Apple has released the fifth public beta for iOS 18 on August 20, more than two months after the tech giant announced the software at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The update brings a host of new features to iPhones for developers and beta testers, including upgrades to Messages and more ways to customize your home screen.
A new feature I’ve been wanting for a while is the ability to remove or change your lock screen controls. This is great because I haven’t accidentally turned on my flashlight since downloading the beta.
Read more: Everything you need to know about iOS 18 public beta
Remember, iOS 18 is still in beta, and I recommend only downloading a beta on something other than your primary device. Since this isn’t the final version of iOS 18, the update may be buggy and your battery life may be poor. It’s best to keep those issues on a secondary device. I downloaded the beta on my old iPhone XR to avoid any issues on my iPhone 14 Pro.
Note: The beta is not the final version of iOS 18, so more features may land on your iPhone when iOS 18 is released. Apple has said iOS 18 will be released to the public this fall, but no firm date has been set yet.
Here’s how to make your lock screen more useful.
How to Change the Flashlight on Your iPhone’s Lock Screen
1. Open Institutions.
2. Crane Wallpaper.
3. Crane To adjust below your lock screen.
This will open your lock screen with familiar outlines around editable items, including the flashlight and camera controls at the bottom of your screen. You can remove them by tapping the minus sign (–) sign next to it. After you remove one or both controls, tap Finished in the top right corner of your screen.
These are just some of the controls
To add new controls, tap the plus sign (after removing the flashlight and camera)+) icon that appears after removing the control to open the Controls menu. This menu shows you all the controls you can add to the lock screen, including Translate and Quick Note.
There’s also a control available called Open App. This lets you choose any app on your iPhone and open it right from your lock screen, even if it’s not a listed control. You’ll still have to unlock your iPhone to access the app, but it makes it easy to open your favorite apps without the distraction of others.
Once you select Open App, tap To elect in the new menu and it will show you all of your apps. Choose an app — even games like Hello Kitty Island Adventure — then tap outside the menu and tap Finished.
I was serious when I said I have Hello Kitty Island Adventure on my lock screen.
Now, when you lock your iPhone, you won’t see any controls on your lock screen or controls that you use more often. Now, you might just open Hello Kitty — oh no, I guess I have to bake a strawberry shortcake for all my friends.
Keep in mind that iOS 18 is still in beta, so these features may be buggy or not work properly. There will likely be more beta builds before the OS is released to the public, so Apple has plenty of time to address any issues. There is no word yet on when Apple will release iOS 18.
For more information on iOS 18, here’s my hands-on experience with the iOS 18 beta, what you need to know about RCS messaging, and how to all the ways to customize your home screen. You can also use our iOS 18 cheat sheet.
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