At the moment, Apple is releasing iOS and iPadOS 18.2, the second main updates to the iPhone and iPad’s latest operating system versions. As soon as once more, this launch’s major spotlight is a wave of recent Apple Intelligence options that at the moment are accessible to the general public. And just like in October, we’re overlaying these new AI options individually in a particular story for MacStories readers. Make sure you take a look at Federico’s story, which fits over the brand new Apple Intelligence options included in iOS and iPadOS 18.2.
However in addition to one other batch of Apple Intelligence options, this launch additionally features a collection of adjustments to the system, from updates to Safari, Discover My, and Images to the arrival of recent system-wide settings for Default Apps and extra. Right here’s a roundup of all the things new in addition to Apple Intelligence in iOS and iPadOS 18.2.
New Default Apps Settings
Earlier this 12 months, Apple announced the addition of a new Settings screen in iOS and iPadOS 18.2 for selecting default apps as a part of its plan to adjust to the Digital Markets Act within the European Union, alongside a redesigned default browser choice screen. Whereas it was doable to vary these settings earlier than, selecting a brand new default app required you to navigate to the person app’s Settings display screen (for instance, Settings → Apps → Safari to make Safari the default browser). The brand new display screen centralizes the entire default app choices and is accessible on the high of the Apps part within the Settings app.
From this display screen, you may set the default app for every of the next options:
- Shopping the online
- Sending emails
- Sending messages
- Dialing telephone numbers
- Filtering spam calls
- Managing passwords
- Utilizing various keyboards
- Performing contactless funds
For those who dwell within the EU, chances are you’ll discover an extra default app setting that means that you can set a default app market as a substitute of Apple’s App Retailer.
Observe that you could be not have any choices at the moment accessible in a number of of the default app classes. To look within the record of accessible defaults, builders might want to replace their apps and ensure they qualify of their class.
Safari
Maybe surprisingly, Safari ships with a number of new and beforehand unannounced options in iOS and iPadOS 18.2.
Because the launch of iOS and iPadOS 15, we’ve had the power to customise the browser’s begin web page with an Apple-provided wallpaper or with any picture from Images. Beginning right this moment, Safari now affords six new background choices, bringing the whole to 16. The primary two every image an summary panorama, the following are renders of a few of Safari’s glyphs and icons, and the final two kind a sample of curvy shapes and gradients. I’m a fan of the pastel colour selections in these new backgrounds, however I do want Apple would additionally make them accessible to make use of as wallpapers on the Lock and Residence Screens.
Along with the brand new backgrounds, Safari now helps linking to textual content highlights on net pages. The thought right here is that you may choose textual content on any net web page, faucet ‘Copy Hyperlink with Spotlight’, and share the copied hyperlink in order that anybody opening it’ll instantly be proven the particular textual content you highlighted in yellow on that net web page. It’s a small however wonderful performance for any sort of work that depends on referencing issues from the online. That is what it seems to be like on the iPhone:
Linking to textual content highlights on the net isn’t fully new; the characteristic was already supported by some net browsers, most notably Google Chrome and Chromium-based browsers. Nonetheless, now that the characteristic can also be accessible in Safari (on all of Apple’s platforms, together with macOS), I think that it’ll slowly grow to be vastly in style.
Final however not least in Safari, the app will spawn a Dwell Exercise when a obtain is in progress, and it now options HTTPS Precedence, an aptly named mechanism that can routinely improve HTTP URLs to HTTPS when accessible.
Images
In iOS 18, the Images app acquired a significant redesign and a collection of recent options, together with Collections. 18.2 consists of a number of tweaks to the brand new Images app, most of which revolve round navigation.
Within the Lately Seen assortment, now you can clear the total historical past of not too long ago seen media. For those who long-press on a photograph or video, you may as well take away it individually from the gathering.
Navigating collections is now simpler, too. Apple has lastly re-added the power to swipe proper to return just about wherever within the Images app, together with whenever you’re a number of ranges deep into an album folder. It’s arduous to know whether or not it was a bug or if Apple was being intentional about not implementing the gesture in sure locations within the app earlier than, however I’m glad to report that it’s now persistently accessible.
Apple has additionally improved the video viewing expertise within the Images app. Not like in earlier variations of iOS 18, the app will not zoom out and in on a video whenever you faucet the display screen. As an alternative, the video will now all the time match the width of the display screen, and you’ll faucet the display screen to point out playback controls, the video scrubber, and the gallery view alongside the underside of the display screen. These will seem over the video and disappear when you faucet the display screen once more. However that’s not all: now you can scrub movies on a exact frame-by-frame foundation, and there’s a brand new choice to disable auto-looping video playback.
