How I Set Up iOS 18 To Keep My Sanity

Summary

In this video, Kyle Erikson shares his experience with iOS 18, focusing on optimizing iPhone usage for productivity. He discusses customizing the lock screen, organizing home screens for different Focus modes, and setting up widgets for quick access to essential information. Erikson also covers managing notifications, enhancing security with Face ID, and organizing finances with the Photos app. He touches on the Calendar app's updates, scheduling messages, and battery optimization techniques. The video is a comprehensive guide for those looking to make the most out of their iPhone with iOS 18.

Takeaways

• 📱 The script discusses the new features of iOS 18 and how they can be used to optimize iPhone usage for productivity.
• 🎨 Customizing the lock screen and home screen layouts is emphasized, including the use of widgets and icon arrangements for different Focus modes.
• 🔒 Security enhancements are highlighted, such as requiring Face ID for sensitive apps and hiding them in a secure folder.
• 🗓️ iOS 18 introduces a new Calendar app UI and the ability to add reminders directly within the calendar.
• 📊 The script mentions the usefulness of Focus modes for different activities, with the ability to set custom home screens and schedules for each mode.
• 🔕 Do Not Disturb mode is adjusted for a specific time range to ensure phone silence during off-hours.
• 📊 The script suggests using the Screen Time feature to understand app usage patterns and make informed decisions about app organization.
• 🔋 Battery optimization techniques are discussed, including setting a charging limit to 80% to prolong battery life.
• 🛠️ Custom shortcuts are created to quickly toggle low power mode and other power-saving settings.
• 👀 The script introduces new accessibility features in iOS 18, such as reducing motion sickness and hiding distracting elements on web pages.

Q & A

What are some new features introduced in iOS 18?

iOS 18 introduces a variety of new features such as customizable lock screen with new wallpapers, widgets, and lock screen actions. It also includes the ability to structure home screens into different layouts for various use cases, and new Focus modes that can be customized with specific app screens, lock screens, and even watch faces.

How can the lock screen be customized in iOS 18?

In iOS 18, the lock screen can be customized by holding down on the screen to access customization options. Users can change the wallpaper, adjust the clock text font and weight, and add widgets such as weather, fitness rings, and email. Additionally, lock screen actions in the bottom corners can be customized to access frequently used features.

What is the purpose of structuring home screens into different layouts in iOS 18?

Structuring home screens into different layouts in iOS 18 allows users to create tailored environments for various activities such as work, fitness, or productivity. This helps in limiting distractions and makes it easier to access the most relevant apps for each specific use case.

How can users determine which apps to include in their custom home screen layouts?

Users can determine which apps to include in their custom home screen layouts by reviewing their app usage patterns through the Screen Time settings. They can see all app and website activity over time to identify the most frequently used apps and make informed decisions about app placement.

What is a Focus mode in iOS 18 and how can it be customized?

A Focus mode in iOS 18 is a feature that allows users to create custom modes for different activities, such as fitness or productivity, by selecting specific apps, notifications, and even a home screen layout that corresponds to that mode. Users can also set schedules or triggers for when the Focus mode should automatically activate.

How can users ensure they receive important notifications while in a Focus mode?

While in a Focus mode, users can ensure they receive important notifications by selecting specific people or apps that are allowed to send notifications. This can be done within the Focus mode settings by tapping on 'Choose People' or 'Choose Apps' and selecting the desired contacts or apps.

What is the Deep Work mode in iOS 18 and how does it differ from other Focus modes?

The Deep Work mode in iOS 18 is a custom Focus mode designed to minimize distractions for intense work sessions. It differs from other Focus modes by potentially having no apps visible on the home screen, except for the dock, to help users stay focused without the temptation to switch between apps.

How can users hide app pages in iOS 18 to declutter their home screen?

In iOS 18, users can hide app pages by entering jiggle mode by holding down on the screen, then tapping the paging indicator at the bottom of the screen, and unchecking the app pages they wish to hide. This declutters the home screen by only showing the selected pages.

What new features in iOS 18 help with battery optimization?

iOS 18 includes features like the ability to set a custom charging limit to 80% to extend battery life over time, and a custom shortcut that can be added to the Control Center to quickly enable Low Power Mode, Airplane Mode, and reduce screen brightness to conserve battery.

