iOS 12 Hidden Features: New Close App Gesture on iPhone X, Revamped iPad Gestures, Screen Time Widget and More

Apple today introduced iOS 12 with a whole slew of updates, ranging from improvements to Do Not Disturb to a whole new activity monitoring system that tracks how much time you spend on your iPhone or iPad.

There are also new "Memoji," aka personalized Animojis, there's support for Group FaceTime, and there were tons of other changes covered in the keynote event. But in addition to all of these new features, there are dozens of smaller tweaks that Apple didn't cover in its iOS 12 announcement.

Below, we've rounded up a list of new, lesser-known or "hidden" features in the new iOS 12 operating system update.

- iPhone X App Switcher - You no longer need to hold down on apps to close them. Swiping up like on the iPhone 8 and older works.

- Siri Voices - In the U.S., there are new Siri Voice options for Irish and South African accents in both male and female genders.

- Multiple Faces in Face ID - In the Face ID Settings, there's an option to "Set Up an Alternate Appearance" which appears to be aimed at people who may need to drastically change their appearance on the regular or those who want to unlock Face ID with two faces.

ios12faceidalternateappearance
- Face ID Rescanning - After Face ID fails, you can swipe up from the bottom of the iPhone X to initiate a rescan.

- Screen Time Widget - In the Widgets section, accessible by swiping to the right on the Home screen, there's a new Screen Time widget where you can see how much time you've spent on your iOS device lately, and what you've been doing. You can also see your full Screen Time usage metrics in the Settings app.

ios12screentimesettings
- Automatic Updates - iOS 12 introduces an option to turn on automatic software updates under General --> Software Update. This will update your version of iOS automatically when an update is available.

automaticupdatesios12
- Messages Shortcuts - If you tap on a person's name in the Messages app, there are now shortcuts to initiate a FaceTime audio call, initiate a standard FaceTime video call, or get info on the contact. This is also how group FaceTime calls are started from the Messages app.

messagesfacetimeoptionios12
- Notification Grouping - In the Notifications section of the Settings app, there are options to customize Notification Grouping for all of your apps. Notification Grouping Settings include Automatic, By App, and off. Notification settings have also been redesigned somewhat, and there are toggles for setting notifications to show up only in the Notification Center but not the Lock screen.

ios12notificationsettings
- New iPad Gestures - Apple tweaked gestures on the iPad to better match the iPhone X. You now swipe down from the top right of the iPad to bring up Control Center, rather than swiping up from the bottom. Swiping up from the dock goes to the Home screen.

- iPad Menu Bar - The menu bar at the top of the iPad has been redesigned, and it looks like Apple is making room for a notch that will be included on upcoming iPad Pro models that will feature Face ID. The time, day, and date are located on the upper left hand side of the screen, while the right shows Wi-Fi or LTE connection, Bluetooth, and battery life.

ipadmenubar
- Passwords - There's a new Password Manager API that can show passwords from 1Password and similar apps in the QuickType suggestion bar when you're inputting login information. iOS 12 also adds iOS password suggestions to third-party apps, like Keychain in Safari. Apple will also keep track of passwords that have been reused and prompt you to create new ones.

- One-Time Password Autofill - Apple says that one-time SMS passcodes will appear automatically as Autofill options so you don't need to hassle with quitting out of an app, opening the Messages app, copying it, and then entering it in the app that needs the code. In the Settings app, Safari Autofill has been replaced with the more general Password Autofill, and there's a new Autofill Passwords setting under Passwords & Accounts.

autofillpasswordsios12
- Smarter Siri - Siri can answer questions about famous people, food, and motorsports. Siri can also look up passwords and search for memories in Photos.

- Scan QR Code in Control Center - There's a new Control Center shortcut for scanning a QR code.

controlcenterqrcode
- Wallpaper - There's a new iOS 12 wallpaper available.

newiphonewallpaper
- Siri Suggestions - Siri is smarter in iOS 12, and there's a new setting to allow Siri suggestions to appear on the Lock screen. You can also enable Shortcuts in the Settings menu, though Shortcuts are not yet available and will be coming through an app set to be released at a later date. Siri suggestions on the Lock screen can be enabled on a per-app basis.

sirilockscreensuggestionsios12
- Lock Screen Options - There are new options to disable access to Wallet and USB Accessories when an iPhone is locked with a passcode. With USB Accessories disabled, you need to unlock the iPhone to allow USB accessories to connect when it has been more than an hour since your iPhone was locked. This setting will make it more difficult for law enforcement to access locked devices with USB tools like the GrayKey box.

ios12usbaccessoriessetting
- Voice Memos - Now that Voice Memos is also on the iPad and Mac and has iCloud support, there are settings for Voice Memos in the Settings app. You can choose when to delete Voice Memos, choose audio compression quality, and set a default recording name.

- Markup Colors - There are a lot more colors available when using Markup for editing screenshots, marking up images, editing PDFs, and more.

ios12markupcolors
- Safari Icons - There's an option in the Settings app to enable Favicons for Safari tabs, a new feature in iOS 12. There are also several new Experimental WebKit Features that Apple is testing.