Total, these small adjustments and enhancements have helped scale back the friction I’ve been feeling since I first began utilizing the drastically redesigned Images app this summer season. I’m hoping Apple will preserve iterating on it.
And Extra…
Return of the amount slider on the Lock Display. This may make a ton of individuals completely happy. iOS 18.2 brings again the amount slider on the Lock Display when music or media is enjoying, within the type of an Accessibility setting. The slider was eliminated in iOS 16 when Apple redesigned the Lock Display, and since then, it has solely appeared below sure circumstances, corresponding to when controlling an AirPlay machine. However now, you may convey it again completely.
So as to add the amount slider again to your Lock Display, head to Settings → Accessibility → Audio & Visible, and activate ‘At all times Present Quantity Management’.
New Digital camera Management settings for iPhone 16 fashions. iPhone 16 house owners now have the power to lock the digital camera’s publicity and focus with a light-weight press on the Digital camera Management. The AE/AF Lock possibility could be enabled by going to Settings → Digital camera → Digital camera Management.
There may be additionally a brand new possibility to regulate the double-click velocity of Digital camera Management. iPhone 16 customers can select between Default, Gradual, and Slower. The brand new adjustment choices are current alongside beforehand accessible choices to tweak the double light-press velocity and the light-press pressure.
New Voice Memos options for iPhone 16 Professional fashions. Initially introduced at Apple’s September occasion, iPhone 16 Professional fashions now have entry to an upgraded model of the Voice Memos app with help for layered recording. Moreover, these multitrack initiatives can later be imported into Logic Professional.
Pure language search in Apple Music and Apple TV. Within the Music and TV apps, Apple says now you can use pure language to seek for media by specifying genres, moods, actors, many years, and extra. In my expertise up to now, pure language search in these apps doesn’t appear to make an enormous distinction whenever you’re solely utilizing a handful of phrases, and it begins to interrupt down as quickly as you attempt to enter longer phrases.
Shazam historical past now consists of location. For those who’ve ever puzzled the place you heard a selected track, iOS 18.2 has you lined. Now, after you ask Shazam to acknowledge a track, you may return to your track historical past and faucet on every one to disclose a minimap pinpointing the place you heard it.
Favourite classes in Podcasts. In Podcasts, a brand new Classes part has been added to the Library tab. This primarily provides you entry to Apple Podcasts’ catalog of classes. Now you can additionally select favourite classes, and your favorites will seem on the high of the Classes part in your Library. Moreover, the Search tab in Podcasts now dynamically reorders the class tiles relying in your podcast listening habits.
Higher consistency for dark and tinted icons throughout Settings and the share sheet. App icons within the share sheet and Settings now mirror your gentle or darkish mode desire and even icon tinting when you’ve enabled it on the Residence Display.
Discover My now helps sharing AirTags with airways. Discover My has a brand new choice to share an merchandise’s location with an “airline or trusted individual” who can assist you find one thing that you just’ve misplaced. Within the app, choose an merchandise you’re monitoring with an AirTag (or different Discover My-compatible tracker), and faucet ‘Share Merchandise Location’. This may generate a hyperlink that you may share with another person to allow them to view the situation of the misplaced merchandise.
New ‘Get Present App’ motion in Shortcuts. That is big information for Shortcuts nerds: you should use the brand new ‘Get Present App’ motion to detect which app is at the moment energetic on-screen and automate accordingly.
AirPods Professional Listening to Check and Listening to Support options can be found in additional international locations. The brand new Listening to Check and Listening to Support options have been recently launched within the U.S. and a number of other different international locations. Nonetheless, these options have been unavailable to many AirPods Professional 2 house owners worldwide. This was primarily as a consequence of pending approval from the related authorities in every nation for these well being options.
With iOS 18.2, Apple is rolling out the AirPods Professional 2’s Listening to Check characteristic to the next international locations:
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- France
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Romania
- Spain
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
Sadly, the Listening to Support performance is barely coming to at least one extra nation on this launch, the United Arab Emirates.
That’s it for iOS and iPadOS 18.2. Not unlike 18.1, this launch features a vital variety of non-AI adjustments and additions, and I’m glad to see that Apple remains to be iterating on a lot of its native apps all year long.
You possibly can replace your machine to iOS or iPadOS 18.2 right this moment by navigating to Settings → Normal → Software program Replace.
