Features to try on iOS 18, iPad OS 18, macOS Sequoia, and more

From iOS 18 to MacOS, these are the features you should check out once Apple rolls out their new operating systems.

It’s that time of the year again when Apple launches brand new operating systems all across their devices. It’s usually the new iOS on the iPhone that gets a lot of coverage but new OS updates are coming to the company’s other devices as well like the Apple Watch, the Mac, and even the Apple TV. There’s plenty to explore with these brand new features if you own an Apple device and even more so if you’ve got an Apple ecosystem of devices. We break down for you the features you should try out in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, watchOS 11, and Apple’s updates on their home devices including Apple TV.

[Hero image: Apple]

iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and more: The features you should try when Apple launches their updates

iOS 18

Customisation 

The keynote during this year’s WWDC already showed off the new customisation options available in iOS 18. Along with being able to finally place icons wherever you want, you can also change their colours and sizes. You can also hide the names of the apps when you make their icons large.

Aside from the home page, you can now also customise the Control Centre, including how big each control is. The new Control Centre is now split into sections so you can find music or connection controls easily. You can also add your own section if you want to.

Photos

The Photos app has gotten a bit of a redesign and it may take a bit to get reacquainted with the new layout, but the new format is for the better. You can now customise what albums show up on the menu so it’s less crowded. You can also easily navigate between your favourite albums by featuring them so that all you have to do is swipe left and right. And if you’re like me and like to navigate through photos just by browsing through all of them, you can now also filter screenshots.

Search for photos has also improved. You can already search for people’s names but now you can also narrow the search by including a location or even what the colour of their clothes are in the photo.

Messages

The biggest thing that Apple boasted about with Messages is the new reactions, or “tapbacks” as they call it, and the ability to include effects to the text of your message. But more importantly for us here in Thailand, Quickpath typing is now available for the Thai keyboard. For those that don’t know what Quickpath is, it’s typing by simply swiping on the keyboard.

Calculator

The new update brings history to the Calculator, which means you can go back to your previous calculations without ease. But perhaps the biggest addition to the Calculator is the converter. There’s no need to Google length, temperature, or even currency conversions. The Calculator app already has that built in. 

Flashlight

The flashlight has a new look and a new capability thanks to iOS 18. You can now control how wide and strong the beam by simply dragging on the digital flashlight that shows up.

iPad OS 18

Tab bars

It’s a simple update but it makes navigating so much easier. You can now customise tab bars on apps which allows you to easily access parts of the app you frequently use.

Smartscript

If your handwriting looks cleaner than usual, it’s not you. That’s the new Smartscript feature that’s polishing your handwriting when you use the Apple Pencil and write on the Notes app. Aside from cleaning up your handwriting to make it more legible, you can also now copy and paste your own handwriting.

Math Notes

The update many people are excited about for the iPadOS 18 is that the Calculator app is finally on the iPad, but it also brings Math Notes. You can now simply write calculations on Notes and it will automatically solve it for you. If you change variables, it will take that into account. It can also make a graph based on your calculation. Math students are definitely rejoicing while their teachers are fuming.

macOS Sequoia

iPhone Mirroring

Do you hate having to pick up your phone to do something while working on your Mac and wish you could do it right there on the laptop instead? The new iPhone Mirroring allows you to do just that. You’ll be able to use your phone from your Mac and use it normally. You can even play games from the iPhone Mirroring app if you’d like.

Window tiling

Sequoia now allows you to tile your windows neatly without the use of a third-party app. You can organise your windows side by side or a four-tiered window for a more decluttered experience. 

Passwords

Your passwords now have a dedicated app where they’re stored instead of just being in the Settings. This also includes any passkeys and wifi passwords you may have stored. These are auto-filled when you’re using Safari but if you prefer Chrome, they’ve got an extension you can download.

watchOS 11

Smart(er) Stack

The Apple Watch will intuitively bring up things on Smart Stack that you might need during a certain part of the day or depending on the situation you’re in. For example, if it detects music, it will bring up Shazam so you can find out what the track is. Or if heavy rain is imminent, it will bring the Weather stack up so you can see it. 

Vitals and Training Load

The Watch will take measurements of your vitals (heart rate, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, etc) and will warn you if there are any drastic changes. A new measurement the Watch also tracks is Training Load, which can help you in tracking whether you need to push more in your workouts or take a rest day. 

Translate

The new Translate app is available in watchOS 11. Speak right into the watch and it will translate whatever you say in a few seconds.

Home updates

Security

You now have the ability to grant “Guess Access” to certain people. This means that you can limit the devices that people can control in your home. You can also limit which days they can have that control, especially if for example you have someone house-sitting for you.

SharePlay

Hosting a party in your house and want everyone to contribute to the music? With SharePlay, guests can do just that, even if they don’t have an Apple Music subscription. As long as you have it and you’re the host, they can contribute to the playlist.

Apple TV

Subtitles definitely help when watching but if you still prefer to actually hear what characters are saying, you can turned on Enhanced Audio, which boosts voices and lessens the ambient noise. For the times when your subtitles are off (though I don’t see why you would do that unless you’re a maniac), Apple TV will intuitively bring up subtitles when you rewind to hear whatever was said.

Hosting a karaoke party on Apple TV is now possible with the Sing feature on Apple Music. But to truly give you a one-of-a-kind experience, you can set up another Apple device and point its cameras at you and your friends so you show up on screen. You can also play with various effects just for the fun of it.

Read about iOS 18 and all the other OS updates Apple is rolling out on their website