How can users schedule messages to be sent at a later time in iOS 18?

In iOS 18, users can schedule messages to be sent at a later time by composing a message, tapping the plus button beside the message, and selecting 'Send Later'. They can then choose a suitable time for the message to be sent, ensuring it reaches the recipient at an appropriate time.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Customizing iOS 18 for Optimal Productivity

The speaker discusses their experience with iOS 18 and shares tips on customizing the operating system to enhance productivity. They emphasize the importance of focusing on essential features that align with personal usage habits. The speaker highlights visual updates, lock screen customization, and the organization of apps into different home screen layouts based on use cases. They also mention the utility of widgets and the use of 'Focus Modes' to streamline app access and notifications, creating a more intentional phone usage experience.

05:01

🔧 Fine-Tuning iOS 18 for Specific Use Cases

In this section, the speaker delves into the specifics of setting up iOS 18 for different scenarios, such as fitness and productivity. They describe the process of creating custom home screen layouts and 'Focus Modes' tailored to these scenarios. The speaker also explains how to adjust icon styles and remove distracting apps from the home screen. Additionally, they touch on the new features of the Photos app, which groups receipts into an album for easier access, and the Calendar app's updated UI, which allows for more efficient event planning and reminders management.

10:01

🔒 Enhancing Security and Streamlining Finances in iOS 18

The speaker talks about the new security features in iOS 18, such as requiring Face ID to open sensitive apps and the option to hide apps behind an additional layer of security. They also discuss the redesigned Photos app and its utility in managing personal finances by organizing receipts. The speaker shares their approach to managing time with the updated Calendar app, including setting up shared calendars with family members and the new 'send later' feature in the Messages app, which allows scheduling messages for a more appropriate time.

15:01

🔋 Battery Optimization and Additional iOS 18 Features

The speaker shares their strategy for battery optimization, including limiting the maximum charge to 80% to extend battery life. They also introduce a custom shortcut for power conservation that includes low power mode, airplane mode, and screen brightness adjustment. The speaker highlights updates to the Control Center in iOS 18, which now allows for customization and pagination of controls. Additionally, they mention features aimed at reducing motion sickness while using the phone and the ability to hide distracting elements in Safari's reader mode.

Keywords

💡iOS 18

iOS 18 is the latest version of Apple's mobile operating system mentioned in the video. It is the software that powers iPhones and provides the interface and features used by the user. The video discusses various new features and improvements in iOS 18, such as visual updates, lock screen customization, and Focus modes, which are intended to enhance productivity and user experience.

💡Customization

Customization refers to the process of modifying the appearance and functionality of the user interface to suit individual preferences. In the context of the video, customization is highlighted as a key feature of iOS 18, allowing users to personalize their lock screens, home screens, and widgets to better fit their needs and aesthetic tastes.

💡Lock Screen

The lock screen is the initial screen displayed on an iOS device when it is turned on or woken from sleep, requiring user authentication to access the device. The video describes new lock screen features in iOS 18, such as the ability to change wallpapers, adjust clock text, and add widgets, which provide quick access to information like weather and fitness data.

💡Widgets

Widgets are small, interactive app components that can be placed on the home screen or lock screen to display information at a glance. The video discusses how iOS 18 enhances widget functionality, allowing users to add and customize widgets like weather, fitness rings, and email for quick access to frequently checked information.

💡Focus Mode

Focus Mode is a feature in iOS 18 designed to help users concentrate by limiting distractions and customizing the device's interface based on the user's current activity or context. The video explains how to set up different Focus modes for various activities, such as work, fitness, and deep work, each with its own home screen layout and app availability.

💡Home Screen

The home screen is the main screen that appears when an iOS device is unlocked, displaying app icons for quick access. The video talks about organizing the home screen in iOS 18 by categorizing apps into different screens for various Focus modes and rearranging icons for easier one-handed use.

💡Notifications

Notifications are alerts sent to a user's device to inform them of events, such as incoming messages or reminders. The video discusses managing notifications in iOS 18 to minimize distractions, such as allowing only essential notifications through during Focus modes or customizing notification settings for specific apps.

