All the iOS 18 Beta 5 Features and Changes for iPhone You Need to Know

Apple has released iOS 18 Beta 5 for developers, bringing several important and useful changes. There are new features for Safari, Photos, and more, which you can read about below.

The latest beta update will give you access to iOS 18 features before the public rollout begins. You can install it on your iPhone if you’re enrolled in Apple’s developer beta program.

In iOS 18 beta 5, Apple is improving the Home screen, Lock screen, and Control Center. Apps like Photos and Safari are getting significant changes, while other elements are getting a few smaller updates.

Changes to the Photos app

Apple

The redesign of the Photos app wasn’t exactly a hit with users when Apple first announced it. But the company listened to feedback and made some changes. It got rid of the carousel feature that let you swipe through different collections from the main Photos view.

The All Photos section now shows a larger grid, and photo albums are easier to find if you have a lot of them. The app still has a unified single-screen design, so it opens directly to a photo grid where you can see all your photos.

Safari Distraction Control

Apple is introducing Distraction Control to Safari. This is not an ad blocker, but a tool that blocks static elements on a web page, such as pop-ups asking for emails, notification permissions, and more.

You can use Distraction Control to temporarily hide ads, but they will reappear after refreshing. To access this feature from Safari’s web settings, follow these steps:

• Download and install the fifth developer beta version of the operating system on your device
• Go to Site Menu in Safari.
• To choose Hide distractions.
• You can then select specific areas on the page you want to hide.
• To see hidden items, use Show hidden items option in the Safari search box.

Changes to the home screen and user interface

Apple

The iOS 18 beta 5 update brings some significant changes to the home screen and user interface. When you long press the home screen and select Editthere is something new Edit pages option. You can use it to remove entire Home screen pages or hide them from view.

Apple has also tweaked the Dark Mode settings and redesigned the Maps and Find My icons. The Maps icon is now black, white, gray, and blue, doing away with other colors. The Find My icon now has more noticeable rings in various shades of green.

Additionally, when you search for apps using the search interface, the app icon will now properly display in Dark Mode when it is enabled. Previously, search results always showed Light Mode icons.