I am a iPhone I’ve owned it since Apple released the very first model in 2007, when I was in high school. All these years later, it’s still my favorite personal phone, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have complaints — especially with the software.
With every new release of mobile software there are always a few features or settings that I’m not too fond of, and that is no different with the recent release of iOS 18.
Don’t miss it: Download iOS 18 for your iPhone. How to get it right now
Of course there is so much to love about iOS 18. I am a big fan of RCS supportwhich makes texting with Android users so much better. I like that I can also send messages text messages via satellite when I have no cell phone reception. And I am very happy with the fact that I finally swap the two lock screen buttonswhat we should actually have been able to do for a while now.
But there are also things that I just kind of hate, like always.
And that’s why I wrote this story — and why I write this story every year — because there’s always something I don’t like and want to change. Here are two features I don’t like about iOS 18, and how to sort of fix them.
For more information, check out the 7 settings you should change when you download iOS 18 and 9 hidden iOS 18 features you should definitely know about.
How to Clear All Clutter from the Photos App on iOS 18
Okay, I’ll come out and say it right away: I’m really not happy with the overhaul Apple gave the Photos app in iOS 18. I get the point, but it feels terribly cluttered by default. I don’t want my main camera roll constantly reminding me of vacations or suggesting wallpapers with photos and videos I’m not looking for.
Fortunately, Apple gives you the ability to customize the Photos app to your liking.
When you first open the Photos app, you’ll see a grid of all your photos and videos. This is the library view you’re used to. However, at the bottom, you’ll notice that the navigation bar is gone, replaced instead by collections for photos and videos you’ve recently taken of friends, family, and pets.
This is what the camera roll looks like now on iOS 18.
If you swipe down, you’ll still see random collections and albums, like pinned collections, shared albums, memories, trips, featured photos, and suggested wallpapers, which used to be in the Albums and For You tabs. Now, they’re all in one place in iOS 18, which is the main Home screen. And while that might be convenient for some, I don’t need to see everything at once. I just want to see my camera roll and some albums.
To customize the Photos app, swipe all the way down, all the way to the bottom, and tap Adjust and reorder. Here you can deselect any collections you want to hide from the main view. You can also arrange the order in which they appear. I don’t want any suggestions for backgrounds and most of the other options, so I deselected everything except media types (organizes your media into videos, live photos, etc.) and utilities (albums for hidden, recently deleted, receipts, documents, etc.).
You can delete or keep as many collections and albums as you like, but I find that the fewer the better.
Of course, you won’t be able to see the collections Apple has created for you and various other albums. However, if you don’t use them, it’s better to do it this way. You can still find any photo or video you want by searching your camera roll or using the search button at the top.
This is what my camera roll looks like after I deleted all the clutter.
How to Remove All New Control Center Pages on iOS 18
I use Control Center all the time to quickly connect to Wi-Fi, turn on Do Not Disturb, enable Dark Mode or Low Battery Mode, and discover new songs with the Music Recognition controls. With iOS 18, though, Apple has expanded the way Control Center is designed, and it now features multiple pages of controls, some pre-built and others you can create your own.
The thing is, I don’t need multiple Control Center pages — I just need one. I don’t want the clutter of multiple pages because I can put all the controls I need on one page. But that’s not the only problem. I also find that when I use Control Center now and I try to swipe out of it, I accidentally scroll through Control Center pages instead, and thus get stuck… and annoyed.
Above you see the normal Control Center (left) and the new pages (middle and right).
Luckily, there’s an easy way to get the Control Center looking like it used to, with just one page.
In Control Center, which you can access by swiping down from the top-right corner of your screen, swipe up to access the additional pages and press your finger on an empty part of the page. This will highlight the control — press the remove control (-) button in the top-left to remove the control and the page.
Do this for any additional Control Center pages you have, until you’re left with just the main Control Center.
Once you remove the extra Control Center pages, you will no longer see the page icons in the center left.
Now, when you try to swipe away from Control Center, you’ll no longer be stuck in the other pages. Instead, you can simply close out like before.
For more information, check out how to cut through unclear movie dialogue with this new audio feature in iOS 18.
