With the third betas of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 that Apple released today, there are additional tweaks to a number of features like Dark Mode icons, the Photos app, emoji in Messages, and more, with Apple appearing to be preparing for the launch of Apple Intelligence.
Apple will continue updating iOS 18 over the course of the next couple of months, refining the beta prior to its launch. We've highlighted everything new in the third iOS 18 beta.
Dark Mode Icons
There are now Dark Mode icons for many third-party apps like Facebook, Etsy, Telegram, Signal, Slack, Notion, YouTube, and more. Apple appears to be adding the Dark Mode icons automatically to apps that have icons with a handful colors.
With some icons, the secondary color becomes the main color, while the background color is turned to black, and in others, a white icon background transitions to black.
Apps with complicated icon designs in many colors do not change to a Dark Mode color at this time, but Apple does tint them to be darker. When iOS 18 launches, app developers will be able to provide their own dark-tinted icons to be used in lieu of Apple's defaults.
Photos App
Apple added a Select button for choosing multiple images to the main Photos interface, so there is no longer a need to swipe down to get to the Select button.
With this change, the Search button is now just a magnifying glass, but it is highlighted blue to make it stand out more.
Emoji
In Messages, emoji, Memoji, and stickers have all been combined into one interface, which can be navigated using the tiny icons at the bottom of the display. There are icons you can tap into to get to stickers or Memoji, and you can scroll through your Memoji to more quickly find specific characters and poses.
You can create both stickers and Memoji from this interface, and you can use stickers right in your messages like you can use emoji. This works with non-moving stickers only, and those with animation from Live Photos will display in the larger attachment sticker size. The smaller stickers used as emoji are, however, hard to see.
Emoji are displayed larger than before, so you see more detail but fewer characters before having to scroll, and there are more emoji and stickers displayed at once in the Recent section.
Apple likely made these changes to prepare for the debut of Apple Intelligence, Genmoji, and Image Playground.
Wallpaper
There is a dynamic version of the iOS 18 wallpaper that transitions through different colors based on the time of day.
Flashlight Interface
When you activate the Flashlight, or tap on the controls from the Dynamic Island, there is a larger and more intuitive interface for changing the brightness and the spread of the LED Flash used for the Flashlight feature.
Maps
Apple has once again tweaked the colors of the Maps icon when Dark Mode is activated.
RCS in Messages
The interface for RCS in the Messages section of the Settings app has changed. Rather than just showing up as an on/off toggle, it is now a tap-in menu that provides some additional context. Apple explains that sending and receiving messages with RCS uses wireless data, and cellular network identifiers may be shared with carriers and their partners.
Some iPhone users in Canada and other countries are also now seeing the RCS toggle, though it is unclear if RCS is working outside of the United States.
Apple Intelligence
There are some mentions of Apple Intelligence features in the code, further hinting at the upcoming addition of AI to the iOS 18 beta. Code references Genmoji, Image Playground, Writing Tools, Image Wand, and more.
More New Changes
Know of a new feature in iOS 18 beta 3 that we left out? Let us know in the comments below.
