5 Cool Features Coming to Your iPhone Next Week

The next big software update for your iPhone, iOS 18, is almost here. Apple will roll it out to all compatible iPhones (XR or newer) on September 16 — next Monday.

If you’ve been following the buzz, the headline new feature in iOS 18 is Apple Intelligence, which leverages AI and promises entirely new capabilities for iPhones, like a smarter Siri, notification summaries, and advanced writing tools.

But only the new iPhones—specifically, the entire iPhone 16 line and last year’s iPhone 15 Pro—support Apple Intelligence (and most of the coolest Apple Intelligence features won’t be available at launch). That means your current iPhone likely won’t support Apple Intelligence. Ever.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

But don’t worry. iOS 18 brings a ton of other really cool features and capabilities to older iPhones. From major overhauls to the Mail and Photos apps, a dedicated password manager app (called Passwords), and a much-improved Game mode.

But some of the most significant changes iOS 18 brings directly to your iPhone’s Home screen and Control Center. Specifically, it gives you almost full control to customize the layout of each one. It’s great.

I’ve been using the iOS 18 public beta for the past few weeks to better understand the new Home screen and Control Center features. Here are my favorites.