iOS 18 Finally Gets T9 Dialing and App Lock a Decade Later Than It Should Have

The everlasting battle between iOS and Android keeps swaying either way every year. This year, though, Apple has hit it out of the park with massive changes to iOS 18 that completely overshadow those on Android 15. Funnily though, many of the new features on iOS 18 have existed on older versions of Android for ages.

So, I’m glad Apple has finally taken a page out of Google’s book and introduced some much-needed features like T9 dialing, call recording, and home screen customization.

Let’s delve into some key features that make me believe I can finally consider switching to an iPhone as my primary device.

1. Place Icons Anywhere on the Home Screen

I can’t believe Apple delayed this for so long but you can FINALLY place app icons on your home screen wherever you want. Until iOS 17, apps would get arranged at the top of the screen by default. There were two issues with this — a) It gets difficult to reach the top row of apps if you have a big phone like the Plus or Pro Max. b) The apps may end up covering your wallpaper.

Now, you can drag and place app icons wherever they’re more accessible or convenient to you. It’s a basic feature, but one that makes a significant difference in day-to-day usage.

2. Material You on iOS

Google introduced the Material You theme engine with Android 12. The idea was to match UI elements with the wallpaper in use and allow users to customize their phones. iOS 18 brings something similar to the table with the ability to theme app icons based on your wallpaper.

If you have a wallpaper with a yellow tone, the icons will automatically have a yellow background. You can also change the color manually to create a contrast. Given how iPhone home screens have been boring for the longest time, this is a welcome change.

3. Redesigned Control Center

Apple has surely paid a lot of attention to customization this time and it shows with the redesigned Control Center. You can now rearrange the tiles as per your preference.

Moreover, the Control Center can now have multiple pages. Set dedicated pages for network controls, focus modes, and your smart home devices.

4. Lock and Hide Apps

Here’s another feature that has been around for the longest time on Android but for some reason, Apple didn’t think it was useful — until now. If you’re handing your phone to someone and don’t want them to access apps that contain sensitive data, you can now lock individual apps on iOS 18 for an additional layer of security.

Furthermore, you can even hide said app from your iPhone’s home screen or App Library altogether so it’s not even visible to prying eyes. Both of these tasks required workarounds earlier, but I’m glad Apple has added them natively to iOS 18.

5. T9 Dialing Makes Calling Easier

If you’ve ever used T9 dialing, you know what you were missing out on when using Apple’s lackluster Phone app. With iOS 18, that’s no longer the case since Apple has finally added one of the most basic yet useful features to its Phone app.

6. Improvements to iMessage and RCS Support

The ability to schedule an iMessage natively is back to the Messages app. Plus, you can now use Tapback with any emoji of your choice to react to a message. Apple has also added text effects like bold, underline, strikethrough, and even animations for certain kinds of messages.

iMessage now works over satellite communication, too, in emergencies. Speaking of communication, support for RCS messaging has now made its way to iOS. So, if you’re texting your friends who use a better mobile OS, you no longer have to deal with broken media or the lack of encryption. I must say, iOS 18 makes you believe Apple is finally listening to consumers.

7. Call Transcriptions

Anyone using an iPhone would know recording calls on iOS is a nightmare. There are workarounds, but none that are foolproof or free. With iOS 18, Apple has yet again listened to consumers and provided a much-awaited feature natively in the form of call transcriptions.

Whenever you’re on a call, you can use the transcript option which essentially records the call and then gives you both the audio as well as a text transcript of the entire conversation. The wait finally ends!