6 iOS 18 Settings You Might Want to Change ASAP

iOS 18 is now available, which means tons of great new features to play with on your iPhone: you’ve got new customization controls, a new Passwords app, Game Mode for better gaming performance, new wallpapers, the ability to schedule messages, and audio recording in Notes. just to name a few improvements. (Apple Intelligence will also be available soon.)

Since there is so much going on in this update, it will probably take you some time to discover everything that has been changed. With this in mind, we’ve highlighted the six most important changes to your phone’s setup and configuration – it’s important to make sure these options are set in a way you’re happy with.

1. Set the maximum charging level

iOS has long optimized iPhone charging to protect the health of the internal battery, charging it to 100 percent only when absolutely necessary (the fewer full charges you make, the longer your battery will last). In iOS 18, you have a bit more control over how this works, and it allows you to prevent your iPhone from charging to 100 percent if you don’t need it.

From the main iOS settings screen, tap Battery and then Landing: You’ll see a slider that allows you to set the charging limit from 80 to 100 percent. You should also see a recommended level based on iOS’ knowledge of how you use and charge your phone – you can choose to accept this advice or set your own limit.

2. Store iCloud files on your iPhone

iOS 18 now lets you specify specific files from your iCloud drive that should be permanently stored on your iPhone (so you don’t need an internet connection to access them). In the Files app, go to the iCloud Drive section, then press and hold any file or folder until a menu appears on the screen. To choose Continue downloading to always store the file locally.

3. Reconfigure Control Center

Control Center has undergone one of the biggest changes in iOS 18, and if you launch it (by swiping down from the top right corner of the screen as usual), you’ll see that there are now four screens you can swipe between. You can also add additional screens if you want even more controls to be easily accessible; just tap the lowest dot on the vertical bar on the left.

Don’t be put off by these drastic changes to Control Center, because you can easily make these panels look whatever you want – Apple has actually made it easier to customize them in iOS 18. From any Control Center screen, tap on + button (plus) in the upper left corner; you can then drag the widgets to change their position or size.

Contacts are no longer binary permissions that can be turned on and off: in iOS 18, you can give an app access to some contacts but not others (a similar system already existed for photos and videos). To check which of your installed apps has access to which contacts, open Settings, then select Privacy and security AND Communication.

5. Organize the Photos app

Another app that’s gotten a major overhaul in iOS 18 is Photos – its layout has changed significantly, so you might not immediately realize where all your photos and videos are. The tabbed interface is gone, and now you have to scroll down to find the various albums and collections you’ve created (like screenshots), which are created automatically.

Like the Control Center, you can modify the layout if you don’t like the default look. Scroll to the very bottom of the Photos app and tap Customize and reorderand choose which sections go where. You can also choose Modify Near Pinned collections to make sure your frequently used albums are easily accessible.

6. Turn off game mode

The new Game Mode in iOS 18 limits background activity of other apps while gaming. This improves the frame rate. Maybe your games aren’t that demanding and you don’t want other apps to slow you down. To turn off Game Mode, tap the alert that appears at the top of the screen whenever it is turned on.