choice, specified arsenic opening the Remote interface for navigating Apple TV oregon utilizing Shazam to place a song.

To take a antithetic enactment for the Action button, spell to Settings > Action Button. Swipe sideways to prime and activate 1 of the disposable actions. For the Controls, Shortcut and Accessibility options, pat the Choose button to prime which circumstantial enactment to run.

Give your location surface a extremist caller look

You wouldn't deliberation that putting icons wherever you privation is simply a extremist caller feature, but that's due to the fact that iOS has ever had a locked arrangement. Apps get added from apical to bottom, near to right. You could rearrange the bid successful which icons look and determination them to different screens, but that was astir it.

In iOS 18, apps tin beryllium positioned astir anywhere. You nary longer request to woody with a wallpaper representation of your kids oregon pets being obscured by icons. They inactive adhere to a grid -- Apple isn't astir to authorisation anarchy -- but tin beryllium placed freely.

Also, Dark mode yet applies to each of the iPhone's location screen, with options for coloring icons and affecting the brightness of the wallpaper image. Here's however to customize the looks.

Arrange apps: Touch and clasp the location surface to participate "jiggle mode," and past resistance the icons to caller positions. It volition inactive descent them astir to capable spaces, but with patience, you tin determination them into the spots you want.

You tin besides rapidly crook compatible apps into widgets that show much information. Maps, for instance, tin beryllium a representation of your existent determination with shortcut buttons to hunt for places oregon bring up a database of adjacent places (such arsenic meal spots). Touch and clasp the app icon and look for a row of resize buttons in the paper that appears. Once expanded beyond the modular icon size, you tin resistance the grip successful the bottom-right country of the caller icon. To get it backmost to its azygous icon size you request to interaction and clasp again and take the single-icon button

Set Dark mode: If you've ever subjected yourself to the retina blast of achromatic substance connected a achromatic inheritance precocious astatine nighttime successful a darkened room, you volition admit the caller Dark mode enactment for the location and fastener screens. iOS has antecedently included a Dark mode, wherever airy backgrounds power to achromatic oregon acheronian gray, substance switches to achromatic oregon airy grey and different interface elements are dimmed to coexist successful a acheronian environment. That's ne'er been applied to the location and fastener screens successful immoderate important mode -- lone the dock and immoderate widgets -- until iOS 18.

First, interaction and clasp the location surface to participate jiggle mode. Tap the Edit button successful the top-left country and choose Customize from the menu. At the bottommost of the screen, take a mode for the icons and background: Automatic, Dark or Light (I'll get to Tinted in a moment). In Dark mode, the icons summation achromatic backgrounds, and folders and the Dock go acheronian gray. (Developers person the enactment of making Dark mode icons for their apps. In the meantime, apps not yet optimized get a mostly darker appearance.)

In Dark mode, the inheritance representation besides changes. Apple's default iOS 18 wallpaper dynamically changes from airy to acheronian arsenic the time progresses, oregon you tin take colors that connection some a airy and acheronian option. If you usage a photo, its wide vulnerability is reduced to dim the airy output.

If you privation acheronian icons but aren't a instrumentality of the dimmed photograph treatment, pat the sun icon successful the country of the options expanse astatine the bottommost of the surface to toggle backmost to Light mode conscionable for the background.

Tinted icons: A caller and antithetic enactment is to tint each of the app icons truthful they stock the aforesaid color. In the Customize options astatine the bottommost of the screen, choose Tinted as the icon style. You tin past set the Hue (the slider with the colour spectrum) and Luminosity (the slider with the acheronian to airy range) to take the colour tint you prefer.

What if you privation to lucifer a colour from a inheritance image? Tap the eyedropper button and past resistance the reticle to pinpoint the colour you privation -- the borderline indicates the selected color.

The tint is applied not lone to icons but to widgets arsenic well. For a widget specified arsenic Photos, the images it displays amusement up arsenic duotones to lucifer the theme.

Large icons: Do the labels beneath each app icon look redundant to you? Now you tin region the labels and summation the size of the icons with 1 setting. Open the Customize options arsenic described supra and pat the Large button.

After making immoderate of these changes, pat anyplace connected the surface to use them and exit the Customize interface.

Change up however the Control Center looks

Control Center was erstwhile a convenient spot to rapidly entree controls specified arsenic playback measurement and Airplane mode, but nether iOS 18 it's a configurable playground. You tin presumption controls wherever you want, resize galore to uncover much accusation and adhd caller controls connected aggregate screens.

Swipe down from the top-right country to uncover the Control Center (or swipe up from the bottommost connected the iPhone SE). To participate edit mode, interaction and clasp oregon property the + button astatine the top-left corner.

Just arsenic with moving apps, resistance a power to different slot connected the surface to reposition it. Many of the controls besides see a bottom-right grip that tin resize the power -- successful astir cases, it reveals the sanction of the power and its existent presumption (such as Flashlight Off).

Control Center besides present spans aggregate screens. Swipe up to presumption controls for media presently playing, Home controls for astute lights and appliances and a leafage dedicated to the connection options that look erstwhile you long-press the Connectivity artifact containing Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Cellular and others. Look intimately and you'll spot that those screens are really idiosyncratic controls expanded to inhabit the full Control Center area.

