It’s fair to say that iOS 18 is more highly customizable than any previous version. iOS 16’s big custom lock screen update definitely allowed us to add a little personality to our iPhones, but it’s nothing compared to the freedom of tinkering offered in iOS 18.
Unfortunately, this means you’re going to have to do a bit of work. Apple’s latest major update lets you customize lock screen shortcuts, expanded action button customization (which is now available on all new models), finally gives you full control over the Home screen layout and color and includes an all-new Control Center. with multiple pages, third-party controls, resizable controls, etc. And let’s not forget the redesigned Photos app, which has moved and reorganized All.
The freedom to customize these elements as you wish is unprecedented, but the need to personalize these things. The defaults aren’t particularly good, and in some cases have infuriated users who update and can’t stand the way Apple has changed things. You may really like iOS 18, but you’ll first have to spend a lot of time setting things up the way you like them. What a chore!
Make the Action button more useful
Last year, the Action button was reserved for the iPhone 15 Pro, but this year it’s present on all four iPhone 16 models. Plus, Apple added a few more options to it, and it’s easy to configure, so let’s start there. Open Settings > Action button and scroll through the options to choose something that you think might be a little more useful than the mute function.
Apple offers many options, but the most powerful is the ability to launch a shortcut, which allows you to perform powerful actions with a long press of the Action button. You can play around with it or find good examples on MacStories.net.
My favorite feature is setting the Action button to open Control Center, which is only possible if you’re using iOS 18.1 (in beta, as of this writing). Here’s how to do it: Create a new shortcut and add the “Show Control Center” action to it. That’s it! (Here’s a link to mine if you find it useful: open it on your iPhone.) Next, go to the Action Button settings menu and configure it to enable this shortcut.
Replace your lock screen buttons
The next easiest thing to do to customize iOS 18 the way you want is to swap your lock screen buttons. It’s been about flashlights and cameras for so long that you may have never thought about what you’d want them to be. With iOS 18, you can choose from many more features, and third-party apps may even make these features available here.
Long-press your lock screen (if you’re on your home screen, drag your notifications panel down from the top edge). Tap Personalize, then Lock screen. You can tap the icons to remove them and then replace them with other functions. You can Shazam a song, open an app, start a timer, open ChatGPT and much more.
If you own an iPhone 16 with the camera control button, your camera will be within reach no matter what you do on your iPhone, so you can definitely replace the lock screen button from the camera.
Rearrange your home screens
Maybe you have your home screen(s) set up exactly the way you want. Maybe you keep a dozen folders from years past, refusing to give the app library a chance. That’s nice, but you can still enjoy a little glow on your home screen.
Tap and hold any empty spot on your home screen until the icons all shake and get a (-) symbol in the corner. You can now drag your icons wherever you want, even leaving empty spaces for widgets or just to see your wallpaper better.
In this view, tap Edit at the top left, then tap Customize. Here you can change the size of the icons, set them to always be dark or light, or give them a custom tinted look. If you want to go further, add widgets (drag widgets of the same size on top of each other to create a smart stack) or add or remove entire pages from the Home screen.
Build a control center you’ll love
This will likely take longer than any other customization step, but it can also have the most impact (especially if you set your action button to open Control Center, as described above).
Open Control Center (swipe down from the top right corner) and tap the + button in the top left corner. This will put you in Edit mode.
You can tap and drag the controls to rearrange them, or tap and drag the corner to resize them. Some controls look and behave really differently depending on size, so experiment with them.
Tap (+) Add Control at the bottom of the screen to add new controls. Some of the apps you have installed may also provide controls, and others will update to add new controls over time.
Keep in mind that the Control Center has several pages and you swipe up and down to switch between them. You can place multiple copies of the same control on different pages, or even on the same page.
Repair the Photos app
The new Photos app in iOS 18 has received mixed reviews (to put it charitably), but most of its problems come from all the scrolling and swiping you have to do to get what you want.
Just scroll down and tap Customize and rearrange. You can disable the categories you don’t want and drag the ones you want into a different order. With a little pruning, the Photos app becomes much easier to use.
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