Update Your IPhone to Make Sure FaceTime’s Mute Button Actually Works
Some software updates introduce a number of features and changes, while others fundamentally change the experience of using the device in question. iOS 18.5 is neither: it’s a minor update, but that’s to be expected. WWDC will take place next month, where Apple will almost certainly announce iOS 19 .
But iOS 18.5 is not an empty update. Once you install it on your iPhone, you will notice some changes, and some of the changes that you don’t notice are the most important of all. Here’s everything new in the latest iOS update:
An easy way to turn off contact photos in Mail
In iOS 18.2, Apple updated the Mail app. For some, the changes have made the Mail app more organized and efficient to use. For others, it was bloated and confusing. Contact photos didn’t help.
The idea is that if you have the sender’s contact photo, it will appear on the left side of the message in your inbox. However, if you don’t have one, Mail will use an image from Apple’s standard library. Taste is subjective, but to be honest, these stock icons don’t look very good.
Luckily, you can turn them off, but you’ll never know unless you like diving into the Settings app. iOS 18.5 fixes this with a simple option right in the Mail app itself. Lifehacker’s Khamosh Pathak explained this change in more detail here .
Screen Time settings have become more difficult to bypass
Apple’s Screen Time feature is a great tool for parents and, I can only imagine, a pain for kids. Parents can set a password to lock Screen Time settings and ensure that children can’t access features of their iPhone that their parents don’t want. Of course, passwords are a useless restriction because smart kids will always figure out how to hack the system.
While Apple isn’t reinventing the password wheel in iOS 18.5, it is making Screen Time a little more secure. After the update, you’ll receive a notification every time a Screen Time passcode is used on your child’s device. This won’t stop your kids from learning your Screen Time passcode, but it will pretty quickly nip their fun in the bud.
I imagine the kids will come up with a workaround for this feature in the future. But for now, you have an additional tool that can help ensure that the restrictions remain in place.
New wallpaper “Pride of Harmony”
Ahead of Pride Month, Apple is releasing new “Pride Harmony” wallpapers for its various devices. The wallpaper features rainbow colors that change position as you move, lock, or unlock your iPhone or iPad. Apple also has a new Pride Edition Sport Band that features a similar color scheme. Apple says its design goal for Pride Harmony is to “celebrate the strength and beauty of LGBTQ+ communities around the world.”
It’s easy to be cynical about corporate pride, but given the times we live in, it’s great to see Apple continuing to support the LGBTQ+ community as openly as it has in recent years. ( Not including Tim Cook’s donations .)
Buy with iPhone is now available on third-party devices
When you buy something in the Apple TV TV app (say, three times faster), you have the option to approve that purchase on your iPhone. In iOS 18.5, this feature will appear in the TV app on third-party devices. This way, you don’t need to make an in-app purchase on the TV app on another Apple device before you can watch on a third-party device.
Carrier-provided satellite features are now available on the iPhone 13 series.
Starting in 2023, Apple officially supports satellite connectivity for all iPhones starting with the 14 series . If you don’t have cell service, you can connect to a satellite to contact authorities for help, or even just text a friend.
However, with this latest update, iPhone 13 users will also be able to take advantage of satellite features.
Bug fixed in Apple Vision Pro app
The update also fixes an issue with the Apple Vision Pro app that could sometimes cause the app to display a black screen.
Security updates
The iOS 18.5 hibernation feature is an upgrade to the security of your iPhone. In total, the update fixes more than 30 bugs. Fortunately, Apple is not aware of any exploits for these vulnerabilities, meaning that hackers most likely did not use these vulnerabilities to attack iPhone users. However, the safest course of action is to update your iPhone as soon as possible, in case someone figures out how to use these flaws against you.
Additionally, there are some non-hacking vulnerabilities that should be fixed. For example, the FaceTime mute button may not actually work, which should be more than enough reason to update to iOS 18.5. (Be careful when using swear words during a FaceTime call.)