💡Control Center

The Control Center in iOS is a menu that provides fast access to various system controls and settings. The video mentions the redesigned Control Center in iOS 18, which allows users to customize and add controls, such as toggling Focus modes or accessing a custom battery-saving shortcut.

💡Battery Optimization

Battery optimization refers to strategies and settings that help extend the battery life of a device. The video discusses a specific iOS 18 feature where users can limit the maximum charge to 80% to prolong battery health, as well as a custom shortcut to enable low power mode and other battery-saving measures.

💡App Icons

App icons are the visual representations of apps on the home screen. The video describes how iOS 18 allows users to customize the appearance of app icons, choosing between light, dark, or tinted icons, and the option to hide app names for a cleaner look.

💡Scheduling

Scheduling in the context of iOS 18 refers to the ability to set specific times or conditions for certain actions to occur automatically, such as activating Focus modes or sending messages at a later time. The video illustrates how this feature can help users plan and automate aspects of their digital interactions.

Highlights

iOS 18 introduces new features aimed at optimizing phone usage for productivity.

Customizing the lock screen with widgets like weather, fitness rings, and email can provide quick information at a glance.

Lock screen actions can be customized for accessibility or other functionalities.

Home screen customization allows for intentional layout based on use cases or Focus modes.

Using the 'Free Form' app can help plan app layouts for different Focus modes.

Screen Time settings can reveal app usage patterns and guide home screen customization.

iOS 18 allows moving app icons freely on the screen for one-handed use.

Customizing app icon styles, such as light, dark, or tinted, can enhance visual consistency.

Widgets can be strategically placed on home screens to reflect different Focus modes.

Focus modes in iOS 18 can be customized with schedules, allowed notifications, and even location triggers.

Control Center in iOS 18 has been redesigned for easier customization and control of settings.

Deep work mode can be set up with minimal distractions, using only essential apps.

Social media apps can be removed from the home screen to limit habit-forming behaviors.

Notifications for distracting apps can be managed or turned off entirely.

Apps with sensitive information can be secured with Face ID and hidden in a separate folder for privacy.

The Photos app now groups receipts into an album for easier access.

Calendar app updates include a new UI and the ability to add reminders directly within the app.

Shared calendars can be set up easily within the family iCloud account.

The Messages app now allows scheduling messages to be sent at a later time.

Battery optimization can be achieved by limiting charging to 80% and using custom shortcuts for power saving.

Control Center updates in iOS 18 include pagination and the ability to add third-party controls.

Motion sickness reduction and web page distraction removal are new accessibility features in iOS 18.

Transcripts

iOS 18 has quite a few new features and

having used it now for the last couple

of months I think I've finally found how

to effectively use the most important

features and set things up in a way that

really optimizes how I use my phone for

me that means not only making things

look good but focusing on how and what I

want to use my phone for limiting

distractions and really just leveraging

the tools in iOS to help me be more

productive essentially I want my phone

to be helpful rather than a burden while

I'm trying to get things done with the

official release of iOS 18 right around

the corner I want to share how and why I

do a lot of these things for anyone who

is looking to do something similar or to

just take advantage of some of the tools

iOS has to offer to help use their

iPhone more effectively so if that

sounds like you or maybe you're new to

the iPhone and you just want to get

familiar with how things work or see

some really neat things that you can do

inside of iOS stick around and let's get

into it

[Music]

