iOS 18: A Balancing Act of Personalization and Functionality, but Still Falls Short

iOS 18: A Balancing Act of Personalization and Functionality, but Still Falls ShortOn September 17, 2024, just three days before the release of the iPhone 16 series, Apple officially launched the iOS 18 operating system. Unlike the previous generation, which saw minor updates, iOS 18 is the most significant update in recent years, featuring a complete UI overhaul and substantial functional changes

iOS 18: A Balancing Act of Personalization and Functionality, but Still Falls Short

On September 17, 2024, just three days before the release of the iPhone 16 series, Apple officially launched the iOS 18 operating system. Unlike the previous generation, which saw minor updates, iOS 18 is the most significant update in recent years, featuring a complete UI overhaul and substantial functional changes. However, PChome has found that many users who have updated to the new system have been quick to criticize it, complaining about the ugly Control Center, cluttered camera interface, and other issues. This article will analyze the pros and cons of iOS 18, based on user feedback, to help you decide whether you should upgrade.

Pros:

1. Deeper Personalization and Customization on the Home Screen

Traditionally, iOS has been known for its limited freedom, unlike Android, where users could customize UI and app icons. In recent years, however, iOS has been moving towards greater personalization, and iOS 18 embodies this trend.

Firstly, iOS 18 allows users to freely arrange app icons and hide app names, further enhancing the freedom of the iOS home screen. Additionally, the lock screen in iOS 18 supports custom shortcut replacements. For example, you can replace the commonly used flashlight or camera buttons with functions like scanning or calculator.

Considering the main thread of iOS evolution in the past few years, namely a more free and diverse home screen, it begs the question: will Apple allow third-party home-screen applications on the App Store for iOS 19 next year?

2. Added App Password Lock, Mirroring Android Functionality

Previously, a significant difference between iOS and Android was the difficulty in hiding apps on the home screen. Addressing this user demand, iOS 18 introduces the App Password Lock feature. By long-pressing an app icon and selecting "Require Face ID," you can enable the feature. Once activated, opening the app will require Face ID or password authentication, and its content will not be displayed in other apps. Furthermore, selecting "Hide and Require Face ID" during password lock configuration allows you to hide the app on the iOS 18 home screen. This means the app will be invisible on the home screen and in the search bar, and can only be found in the Hidden list within the App Library.

3. New Game Mode, Significant Framerate Boost for Genshin Impact

In recent years, to squeeze the maximum performance from processors, domestic Android phone operating systems often provide a "Game Mode." When activated, this mode reduces resource allocation to other apps, prioritizing the game for a smooth, high-frame rate experience. iOS 18 also joins the game mode bandwagon, automatically activating when a game is opened. The game mode minimizes background activities like notifications to help games run at the highest frame rate. Additionally, Apple states that the game mode significantly enhances the response speed of AirPods and wireless game controllers.

According to the blogger "Entertainment Explorer," testing on the iPhone 15 Pro Max, playing Genshin Impact with the highest settings for 30 minutes with game mode on and off resulted in average framerates of 59.5 and 58.6 fps respectively. This confirms that the game mode indeed improves the game frame rate for iPhones.

4. Screen Overlay with Black Dots, Providing Motion Sickness Mode

Many of us have experienced the discomfort of using our phones while in a moving vehicle. When the vehicle suddenly accelerates or decelerates, staring at a stationary phone can easily induce motion sickness. To combat this issue, iOS 18 introduces a Motion Sickness Mode. When enabled, the top of the iPhone screen displays a series of black dots that change based on the iPhone's sensor information as the vehicle shakes, aiming to reduce sensory conflicts.

Although it sounds futuristic, according to the digital blogger "Meow King," the Motion Sickness Mode in iOS 18 isn't very effective and even feels annoying; they ended up disabling it. It seems Apple needs to further optimize the sensitivity of the black dots on the iPhone screen.

5. Call Recording Support, with Notification to the Other Party

iOS 18 finally brings a widely anticipated feature: call recording. When making a call, iPhone users can tap the button in the top left corner of the screen to enable call recording. However, unlike Android phones that can quietly record calls, iOS actively notifies all participants in the conversation, via audio, that the call is being recorded. This functionality cannot be disabled.

