Five New Features in the iOS 18 Phone App

The Phone app doesn't often get updated, but with iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, it's getting a major overhaul that includes one of the best new features in the ‌iOS 18‌ software.

iOS 18 Phone App Feature 2
This guide highlights everything new with the Phone app.

Record Phone Calls

After placing or answering a call on an iPhone running iOS 18.1, you can initiate a recording that gives you an audio copy of the call.

ios 18 1 call recording 1

  1. Open the Phone app.
  2. Make a call.
  3. Tap on the record button in the top left corner to start a recording.

When you tap on the record button, everyone on the call is informed that the call is being recorded through an audible message. The message repeats for each person that is recording, so if two ‌iPhone‌ users are on a call and both record, the message will play twice.

There is no confirmation dialogue when a call is being recorded, so someone who does not want to be recorded would need to hang up the call as there is no opt out.

While the call is in progress, audio is recorded and saved to the Notes app for later access. When you open up the Notes app, you'll see a Call Recording labeled with the date and the time with an option to tap on Play to repeat the call or to tap into the note for more information.

Transcribe and Summarize Phone Calls

Calls that are saved in the Notes app are automatically transcribed, so you can see a full transcription of what was said on the call. You can get to a transcription by tapping into a Call Recording note.

ios 18 1 call recording 2
As you listen to the call, the transcript will update so you can read along with what's being said.

Transcriptions have a "Summary" button so you can get a quick summary of what was said in the call, plus there is a search option for searching for key words and phrases. Note that the Summary function requires an Apple Intelligence-compatible device, but recording and transcribing are general features available to everyone.

Transcripts can be added to a different note, or copied, and the audio can be saved to the Files app or shared.

Search Call History

In ‌iOS 18‌, Apple added a search feature for the Recents tab, which means you can now search through all of your incoming and outgoing calls and voicemails.

ios 18 phone app call history search

  1. Open up the Phone app.
  2. Tap on the Recents tab.
  3. Search for the person or number you're looking for with the search bar at the top of the interface.

You can type in phone numbers or names to see calls that have been placed, received, or missed, and contacts that have the name or phone number you're searching for.

Along with name or phone number, you can search for the date of a call, the type of call (such as FaceTime), or use multiple search parameters. If you wanted to see all calls from Eric in June, for example, you could type in "Eric" tap the name when it comes up to set the parameter, and then add in "June" to the search bar.

There are options to "See All" calls and voicemails when conducting a search to view more results.

Swap SIM cards

If you have two SIMs on your ‌iPhone‌, such as for personal and work purposes, you can swap between them using a Control Center toggle. In prior versions of iOS, you had to change numbers using the Settings app.

To swap numbers, open up Control Center, navigate to the connectivity controls, and long press on Cellular Data.

Contact Suggestions

When you start typing in a number with the Keypad in ‌iOS 18‌, you'll see a list of contacts so you can quickly get to who you want to call.

ios 18 auto fill phone app dialing
Type in the first digit or two of a number and then tap on the "More" icon to see all of your options. You can tap one from there to dial.

T9 Dialing

Related to the contact suggestion feature, you can actually search for names instead of numbers using T9 characters. If you have a contact in your phone under "Eric," you can type in 3 for E, 7 for R, 4 for I, and 2 for C, and the contact card for Eric will pop up.

ios 18 phone app t9 dialing
T9 dialing dates back to the days before touchscreens, allowing smartphone users to type using predictive text that associated numbers with letters. The ‌iPhone‌ has not supported T9 dialing until now.

Phone App Release Info

Call recording and transcribing are ‌iOS 18‌ features that will be available to anyone, but the functionality won't be added to iOS devices until iOS 18.1. Summarizing transcripts is an ‌Apple Intelligence‌ feature that will be limited to devices compatible with ‌Apple Intelligence‌. That includes the iPhone 15 Pro, ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max, or iPhone 16, as well as M-series iPads and Macs.

Read More

Additional information on new features that Apple has added in ‌iOS 18‌ can be found in our iOS 18 roundup.

Related Roundups: iOS 18, iPadOS 18
Related Forums: iOS 18, iPadOS 18

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...

Top Rated Comments

AppleTO Avatar
11 months ago
What? Why is Apple Intelligence needed to record a call?
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
antiprotest Avatar
11 months ago

I don't understand why anyone would do this when all you have to do is say, "Siri, call Eric Slivka". That's a lot easier than pecking at numbers.
"Calling your ex mother-in-law..."
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deathcab Avatar
11 months ago
So you need an iPhone 15 Pro (or newer) for the processing power to run *checks notes* T9 dialing?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CoMoMacUser Avatar
11 months ago

Only as long as they are also in a one-party consent state. If they live in a two party consent state, then you can be held liable in that state for recording a call.
No, as my law professor explained it decades ago, it's "the law of where your feet are" when it comes to the person doing the recording.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mantan Avatar
11 months ago
Another reason I'm glad I was young/single in an era before the smart phone....

Last thing I would need is to leave receipts! :)
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TracesOfArsenic Avatar
11 months ago

What? Why is Apple Intelligence needed to record a call?
Exactly. My phone in the 90s did this. When you're hard pressed to sell new hardware I guess you have to bend the truth a little bit.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)