hey everyone Kyle Erikson here like it

or not our phones are a huge part of our

lives and many of the apps within them

are designed to capture our attention

which can be both good or bad while some

apps can be helpful with productivity

and health others can distract us or

pull us away from things that we're

trying to get done or negatively affect

our mood but there are still a lot of

tools within iOS that can really help

structure things to get away from that

how that's going to be most effective or

what that's going to look like is going

to be different for everyone and like

I've said in similar videos my goal here

today isn't to say that one thing is

more important than the other or that

you absolutely need to do anything

particular here but rather just take

some ideas or points that you find

useful and just leave the rest with that

said I want to kick things off with some

basic visual updates with iOS 18 the

first thing that I want to do on my

phone is start customizing the look of

everything because I not only want

something that I enjoy looking at but a

lot of what I'm going to do here is

going to tie into some other more

functional stuff as well starting on the

lock screen I can hold down on the

screen to customize anything here that I

want I can change the wallpaper if I

want and there are new wallpapers for

iOS 18 that don't look too bad but I'm

going to use one that I've made I'm also

going to adjust the clock text by

tapping on it to adjust the font and

weight and I'm going to add a couple of

widgets by hitting on the widgets button

I'm going to select the weather WID

widget and my fitness rings and email

because those are the things that I

prefer to look at at a glance then back

on the lock screen something new this

year that we can do is customize the

lock screen actions in the bottom

corners I actually prefer to keep this

the way it is because I do access those

two features the most from here and it's

just what I'm used to at this point but

you can change this to a variety of

accessibility features or some other

basic functionality say in the event

that maybe you're traveling somewhere

and you prefer to change the flashlight

to aive translation button or something

it's just good to know that you're able

to do that with that out of the way on

your home screen you're probably going

to have a bunch of icons that you've

either set up yourself or the default

ones laid out by Apple and I prefer

these to be laid out very intentionally

so personally I like to structure each

use case or Focus mode as Apple calls

them into different screens which in my

case is going to be my default layout a

work layout for when I'm busy or I don't

want to be bothered a fitness layout and

one for one I actually want to be

productive on the phone itself for all

those different views I'll go through

all my apps and figure out the ones that

I need for each layout I like using an

app called free form that you can use

for free on iOS iPad Os or Mac OS that

is likely already on your device but you

can just write this in a notebook if you

want and if you want more insight into

what apps you use most frequently you

can go into settings and under screen

time tap see all app and website

activity over time this will not only

help you find what apps are most useful

for you but it can help show patterns or

behaviors that you might want to change

like going on social apps too much or

just getting too much screen time in

general once I've got my app list

planned out with whatever tool that I'm

going to use I'm going to go back to my

home screen and remove whatever stock

icons I have there by just holding down

on the screen away from the icons to

enter jiggle mode and I'll just remove

anything that I don't want by hitting

the minus on the icons and clicking

remove app from home screen for each

then I'll start by adding the apps that

I planned out earlier for the default

view until they're all on the screen and

you'll notice an empty page opens up

each time an icon is added to a page so

I can just add apps from the library for

all my other screens here as well this

is also a bit different with iOS 18 is I

can actually move the icons anywhere

that I want to on the screen so in this

case I'm just going to drag them down

either one at a time or by holding down

on one and tapping on some others to

group them and then just sliding them

down towards the bottom so they're

easier to touch with one-handed use I

also don't really like how some of the

icons are light and some are dark so

while I'm still in jiggle mode I'm going

to hit the edit button in the upper

leftand corner and go to customize and

you'll see you get this menu at the

bottom where I can select light dark or

tinted icons the tinted icons look

decent depending on what apps you have

on the screen but I'm just going to use

dark for mine and I also don't really

like having the text under mine either

so you'll see that when you switch to

large icons it removes the app names so

I think that just looks a little bit

better in my case so I'm going to do

that as well outside of icons I'm going

to add some widgets for these screens as

well and for Fitness I'm again going to

hit that edit button and go to add

widgets go to fitness and add the large

activity widget I'll do the same kind of

thing for productivity where I'll add a

couple of widgets for my calendar and

reminders and I'm I'm going to add some

widgets to my default screen as well

again I'm going to put my fitness Rings

because I like looking at those

throughout the day I'll add the weather

and I'm going to throw a battery life

widget in there that shows me the

battery level of all my different Apple

accessories because I'm terrible at

keeping track of that I've also just

moved one random icon to a screen for my

deep work mode because that doesn't have

any which I'll explain soon as well but