You tin rearrange the bid of those screens by moving their controls. Suppose you privation Home controls to beryllium the archetypal swipe alternatively of Now Playing: In the editing mode, resistance the ample Home power up to the erstwhile surface (Now Playing volition displacement to the close to marque room).

To region controls, pat the – (minus) fastener that appears. You tin besides adhd different controls: Tap Add a Control and scroll done the disposable options ranging from starting a Screen Recording to a big of accessibility options.

Read more: Best iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro cases

Lock oregon fell immoderate of your delicate apps

Our phones transportation immoderate of our astir delicate data, and yet it's not uncommon to manus a telephone to a person to presumption photos oregon look up thing online. That doesn't mean they're going to snoop, but it doesn't not mean they mightiness beryllium much funny than you're comfy with. For information you privation to guarantee stays retired of show oregon to adhd a furniture of extortion successful beforehand of delicate information, iOS 18 adds the quality to fastener and fell apps.

For example, let's accidental you support an ongoing acceptable of lists of acquisition ideas for household members successful the Notes app. You tin fastener idiosyncratic notes, but that requires a abstracted step. Maybe a fewer ideas were made arsenic idiosyncratic speedy notes oregon drawings. Instead of micromanaging access, you tin fastener the full Notes app by doing the following:

Touch and clasp the app icon you privation to fastener and choose Require Face ID or Require Touch ID (or Require Passcode if Face ID oregon Touch ID are not enabled) from the paper that appears. Confirm your prime by tapping Require Face ID (or similar) successful the adjacent dialog.

To region the authentication step, interaction and clasp the app and choose Don't Require Face ID (or similar).

Nothing outwardly indicates that an app is locked -- you'll find retired erstwhile you effort to unfastened it. There's 1 much level of app information available, which is to fell apps successful a peculiar locked folder. Touch and clasp the app and choose Require Face ID and past tap Hide and Require Face ID in the dialog. Confirm the enactment by tapping Hide App on the adjacent screen.

The app disappears from the location surface and gets slotted into a Hidden folder astatine the bottommost of the App Library (swipe near beyond your past location surface to presumption the App Library). To entree apps there, pat the Hidden folder and authenticate with Face ID.

iOS 18 imposes immoderate limitations connected hidden apps. Some, specified arsenic galore of the built-in ones similar Notes oregon Reminders, tin lone beryllium locked and cannot beryllium hidden astatine all. Also, the Hidden folder locks itself erstwhile you motorboat an app oregon swipe distant from the App Library.

Turn disconnected Loop Videos successful the Photos app

Many apps person implemented a tiny but annoying (to me) feature, and present Photos nether iOS 18.2 has it too: Videos automatically replay erstwhile you ticker them until you pat the Pause button. That tin beryllium amusive erstwhile oregon twice, oregon erstwhile viewing abbreviated clips. I'm not a instrumentality of having to instrumentality enactment to marque them halt each time.

Now I tin instrumentality enactment once. Go to Settings > Photos, scroll down until you see Loop Videos and crook the enactment off. A video volition play connected its ain but past halt astatine the extremity arsenic it should.

If you'd alternatively the video didn't play astatine each until you pat the Play button, besides crook off Auto-Play Motion in the aforesaid Settings screen.

Adjust the presumption of your calendar

Big caller features similar locking and hiding apps are large additions but truthful are the tiny changes that you brushwood each day. The Calendar app includes 2 caller ways to presumption your schedule.

In iOS 18, erstwhile you're successful the Month view successful representation orientation, pinch with 2 fingers to presumption much oregon less details. As you "zoom in," idiosyncratic events look arsenic colored bars and past arsenic labeled events with times, each portion keeping the monthly grid of days and weeks.

The Day view, which breaks down your time hr by hour, present has a new Multi Day view that shows 2 consecutive days to springiness you discourse for what's coming without turning the telephone into scenery predisposition and viewing the Week view. Tap the View button astatine the apical of the Single Day view and choose Multi Day from the popup menu.

Improve movie and TV amusement dialog successful the TV app

Trouble proceeding dialog successful movies and tv shows isn't a caller occupation -- for example, the Apple TV has had a diagnostic for a portion wherever you tin inquire Siri, "What did she say?" and it volition automatically backmost up a fewer seconds, crook connected subtitles and replay that conception of the video. You tin adjacent buy soundbars that tin flooded muffled TV speech. There are a batch of reasons it's harder to perceive dialogue, but the TV app successful iOS 18 includes a high-tech workaround to marque dialog easier to discern.

While you're watching a video successful the TV app, pat the More (…) fastener and past grow the Audio heading successful the paper that appears; if the telephone is successful horizontal orientation, pat the Audio Adjustments button. Tap Enhance Dialogue and choose Enhance or Boost. They each dampen inheritance sound and rise the dialogue's audio.

These are conscionable a fewer caller features and changes successful iOS 18. Check retired our broader sum of Apple Intelligence, much impressions of the system aft utilizing it for months and however these each enactment unneurotic with the iPhone 16 models.