iOS 12 introduces several significant new features like Memoji, Siri Shortcuts, Screen Time for keeping track of the time you're spending on your iOS devices, Group FaceTime with up to 32 people, new parental controls, ARKit 2.0, and more.

Along with all of the major additions, there are dozens of smaller, more hidden features. In our latest YouTube video, we've pulled out several of the most useful, less well-known features that are included in the iOS 12 update.

  1. Accidental Screenshot Prevention - In iOS 12, accidental iPhone X screenshots are less likely to happen through a new feature that prevents a screenshot from being taken while the iPhone X's display is turned off. With the change, the screenshot feature is deactivated until the iPhone X's display is activated. iOS 12 also prevents screenshots from being captured and the camera from working when an iPhone or iPad has been restarted or powered back on after being shut down.
  2. Quitting Apps on iPhone X - In iOS 11, you need to open up multitasking and hold down on an app to bring up a red "X" to close it. In iOS 12, things are simplified. With the multitasking interface open, just swipe up on an app to close it, just like you do on every other device.
  3. Multiple Faces for Face ID - On the iPhone X, you can register two faces that will work with Face ID. Prior to iOS 12, you could only register a single face. Registering multiple faces is useful if you dramatically change your appearance on the regular, like putting on ski goggles, a scarf, and a hat.
  4. Lyric Search - In the Music app in iOS 12, you can search for songs by their lyrics.
  5. Do Not Disturb - Get to Do Not Disturb Controls in iOS 12 quickly through the Control Center. Just 3D Touch or long press to get Do Not Disturb options like activate for one hour, activate until this evening, or activate until I leave this location.
  6. Bedtime Mode - iOS 12 has a new Bedtime Mode linked to Do Not Disturb, and if you enable it, all of your notifications will bypass the Lock screen and go straight to Notification Center so if you glance at your phone for the time during the night, you won't see a list of pending distractions. When you wake up, you'll see a nice "Good morning!" lock screen with a list of everything that happened overnight.
  7. AirDrop Passwords - If you need to share a password between devices or with a friend in iOS 12, you can AirDrop it. With the iOS Password Manager open, choose a login, press on the password field, and select the AirDrop option that pops up.
  8. Quickly Scan QR Codes - There's a Control Center option in iOS 12 that opens right up to the built-in camera to scan a QR code. It's the icon that looks like a QR code, and it can be enabled through Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls. Alternatively, 3D Touch on the Camera icon on the Home screen to get to a Quick Action for scanning a QR code.

To see all of these features in action, make sure to check out the video. What are your favorite hidden tips and tricks in iOS 12? Let us know in the comments.

Related Forum: iOS 12

Top Rated Comments

christarp Avatar
85 months ago
Seriously unexciting list of "features". Apple should concentrate on making iOS faster while increasing battery life and all will be well.
That's literally what they're doing. That's the reason for the "unexciting features" Because development time went to other things. I don't know why you're complaining about them doing the exact thing you're calling for.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NervousFish2 Avatar
85 months ago
Seriously unexciting list of "features". Apple should concentrate on making iOS faster while increasing battery life and all will be well.
Well, by the looks of things, they've made serious inroads on that, too, with iOS 12.

(But of course, these are just minor possibly unknown features, as the headline said. So maybe lets not get all super overreacty and wild tangenty?)
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
85 months ago
Anyone have idea for why Apple would include a "QR Scan" button to open the camera, which can scan QR codes anyway?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Fly (film) Avatar
85 months ago
Anyone have idea for why Apple would include a "QR Scan" button to open the camera, which can scan QR codes anyway?
Feature visibility. Many typical iPhone users don’t know the feature exists. Likely comment: ‘Yeah, only Android can scan those code-thingies, pity our iPhones cannot’. “Look Mary, our iPhones can now scan those QR Code thingies! Pity there are none around right now to scan”.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kalafalas Avatar
85 months ago
“Deleting Apps on iPhone X“ is incorrect and misleading. Please change to closing, force quitting, or removing from multitasking.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
85 months ago
Try to register a second FaceID appearance with the phone sitting on a table and the face just inside the circle: it will unlock when laying on a flat surface with no need to stretch the head out.

Can you guys confirm?

UPDATE: on my iPhone it consistently works, so I believe this is quite the big deal for X users.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...