with that done I'm now going to go into

my settings app and go into focus and

you'll see that Apple gives us a few of

these by default that we can customize

and we can create our own I'm going to

start off by adding my fitness Focus

mode by hitting the plus icon and you'll

see there's already a fitness mode on

here that we can use so I'll select that

one and tap customize Focus within here

by default Apple has set a schedule so

that when you start a workout this Focus

mode will automatically start and we'll

get into schedules more in a second but

right above that you can see that you

can set a custom page for the focus mode

and even a lock screen and a watch face

if you want we're just going to do the

home screen today so I'm going to tap

choose on that and then I'll select the

screen I made for my fitness screen and

that's all I'm going to do in this Focus

mode I'm going to do the same thing with

my other Focus modes where I'll add a

new mode but from now on I'm going to

enter a custom Focus mode where I'll

name this one productivity select a

color for it in an icon and hit next

then I'll again hit customize Focus

where I'll choose a screen this this one

being the one that I made for

productivity now I do just want to

mention some of the other options that I

have here while I'm in a productivity

Focus mode I probably don't want to see

notifications popping up on my phone

because they are distraction but I do

still want notifications to come through

say if they're from my wife or from

someone that I work with and I can

filter people through by tapping on the

choose people button depending on what

you have selected here this is going to

either block all notifications except

for the ones that you have specified or

or the reverse where you're going to

allow everything and just silence the

people or apps that you select I'll just

add my wife here to make sure that I get

her notifications now say if I wanted

this mode to kick on at a certain time

of day automatically or when I get to a

specific location maybe if I was driving

to work every day or something I can

specify that in the set schedule area

where I can tap add schedule and specify

a time a day this automatically kicks on

or specify a location which is pretty

neat and you can even have it activate

if you open up an app kind of similar to

our fitness mode I'm not going to do

that here so I'm just going to back out

of that and I'm going to create a deep

work mode doing the exact same thing

where I'll name it give it an icon and a

color and when I'm done with that I'm

just going to update the schedule on the

Do Not Disturb mode to turn on every day

between 9:00 a.m. through 7:00 a.m. so

that my phone is silenced every night

with those all set up I can now go back

to my home screen and you'll see if I

swipe down from the upper right hand

corner it'll open up control center

which has been redesigned in iOS 18

similar to the home screen I can now

hold down and move things around or add

different controls which we're going to

do but for right now I just want to pop

in here and change my focus mode when I

change modes the screen will switch for

each and these all look great but the

Deep work mode is a little bit different

because I don't want anything on the

screen so I'm just going to remove that

one app that I've placed there And all

I'll have is the dock which I'm fine

with and with that we've got all our app

screen set up but there's still one more

issue you'll see that without a focus

mode on in the default layout we've got

all these screens that we've made for

each mode and I don't want any of these

to show and that's a super easy fix if I

hold down on the screen to enter jiggle

mode I can then tap the little paging

indicator towards the bottom of the

screen and I can uncheck those app pages

to hide them then when I tap done you'll

see that they no longer show and this to

me just allows me to be a lot more

intentional about what exactly I'm using

my phone for without getting sidetracked

during the day I also like to make sure

that I don't have any social media apps

on my home screen for me those are

really habit forming and I prefer to

consume those in small doses I also turn

off notifications for those apps by

either not allowing them when I

initially install and open the apps or

by going into settings and in the app

section I'll tap on the apps that I want

to silence and I'll turn them off from

within the notific ifications area

there's one other thing that I'm going

to do with the way that some of my apps

work and are displayed which is new in

iOS 18 where I'm going to go into any

app with sensitive personal information

like Finance or Insurance apps and hold

down on the icon and select require face

ID with that enabled every time that I

try and open that app I'll have to

unlock it with my face before it'll show

anything which just gives you an extra

level of security and we can even go a

step further by selecting the option

just below require face ID to hide that

app as well which will just stash it

away in a hidden folder in your app

Library you'll see that anything in that

hidden folder won't show up in my app

list and again I'll have to unlock that

folder with face ID which I think is

quite useful something else that I find

really helpful pertaining to my own

finances that really isn't anything that

you need to turn on but it's just new in

iOS 18 is that if I head to my photos

app this has all been redesigned to show

the photo library on the top and on the

bottom you'll see all these grouped

sections or albums underneath visually

that's a nice change but the thing that

I love about this is if you scroll down

to the utility section Apple has

conveniently grouped all my receipts

into an album so I no longer need to dig

through all my photos to find them which

is a huge timesaver all those features

