How to (Mostly) Fix the New IPhone Photos App
Not all of the changes made in iOS 18 went down well with users, and the updated Photos app in particular received a lot of negative feedback regarding its new layout.
Once your fingers get used to a certain way of working, it can be frustrating having to switch between taps and swipes required to access certain functions in Photos. Users have not been shy about complaining about the elimination of tabs and the increased focus on memories and other library highlights.
Now, while there’s unfortunately no way to go back to the old way iOS 17 works (though if enough people complain loudly enough, Apple might listen), there are ways to customize the iOS 18 Photos app and make it a better experience for you.
Customizing the appearance of the application
The new Photos app requires a lot of scrolling, and if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the app’s home screen, you’ll find an option labeled “Customize and reorder.” Click on this and you’ll be able to have a little more control over how the app displays different sections and shortcuts.
For those sections that you want to see more prominently (such as the Albums section, which had its own tab in the previous version of Photos), drag the section name up closer to the top using the handles on the right. Here you’ll see several familiar sections, including Media Types and Utilities .
If you want to reduce app clutter and don’t want to see a certain section at all—for example, “Wallpaper Suggestions” or “Recent Days “—simply tap the checkmark to the left of a section to deselect it. It will disappear from the main Photos interface, but you can always bring it back if you change your mind.
If you’ve lost track of your changes and want to start over, click Reset in the top left corner. To see what your changes look like, tap the X in the top right corner to go back—you can keep adding, removing, and rearranging until you’re happier with how the app looks.
Making more interface settings
The Customize and Reorder menu isn’t the only option to make the iOS 18 Photos app more usable. In some sections, including Media Types and Utilities , you can swipe left and right to open different subgroups and prioritize the links you use most often.
If you see a Pinned Collections section, tap Edit to control which shortcuts appear here: If the old Photos app is missing certain shortcuts, you can get them back. Click the green “+” (plus) buttons to add sections, the red “- ” (minus) buttons to remove sections, and use the handles on the right to change the order.
There are many different sections you can add here, including Recently Saved , Favorites, and Videos . If you scroll all the way down, you’ll see a link for “Any Collection” or “Album” —click on it and you can set up easy access to a specific collection or album of notes in your photo library.
Scroll up rather than down on the main Photos page and you’ll also have the option to customize what’s shown on screen: Click the two-arrow button (bottom left), then Filters and View Options to make changes— you can, for example, hide screenshots or just show favorites.