The Best New IOS Features for People Who Hate AI
iOS 18.2 is ready to release today and comes with a host of new features, primarily focused on Apple Intelligence . While I’m personally interested in these AI features, including Image Playground, Genmoji, and ChatGPT integration , I have several older Apple devices that don’t support any of them. If you’re in the same boat or just don’t like AI, iOS 18.2 still has plenty of reasons to upgrade as it comes with a ton of new features that have nothing to do with AI . Here are some of my favorites.
How to update to iOS 18.2
On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the iOS 18.2 update. Apple says the update is out now , although it appears to be rolling out rather slowly as no one at Lifehacker has access to it yet. It’ll likely be waiting for you sometime this afternoon, but alternatively, you can simply turn on automatic update on the same page to update your phone to iOS 18.2 while it charges overnight.
Easily change default apps on your iPhone
If you’re tired of Apple’s default apps for mail, messages, and web browsing, iOS 18.2 makes it super easy to change those default settings . Go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps to change all the default settings on one page. The options available are: browser, email app, messaging app, call filtering service, password manager, and keyboard.
Camera control settings on iPhone 16
The iPhone 16 series features a camera control button that lets you click photos and quickly adjust camera settings . In iOS 18.2, Apple added a few more features to this button. For example, you can now lightly press the button to lock exposure and focus before clicking a photo. Another important addition prevents the iPhone 16’s camera from accidentally turning on. This feature is called Require Screen to Turn On, and it will prevent your iPhone from opening the camera when the screen is off. This feature is enabled by default and you can find it under Settings > Display & Brightness > Require Screen to Turn On .
Share the location of my items with anyone
You can share the location of your AirTag or other Find My accessory with trusted third parties, such as airline employees, if you need their help tracking down lost items. In the Find My app, go to the Items tab, select your accessory, and select Share Item Location to share its location for a limited time.
Safari browsing improvements
iOS 18.2 brings several important features to the iPhone and iPad versions of Safari. One of my favorites is that you can now easily import or export browsing data to or from Safari by going to your device’s Settings app and going to the Safari section. There are also new background images to customize Safari’s start page, and iPhone owners with Dynamic Island will notice that Safari now uses it to show file download progress. However, the most important addition is that the browser will automatically update http URLs to the more secure https.
Automatically remove location data when sharing photos
When you post photos and videos in your favorite app, iOS 18.2 lets you automatically remove location data from the image . You can also customize the format to share them. These features are found under Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos > [APP NAME] > Options . Please note that you will need to do this on a per-app basis, and that some app developers do not yet support this feature.
Add volume controls to your iPhone’s home screen
The moment you play music or videos on your iPhone and lock the screen, you will see a Now Playing widget on your lock screen. In iOS 18.2, you can now add a volume slider to the Now Playing widget on the Lock screen . This allows you to control volume without pressing physical volume buttons. This feature is found in Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Video > Always Show Volume Control .
A few more improvements
iOS 18.2 comes with several more new features. You’ll notice that the Mail app now has improved categorization and sorts your email into four tabs: General, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions. The Photos app also has a few minor design changes, including the ability to scroll frame by frame while watching a video. Voice memos now also support multi-level recording. This means you can add vocals to a song idea and import it as a two-track project in Logic Pro on iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max.