Opinion: iOS 18 has arrived and it’s awesome

I’m making one statement clear before everyone reads this article: I do not claim to be a technology nerd, but some technological advancements excite me.

On Sept. 16, 2024, Apple launched iOS 18 across multiple devices claiming that iOS 18 would allow “more customization than ever” among other changes.

Apple did not disappoint.

There are many ways to customize new things from adjusting the beam width of the light from the flashlight - only on iPhone 14 and newer models - to solving math equations through the math notes tab in the calculator app - this is not a joke.

Middle and high school math teachers will no longer be enemies with Photomath, they’ll despise the Apple calculator app instead, and honestly more power to them because the next generation of students could suffer from technological advancements like iOS 18.

I could ramble on all day about high school math and the traumatizing experiences I had taking math classes but the purpose of this article isn’t math, it’s iOS 18.

My Favorite iOS 18 features

Take a look at the picture below:

You may be confused at what I’m pointing out and that’s because I haven’t made it clear yet. Look at “Require Face ID” and take a minute to ponder what it could be telling you. If you came to the conclusion that iOS 18 allows you to require face ID for any app you want then you’ve won the awesome prize of an imaginary “congrats” from me.

Password-locking individual applications will probably result in the termination of relationships across the world but I think the feature is awesome, especially for keeping information - like personal notes in the Journal App - protected from people who may have access to your phone.

Since we are talking about passwords, it’s only proper to introduce everyone to the new Passwords App.

The Password App is the one-stop shop for all your passwords and is an interesting new app. Inside the app, there is a wifi tab where you can share wifi passwords via QR codes if you have large groups of people over to your home, apartment, office, etc; and need to share the password quickly.

I don’t know all the ins and outs of the app yet, but it seems fascinating and feels like an app to familiarize oneself with.

I will be password-protecting this app because it holds passwords to everything else on your phone if you sync them up.

An underrated new feature that I haven’t seen talked about enough is the ability to search photos in the Photos app.

When you open the app you’ll see a magnifying glass in the top right corner of the screen and from there once you click the icon you will be led to a page that looks like this:

I searched “June 2022” on my phone and every picture and video I took from June of 2022 populated my phone. I don’t know how specific you can get with these searches but it’s something that could be fun to play around with.

The Photos App underwent major general updates with iOS 18. Apple’s technology now simplifies photos into select categories to make finding the photos you are looking for easier.

Here’s a change that will become a staple in daily life that will be underappreciated by everyone:

You can react to texts with any emoji that you feel fits now. For all of my friends reading this, sorry in advance for the fire emojis you receive from me.

An interesting new change to Safari that could save the easily distracted - including myself - is the new “hide distracting items” function.

Essentially, when you open up an article or anything in Safari you can hide things that you don’t want to see while locked in and reading. In the above picture, you may also see “Translate Website”. I have yet to use the feature but intuition tells me this could be huge for students in world language classes.

For the hikers out there, Apple Maps now offers a way to track your hikes and has hiking trails across the United States National Parks for anyone to enjoy.

For the gamers who may be reading this, there is a new “Game Mode” feature that activates when you open any mobile game on your device. According to the Apple Newsroom, Game Mode, “Enhances the gaming experience with more consistent frame rates, especially during long play sessions, and makes AirPods, game controllers and other wireless accessories even more responsive.”

There are many more features that I didn’t even begin to talk about in iOS 18 that I still need to discover and learn more about.

Maybe this article will convince you to update your phone or you’ll be like my 52-year-old father and refuse to update your phone because you want to “stay off the radar”.

Either way, after sifting through the changes from iOS 18 I will confidently say I can’t wait for iOS 19 and the new features from it.

Hayden Lewis is a third-year majoring in digital journalism and media. To contact him, please email lewis1818hayden@gmail.com.