Check out these 10 hidden features of iOS 18.2 on iPhone now

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By sarajacob2424@gmail.com


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Now that you’ve done it Convert your drawings into highly detailed drawings, Customize your iPhone’s home screen, A buzz has been added to your text messages And take new samples Apple intelligence Features, what’s next to discover iOS 18.2?

There are many. A lot of the new settings aren’t announced, so they stay under the radar, but that doesn’t mean they’re not important.

We’ve picked out our favorite hidden iOS 18.2 features you should know about.

For more, here Eight iOS 18 settings you want to change right awayhow Back up your iPhone the right way And how Fix these 3 annoying iOS 18 settings.

11 essential accessories your iPhone needs for the holidays

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Restart your iPhone from the new Control Center

You don’t have to press any physical buttons to restart your iPhone if you’re using iOS 18. The redesigned Control Center features all the classic controls you’re used to, like brightness, volume, direction, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, but there are many more… New controls, including an item to restart your iPhone.

All you have to do is swipe down from the top right of your iPhone and… Press and hold the new power button At the top right of the Control Center. You can’t just click on it; You have to hold it for a second or so, after which a slider will appear to turn off your iPhone.

To turn your iPhone back on, you’ll still need to press and hold the physical side button.

Control Center in iOS 18

In iOS 17 and earlier, the only way to restart your iPhone is to press and hold the Volume button and Side button.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Use the QR code to share your Wi-Fi password

There are several ways you can share your Wi-Fi network and password with people via your iPhone, and there’s a new way to do it on iOS 18. Using a QR code fills in some of the gaps for ways to quickly share Wi-Fi. Fi information:

  • Share with multiple people at once. Instead of sending the Wi-Fi password individually, you can ask everyone to scan the QR code from your phone.
  • Share with someone who isn’t saved as your contact. Wi-Fi Nearby Sharing only works if that person is in your contacts.
  • Share with someone who has Android. Nearby Sharing and AirDrop don’t work with Android devices.

Watch this: 11 hidden features in iOS 18

So, if you encounter any of these scenarios and don’t want to send them the Wi-Fi password, you can use a QR code. Go to new Passwords app, go to the Wi-Fi section, tap the network you want to share, then tap Show network QR code. If the other person scans the QR code with their camera, they will be connected to the Wi-Fi network.

wifi qr code

This only works for Wi-Fi passwords, not regular passwords.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Adjust the beam width of your flashlight

The flashlight on the iPhone is getting a major upgrade. You’ve long been able to change the intensity of the flashlight, but in iOS 18 you can now also adjust the width of the light beam, as long as you have a compatible model. You can expand to cover a larger area with less light, or narrow to use more intense light over a smaller area, and everywhere in between. It’s a fun feature you can play with to light up people for photos.

To use the new feature, turn on your flashlight (use the lock screen or Control Center), and a new UI will appear on the dynamic island. You can change the light intensity by scrolling up and down, however To change the beam width, you’ll need to swipe left and right. If you click anywhere on the dynamic island, you can turn the flashlight off and on.

Flashlight in the dynamic island on iOS 18

Wide flashlight beam (left) and narrow beam.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Note: This feature only works on iPhone models with Dynamic Island, including the ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro, ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro Max, iPhone 15 series, and iPhone 16 series.

Share your AirTag with other people

that Air sign It allows you to easily track your luggage while traveling or your keys when they go missing, but sometimes you might want other people to also be able to track your AirTag, especially if you’re on a family vacation or a weekend getaway with your partner. With iOS 18, you can now share any AirTag you have with up to six people.

Don’t miss it: 5 Smart Places to Hide Apple AirTags

To do this, go to the Find My app and find the AirTag you want to share. Scroll to AirTag, and tap Add a person under Share Ertag Choose a contact, or multiple contacts. Finally press Share at the top left and that person will then have to accept your invitation. Once they do this, they will be able to track your AirTag from their Apple device.

Share AirTag settings

Anyone tracking your AirTag will not be notified when it is nearby.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Transcribe voice memos and make them searchable

Voice Memos is incredibly convenient for capturing ideas or song snippets, but they were always vague. You can give them a descriptive title, but that doesn’t help when you want to find that note you took that contains the word “porcupine.” In iOS 18, the app can create transcriptions of your voice memos and search for words that were previously only available as audio waveforms.

In the Voice Memos app, tap one of your memos to reveal its controls, then tap the button Edit the registry The button, which looks like a waveform. Or press the three dots button to the right of the note and choose Edit the registry.

After that, press copies To create copies (or display text if it has already been copied). handle finished.

Two iPhone screenshots of editing a recording in the Voice Memos app. On the left is the recording waveform and the copy button highlighted in red. On the right is the text generated for the audio.

