If you're an iPhone user the next iOS update has some great new features to get excited about come September.
iOs 18 Beta 2 has been released as of June 25th. Here are some of the features being added today.
You'll need a Mac running Sequoia 2 for this feature to mean anything to you. This allows you to mirror your iPhone screen to your Mac. This also allows for the SharePlay screen sharing feature, which will allow you to take over another iPhone's screen.
You'll see a tottle for RCS Messaging in your iMessage settings. While this is enabled, the feature doesn't seem to be active yet. RCS Messaging will show when the other person is typing, and offer read receipts. One could assume if a iMessage user is texting with a non iMessage user, these features would be available on both sides.
Enable RCS by going to Settings -> Apps -> Messages. Scroll down and you'll see RCS Messaging - But only if you are on a US carrier... for now.
Apple has added a + icon in the Passwords App to add login information. This is fast becoming a viable replacement for third part password managers such as BitWarden
This one was a little inevitable. Not the most exciting, but it's nice to have all the same features for the baked-in iPhone apps
This is one of those about time sort of features that, if you're coming from Android isn't going to feel so special. Apple has made it possible now to place your icons on your home screen(s) wherever you'd like on the screen, instead of just being able to change their order.
The bigger deal here is the ability to change the color of your icons (color tint), and even enable dark mode icons, have the dark mode automatically change based on time.
This feature lets you lock, or hide certain applications, requiring an authentication method to open them. For example, if you want to lock your photos app, you can set it to require your faceID to open it. Hidden applications can act in a similar way, but can be hidden away in a folder, requiring authentication to open. Appliactions in this area aren't viewable until providing the authentication method required. I'm not sure what kind of apps people need to be hiding, but to each their own.
Swiping down from the top of your iPhone will open the Control Center. This is nothing new, but in iOS 18, you now have several, customizable screens.
This is a major redesign. Apple is calling it their biggest redesign of Photos ever. I would say that's accurate, but im not saying I like it... yet. Like any major redesign I think it'll take me a while to get used to it.
Something that was unveiled with the Apple Watch Ultra, will be available to iPhone users this fall.
I was a little taken back when they revealed this feature. To put it simply, you can send cash to other iPhone users, simply by bringing your iPhones together. For those transactions that don't have a terminal, such as... garage sales, kijiji sales... and we'll leave it to your imagination. Follow this link to read more on how to setup Apple Cash