In addition to call recording, iOS 18 also supports transcription, converting recordings to text. However, as of iOS 18.1 Beta3, transcription is only available for iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models.

Fortunately, the call recording and transcription functionality in the official version of iOS 18 is available for older iPhones. According to the digital blogger "WHYLAB," the iPhone 14 Pro Max supports call recording and transcription after upgrading to iOS 18.1 Beta4.

Cons:

1. Ugly Photo Album, Many Miss iOS 17

While iOS 18 introduces many welcome new features, as a major update, many of its disruptive new additions have caused user discomfort.

A prime example is the overly flashy redesign of the Photo Album in iOS 18, along with its major functionality shift. First, iOS 18 incorporates a new filtering feature in the library, directly displaying specific media types like screenshots, videos, and selfies. Moreover, swiping left or right in the library triggers a "carousel" operation, pinning your preferred albums at the top. Users can also customize the display position of various albums and themes below the library.

Although the new functionality streamlines the Photo Album's operation, the cluttered arrangement of all elements below the library can lead to information overload on a single page. Additionally, the carousel feature triggered by horizontal swiping overlaps with the "pinned albums" functionality at the bottom, making the left-right swipe interaction less intuitive.

Faced with widespread user complaints, Apple customer service has responded that this is just an initial release, and users are not yet accustomed to the changes. The company also acknowledged that user experiences may vary. If the number of complaints about this version is high, Apple may address the issue through updates.

2. Control Center Customization, Users Express Discomfort

As mentioned earlier, iOS 18 offers deeper personalization and customization for the home screen. This extends beyond the home screen to the Control Center as well.

With iOS 18, users can arrange the position and size of control buttons, and even remove those they don't frequently use, based on their individual needs. However, many users have reported that the Control Center in iOS 18 is increasingly becoming like Android, with a cluttered layout and ugly UI design.

Back when iOS 11 was released, the massive overhaul of the Control Center, shifting from the two-page layout of iOS 10 to a single-page layout, also caused significant user discomfort. As users become more familiar with the new UI Design of the Control Center in iOS 18, their discomfort is likely to subside.

3. Customizable UI Colors, But Improper Adjustment Can Lead to Ugliness

Beyond the Control Center, iOS 18 also supports the customization of desktop app icon colors. By long-pressing an empty area on the iOS 18 interface to enter desktop editing mode, clicking "Edit" in the top left corner, selecting "Customize," choosing "Tint," and entering the color customization editing box, you can adjust color and saturation.

While the ability to change desktop app icon colors allows you to unify the color of all apps, using the same color for all apps can make the home screen look extremely unattractive if the background image is not properly matched. It is likely that Luo Yonghao, who once focused on "icon design," will again lament the shortcomings of his "subsidiary" when he sees the customizable desktop app icon color feature in iOS 18.

4. Low Eye Tracking Accuracy, Limited Usability

Previously, Samsung flagship phones introduced eye tracking functionality, enabling users to control their phones simply by moving their eyes. iOS 18 also incorporates eye tracking functionality. This technology utilizes the built-in front camera to capture user eye movements, performing calibration through device-side machine learning. This allows users to control their iPhones and iPads with just their eyes.

PChome found blogger "Yiyo Yiyo 201605" successfully used the eye tracking feature in iOS 18 to play and switch songs contactless and even record videos. However, "Yiyo Yiyo 201605" admitted that they felt the eye tracking accuracy was low.

While eye tracking is not primarily designed for ordinary users, it aims to provide people with disabilities the ability to control iPhones and iPads with their eyes, the low accuracy still poses substantial inconveniences for this group. We hope that Apple will improve the accuracy of the eye tracking perception through future OTA updates.

5. Apple Intelligence Imminent, But Unavailable in China

Although iOS 18 has been officially released, Apple Intelligence has not yet launched alongside it. Apple has officially announced that the first batch of Apple Intelligence features will launch next month, October 2024. Unfortunately, the initial release of Apple Intelligence will only be available in the US, with no support for mainland China. According to Apple's previous