In addition to major iOS releases, your iPhone can now automatically download and install smaller security patches as soon as Apple issues them. That means zero-day exploits -- like the WebKit flaw in iOS 18.6 -- get patched almost immediately, without any effort from you. 

Also: Should you buy the iPhone 16 or iPhone 17? How to decide which model to buy

How to set up automatic updates on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > General > Software Update. Tap Automatic Updates.
2. Turn on iOS Updates under Automatically Install. This grabs the next full release in the background. Also be sure to turn on iOS Updates under Automatically Download so the updates can be prepared for installation.
3. Turn on Security Responses and System Files under Automatically Install. This will apply critical Apple-issued hotfixes immediately.

The best part about this? It all happens overnight while you sleep when connected to power and Wi-Fi, so you won't be left waiting around for those one-off fixes to apply.

The Mail app in iOS 18 (including dot updates such as iOS 18.6) sorts incoming messages into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions categories -- like Gmail does. But if you get dozens of messages a day, those categories can bury your urgent emails. Turn them off to restore a single chronological list, keeping everything visible so you never have to wonder where an email went.

How to turn off Mail categories on iPhone:

1. Open Mail and navigate to your Inbox.
2. Tap the three-dot menu (...) in the upper-right corner.
3. Select List View.

If you want to keep Mail categories, you can swipe the tab bar all the way right to see All Mail in a list view.

The Flashlight and Camera buttons have sat at the bottom corners of the iPhone lock screen for what feels like forever. But with iOS 18, you can swap them out for ChatGPT, Snapchat, Wallet, and more -- or leave them blank to avoid accidental taps.

Also: How to clear your iPhone cache (and why it makes such a big difference)

How to change the lock screen buttons on iPhone:

1. From the lock screen, press and hold until Customize appears, then unlock.
2. Tap lock screen, then tap the "--" icon on a corner to remove the default button.
3. Tap the empty "+" slot to search and choose a new function or app.
4. Tap Done to exit the customize screen.

You can even assign a Shortcut you've created in the Shortcuts app, so that pressing that corner runs a custom automation you've made.

Apple Intelligence can identify alerts you're likely to care about -- texts from favorite contacts, calendar invites from coworkers -- and mute or hide low-value pings like ads or spam. The goal? Reduce cognitive load and notification fatigue so you see what matters, with the rest batched away in Notification Center.

How to set up priority notifications on iPhone:

1. Open Settings > Notifications.
2. Under Apple Intelligence, tap Prioritize Notifications and toggle it on.
3. From here, you can further toggle on which apps are high-priority to you, such as Messages and Calendar.

Prioritized notifications appear in a separate section on the lock screen. You can still swipe up to view all notifications.

I got a whole separate article on 17 settings you should change now to extend your iPhone's battery life, but one of the most important tweaks is enabling Optimized Battery Charging. It learns your daily plug-in routine, holds your battery at around 80% during long charges, and tops it off just before you unplug. You can also enable Clean Energy Charging, which tries to charge your iPhone during off-peak grid times.

Also: Should you turn on Adaptive Power on iOS 26? Here's my advice after testing it

How to enable them on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and Charging.
2. Toggle on Optimized Battery Charging.
3. Toggle on Clean Energy Charging.

Together, these features prolong long-term battery health and can even reduce your carbon footprint.

Your iPhone lets you control exactly when apps can access your location and even which system services can ping your GPS. This helps minimize battery drain and lowers the risk of over-sharing your sensitive data.

How to change location services on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Location Services.
2. Toggle off Location Services entirely if you only need it occasionally.
3. For must-have apps (Maps, Weather), set each to While Using the App -- not Always.

You can require Face ID/Touch ID/passcode before opening any app -- and optionally hide it in a locked "Hidden" folder in the App Library. It's like creating a vault for specific apps without locking your entire phone.

Also: How to hide apps on your iPhone fast

How to lock and hide apps on iPhone:

1. Long-press an app icon.
2. Select Require Face ID (or Touch ID/Passcode). Confirm the choice.
3. To hide it completely, choose Hide and Require Face ID. It'll move to Hidden in the App Library.

Some apps (like Reminders or Health) can be locked but not hidden.

You can drag, drop, and resize Control Center tiles -- and turn your most-used toggles into giant, easy-to-tap controls. You can even add your favorite apps like ChatGPT or Instagram.

How to customize Control Center on iPhone:

1. Swipe from top right to open Control Center, then press and hold any empty area.
2. Drag the control icons to rearrange them.
3. Use the bottom-right drag handle on icons to expand them and make them larger.
4. Hit the - next to any icon to delete it from Control Center.
5. Tap Add a Control to include others like ChatGPT, Slack, Snapchat, or Instagram.

You can also swipe down in Control Center to add multiple pages of controls.

You can stop videos in Photos from endlessly looping and prevent Live Photos or Cinematic clips from auto-playing until you tap them. This gives you more control (no more surprise replays) and will be less of a battery drain when scrolling.

Also: How to use the Photos app on your iPhone with iOS 18

How to disable loop videos and auto-play on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > Photos.
2. Toggle Loop Videos off. (Videos play once and stop.)
3. Toggle Auto-Play Motion off if you want still thumbnails until you tap.

If you work with a lot of videos, this will also speed up scrubbing through large albums, so your phone isn't decoding frames every time you scroll.

If you watch movies or TV shows in the Apple TV app on your iPhone and sometimes struggle to hear dialogue through the device's speakers, here's a pro tip: You can enhance the dialogue. It's perfect for quiet scenes or late-night viewing when you don't want to crank the volume up to 11.

How to use Apple TV's Enhance Dialogue feature on the iPhone:

1. Play content in the TV app.
2. Tap More (...) > Audio > choose Enhance Dialogue.
3. Pick Enhance (subtle lift) or Enhance more (max).

I like Enhance more, personally. But try both and see which one best suits you.

Apple gives you some privacy controls in Safari that you should definitely try. For example, you can prevent cross-site tracking to stop advertisers from stitching together your visits across multiple domains.

Also: I found an iPhone and Mac browser that's faster, safer, and easier than Safari

How to make Safari more private on iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > Safari.
2. Toggle on Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.

You can also go to the extreme and block all cookies so sites can't store data on you like ad IDs. In Settings > Safari, under Advanced, toggle on Block All Cookies. Just note this may force extra logins on sites.