RETAKE YOUR iPHONE!

NEVER BEFORE HAS A SINGLE MAJOR IOS RELEASE REQUIRED SO MUCH WORK FROM ITS USERS. HERE'S HOW TO GET IT ALL DONE.

- JASON CROSS

It's fair to say that iOS 18 is more highly customizable than any prior release. The big personalized lock screen (fave.co/3Sp3EmA) update of IOS 16 definitely let us add some personality to our iPhones, but that's nothing compared to the freedom to fiddle afforded in iOS 18 (fave.co/3Bk1PTU).

Unfortunately, that means you're going to have to do a little work. Apple's latest major update lets you customize the lock screen shortcuts, expands customization of the Action button (now available on all new models), finally gives you full control over the Home screen layout (fave.co/4eL8ENK) and color, and includes an all-new Control Center (fave.co/3C6Xpjq) with multiple pages, third-party controls, resizable controls, and more. And let's not forget the redesigned Photos app, which has moved around and reorganized everything.

A Shortcut lets you perform powerful actions with a single long press of the Action button.

The freedom to customize these things to your liking is unprecedented, but so is the need to customize these things. The defaults aren't particularly great and in some cases have infuriated users who update and can't stand the way Apple has changed things. You can really love IOS 18, but you'll have to spend a decent chunk of time setting things up the way you like them first. What a chore!

MAKE THE ACTION BUTTON MORE USEFUL

Last year, the Action button was only for the iPhone 15 Pros, but this year it's on all four iPhone 16 models. What's more, Apple has added a few more options to it, and it's easy to set up, so let's start there. Open Settings → Action Button and swipe through the options to pick something you think might be a little more useful than the mute function.