Take an existing voice memo (left) and create a copy of the recording (right).

Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET

Now, when you use the search field, the app searches the texts as well as the results titles. Text is also available via iOS. When you perform a search from the Home screen, you’ll see Voice Memos as a category containing the memos that include the search term (you may need to tap Show more results to detect it).

Two iPhone screenshots of the Voice Memos app. On the left is a search for the term "Porcupine" Shows one result. On the right is the open result showing the text.

With transcripts created, voice memos can be searched more easily.

Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET

Hide app labels for a cleaner home screen

Do you feel like your home screen is a little crowded? If so, this new feature can help. Now with iOS 18, you can get rid of the app labels or app names you see below every app icon on your home screen. If you can identify an app by its icon alone, who needs a label?

On your Home screen, tap and hold any empty space until you enter vibrate mode, then tap Edit > Customize. A menu will appear at the bottom of the screen; Choose big Option that will make your app icons a little larger and remove app labels.

Remove app labels on iOS 18

This will also remove app labels from folders in the App Library.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Change the app into a widget without leaving the home screen

Not every iOS app has a widget for your home screen, but if it does, you don’t need to dig around on the edit widget page to find it. If you’re using iOS 18, and there’s an app you want to turn into a widget, you can do it very quickly right from your Home screen.

In a supported app, press and hold the icon on your home screen to bring up the quick actions menu. If the app has a widget, you’ll see the app icon next to a variety of widget icons (up to three). Click on any of the widget icons To change the application to a widget. If you want to switch back from the widget to the app, go to the Quick Actions menu and tap the app icon on the left.

Convert an app into a widget on iOS 18

This only works for apps with widgets on iOS.

Nelson Aguilar/CNET

Secretly select songs using the action button

No lie, it’s satisfying when someone asks, “What’s this song?” So you can activate music recognition on iPhone and get an answer quickly. To get the answer means significantly asking Siri to turn on Shazam or Activate music recognition in Control Center. Wouldn’t it be fun to let your friends think you’ve got an encyclopedic knowledge of pop music?

In iOS 18, you can get closer using the action button. Go to Settings > Action button He swiped through the options until Identify music It is selected.

Three iPhone screenshots. On the left is the action button setting with music recognition selected. The other two are the iPhone's home screen that displays listening to Shazam and selecting a song in the dynamic island.

Assign music recognition to the action button and then identify songs by simply pressing the button.

Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET

To make it work, just Press and hold the action button For a few seconds. Shazam appears on the dynamic island to listen to what’s playing and recognize the song. If you’re sneaky about activating Shazam and peeking at your phone, no one needs to know you’ve got some help from a supercomputer in the cloud.

Find handwritten photos and illustrations in the Photos app

A lot is changing in the Photos app in iOS 18, from the way things are organized to usability Generative AI for object removal In the pictures. Apple has also baked a few surprises into the app to help you sort through your library.

Scroll down past the main library itself to view categories such as People and pets and memories Until you arrive Facilities. Tap on it to view the full list – but note that a new feature to this interface is the ability to swipe left to view additional panels. Before iOS 18, Utilities included options to view hidden, recently deleted, and duplicate photos.

Now, it includes many options. handle Handwriting To display images that contain handwriting. Are you looking for illustrations, not photographs? handle Illustrations (Although in our tests this seemed to capture a lot of screenshots as well).

Two iPhone screenshots of the Photos app. On the left is a list of utility options with handwriting marked with a red box. On the right are two images that include handwriting, including a paper bag reading "Jeff Coleslaw".

Show photos that contain handwriting in your Photo Library in iOS 18.

Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET

Share a specific section of the podcast

Did your favorite podcast hosts say something particularly funny or thoughtful that you want to share with someone? In the Podcasts app in iOS 18, you can send an episode to a friend with advanced playback for that moment — but the capability isn’t easy to find.

Click on Now Playing bar in the app at the bottom of the screen to view playback controls and pause the loop. Use the progress bar to return to the beginning of the section you want to share.

After that, press more (…) button and select Share the episode. In the sharing options that appear, tap From the beginning Below the episode title, then select From (current time). handle finished.

Two iPhone screenshots showing the Podcasts app. On the left is a playing podcast with a ticker highlighted

Start by sharing the episode itself.

Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET

Finally, choose how to share, such as via message or mail. When the recipient receives the shared episode and opens it in the Podcasts app, they’ll see the option Play from (time).

Two iPhone screenshots showing the Podcasts app. On the left are the sharing options with a button

Specify that the shared episode starts at the time you chose.

Screenshot by Jeff Carlson/CNET





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