- Apple Books - With the Books app getting a revamp and a new name, there are several new settings for Books in the Settings app. You can turn on syncing options for the "Reading Now" feature to keep track of where you are in a book across devices, and you can choose specific devices where you want to update your place.

booksreadnowios12
- Podcasts - You can set custom durations for the Forward and Back options in Podcasts. The two options are separate, and durations from 10 to 60 seconds are available.

ios12podcastskipbuttons
- Battery Info - In the Settings app, the battery usage chart shows usage for the last 24 hours or the last 10 days instead of the last 7 days. There's also a whole new chart that displays battery usage information.

ios12batteryusage
- Apple Music Changes - In Apple Music, you can search for songs by lyric in iOS 12. Artist pages also display larger artwork and a new "Play" button that plays an artist's entire catalog of songs.

- Siri in Low Power Mode - You can use "Hey Siri" with Low Power Mode turned on in iOS 12.

- Password AirDropping - In iOS 12, you can AirDrop your saved passwords to both your other devices and other people, which makes sharing passwords simple.

- 3D Touch - There are new 3D Touch options for the Camera and Notes apps. With Camera, you can 3D Touch to scan a QR code, and in Notes, there is a shortcut to scan a document.

Have you found other features in iOS 12 that we haven't mentioned here? Make sure to let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for more coverage on the new features in iOS 12, macOS Mojave, tvOS 12, and watchOS 5.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Top Rated Comments

jthompson666 Avatar
72 months ago
These little tweaks are always much more exciting to me than the actual headline features! Anyone else? :rolleyes:
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cougarcat Avatar
72 months ago
Still haven't fixed the huge volume icon yet?
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacPrince Avatar
72 months ago
- iPhone X App Switcher - You no longer need to hold down on apps to close them. Swiping up like on the iPhone 8 and older works.
Ugh. I was hoping that the way it worked on the iPhone X was intentional to kill off the superstition of force quitting all of your apps.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
EM2013 Avatar
72 months ago
Really wish they would’ve changed the swipe down on top corner for control Center. Looks like they’re sticking with it :mad:
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fastasleep Avatar
72 months ago
Why in the hell was this so difficult? It's the first damn motion I tried when the X was released.
Because they were trying to quietly kill the stupid behavior where so many people repeatedly force-quit all their apps instead of like, looking at battery usage and turning off Background App Refresh on Facebook etc.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mizouse Avatar
72 months ago
Omgggg group notifications by app is finally back!!!!!!!! :eek:
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.1.2 With Security Fixes

Thursday November 30, 2023 10:12 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2, small updates to the iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 operating systems that Apple introduced in September. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 come a few weeks after the release of iOS 17.1.1, another bug fix update. iOS 17.1.2 and iPadOS 17.1.2 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update....
iOS 17

28 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in December's iOS 17.2 Update

Friday December 1, 2023 2:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 28 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released this December. 1. Help...
apple card 1

Apple Ending Apple Card Partnership With Goldman Sachs

Tuesday November 28, 2023 3:09 pm PST by
Apple is ending its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple plans to stop working with Goldman Sachs in the next 12 to 15 months, and it is not yet clear if Apple has established a new partnership for the Apple Card. Apple and Goldman Sachs will dissolve their entire consumer partnership, including the Apple Card and the Apple Savings account....
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.2 Beta 4

Tuesday November 28, 2023 12:18 pm PST by
Apple is wrapping up development on iOS 17.2, with the update expected to come out in December. While we're getting to the end of the beta testing period, Apple is still tweaking features and adding new functionality. We've rounded up everything new in the fourth beta of iOS 17.2. Default Notification Sound Under Sounds & Haptics, there's a new "Default Alerts" section that allows you to ...
iPhone 16 Mock Header Updated 1

iPhone 16 to Include Action Button Across Entire Lineup

Thursday November 30, 2023 4:08 pm PST by
The release of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max saw the introduction of an entirely new user-configurable button known as the Action button, and now, MacRumors has seen extensive evidence confirming Apple is planning to include the Action button on the entire iPhone 16 range. Designs and plans for the Action button date back to at least 2021, as the button was intended for release alongside hapt...
anker new xmas

Anker's Cyber Week Sale Enters Final Days With Up to 60% Off Sitewide

Friday December 1, 2023 12:05 pm PST by
Anker's Black Friday/Cyber Week event is entering its final days this weekend, and it's still offering up to 60 percent off sitewide. There are also a few "mystery boxes" that can include hundreds of dollars in savings, if you're willing to risk not knowing what you're buying ahead of time. All of these sales will end on December 3. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Anker. When you...
paramount plus logo

Apple and Paramount Considering Discounted TV+ Streaming Bundle

Friday December 1, 2023 4:40 am PST by
Apple and Paramount have discussed bundling their TV streaming services at a discount, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal. The companies have talked about offering a combination of Paramount+ and Apple TV+ that would cost less than subscribing to both services separately, according to people familiar with the discussions. The discussions are in their early stages, and it is ...
General Apps Messages

Green Bubbles on iPhone to Gain These 7 New Features Next Year

Thursday November 30, 2023 9:00 am PST by
Earlier this month, Apple announced that it will finally support RCS in the Messages app on the iPhone starting later next year. This change will result in several improvements to the messaging experience between iPhones and Android devices. RCS will become the new default standard for messaging between iPhones and Android devices, but these conversations will still have green bubbles like...