and settings are going to help

streamline things on your phone and at

least for me they help me manage my time

a little bit more effectively but there

are some things within specific specific

apps that also help me organize my day

and structure my time the Calendar app

in iOS 18 has a new UI with compact

stack and detail level views which is

much nicer to work with and if you hit

the plus icon in here you can now add

reminders directly within the calendar

without having to go into the reminders

app which is a super handy update also

one thing my wife and I do is maintain a

shared calendar between the two of us I

just like this because we can share

important dates or events with each

other which all most likely forget if

they're not in here provided your family

is on Apple devices this is pretty easy

to set up all you're going to do is hit

the calendar button at the bottom go to

add calendar and you can select add

calendar or add family calendar if

you've already got family members set up

within your iCloud account if you select

family calendar people will

automatically show up there that are set

as family members but you can also tap

add person to add an email address of

anyone where they'll then be able to

accept your invite through that email

and share the calendar with you if for

whatever reason you accept an invite but

the calendar isn't showing up you'll

just want to make sure that in settings

under your name and in iCloud if you go

into saved to iCloud just make sure that

iCloud calendar is turned on that

definitely helps with remembering dates

but I can sometimes be really bad with

remembering to message people at certain

times or being aware of what time zone

friends or family are in about 5 years

ago I moved 5,000 km away from home and

I have family and friends all over the

world at this point and this next

feature is really helpful in that regard

if I head into my messages app if I want

to send a message to someone but maybe I

know it's a bit too early or too late

for them in iOS 18 I can hit the plus

button beside my message and tap send

later where I can then schedule a

message to be sent at a reasonable time

for that person and that way I won't

leave it or forget about it the next

thing that I want to talk about is less

about managing my time and more about my

actual phone with battery optimization

and one thing that I've done for the

last couple of years when I get a new

device is head into settings and under

battery I'll go into charging and I'm

going to bring my charge limit down to

80% this does restrict my battery life a

lot more but because I always have

Chargers kicking around I generally

don't worry about running out a charge

and this does extend your battery life

over a large time span think in terms of

years versus days or months but that can

be helpful if you plan on using your

phone for a long time or it can make it

a little bit easier to sell that being

said if I am running low on battery one

thing that I like to do is set up a

custom shortcut to really restrict my

power consumption more so than just the

standard low power mode and to do that

I've set up my own custom shortcut

shortcuts are super powerful and you can

do a ton with these but I'm not going to

go through all of this and how I've set

it up but I will have a link in the

description if you'd like to use this

same shortcut or check it out but

essentially what this does is toggle on

low power mode airplane mode along with

a couple of other things and turn down

my screen brightness to conserve battery

life the great part about iOS 18 is I

can easily make a control for this

shortcut by going back into control

center by again swiping down from the

upper right of the home screen holding

down on the control center and hitting

add a control inside here you can scroll

until you see shortcut you can select

that and click choose and I can select

my shortcut and I can just tap that

anytime that I want to toggle that on or

off I should also mention that the

updates to the control center not only

allow me to move everything around in

here but you now have pagination so you

can group different controls to

different pages and resize them and the

controls will be able to be added to by

thirdparty app developers so it's

definitely something to take note of

everything here I use pretty much every

day and I find super useful but there

are some important things that I want to

just briefly mention that might help

someone out if you're someone who gets

car sick when you're on your phone iOS

18 actually has a feature to help reduce

motion sickness and you can turn that on

by going into settings and under

accessibility in motion you can toggle

on show vehicle motion cues also if

you're in Safari web browsing and you

find something super distracting on a

web page page you can click the reader

icon in the address bar and click hide

distracting items which will allow you

to remove or hide elements from within a

page if you want to use the reader mode

instead to read an article that's more

distraction free you'll now have some

more options within here to change the

background color and the text style as

well now there are plenty of features in

iOS 18 that I didn't touch on and a lot

of what I did go over you can do without

it but I just wanted to mention the

things that have helped me the most

living within iOS 18 it hopefully helps

spark some ideas with your own phone but

please if there's anything that you want

to mention that I didn't go over please

let me know in the comments down below

that's all I have for you today I hope

you enjoyed this video or you found it

useful if you did feel free to hit that

like button if you want to see more Tech

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mismatched images Please Subscribe thank

you so much for watching and I will see

you in the next upload good