The phone app on the iPhone is rarely updated, but with an update iOS 18 And the new Apple Intelligence technology, the application gets a major update that contains some new features, including one of the best new features in the iOS 18 update. This guide highlights everything that is new in the phone application in the iOS 18 update.

From iPhoneIslam.com, an abstract image with overlapping shapes in blue, white, and light pink, resembling the smooth, flowing design introduced in the iOS 18 update.


Recording phone calls

From iPhoneIslam.com Three iPhone screens showcasing new features in the Phone app, detailing the process of recording a call using both the Phone and Notes apps, including steps to enable call recording and showing recording in progress during a phone call, as part of the iOS 18 update.

After making or answering a call on an iPhone running iOS 18.1, you can record the call, and after completion, you will find an additional written copy of this call. To activate this feature:

◉ Open the phone application.

◉ Make a call.

◉ Click on the record button in the upper corner to start recording.

◉ When you click on the record button, all participants in the call are informed that the call is now being recorded. The message is repeated for each person each time they record, so if there are two iPhone users on a call and they are both recording, the message will play twice.

◉ There is no option for other participants to refuse registration. If one party is unwilling to record the call, their only option is to end the call completely. This means that there is no way to remain on the call with recording declined, which may raise concerns about privacy and user rights in some regions, especially where consent from all parties is required to record calls.

◉During a call, the audio is recorded and saved in the Notes app for later access. When you open the Notes app, you'll see a recording of the call with the date and time and an option to tap Play to repeat the call or tap the note for more information.


Transcription and summarization of phone calls

From iPhoneIslam.com, three smartphone screens display the call recording app interface. The first screen displays a recorded call, the second displays call details, and the third screen provides time updates from the US Naval Observatory — perfect for showcasing new features in the Phone app after the iOS 18 update.

◉ Calls saved in Notes are automatically transcribed, so you can see a full transcript of what was said in the call. You can access the transcript by clicking on the call recording note.

◉ While listening to the call, the transcript will be updated live so you can read along with what is being said.

◉ The transcripts contain a “Summary” button so you can get a quick summary of what was said in the call, as well as an option to search for key words and phrases.

◉ Note that the summary function requires a device compatible with Apple Intelligence features, but recording and transcribing are generic features available to everyone.

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


Search call history

From iPhoneIslam.com, a smartphone screen showing call history and voicemail with a QWERTY keyboard at the bottom. Call history includes entries from an unknown caller and a contact named Johnny, showcasing new Phone app features in iOS 18.

In the iOS 18 update, Apple added a search feature in the “Recent” calls section, which means you can now search all your incoming and outgoing calls and voicemail.

◉ Open the phone application.

◉ Click on the “Recents” tab.

◉ Search for the person or number you are looking for using the search bar at the top of the interface.

◉ You can type phone numbers or names to see calls made, received or missed, and contacts with the name or phone number you are looking for.

◉In addition to the name or phone number, you can search for the date of the call or the type of call, such as FaceTime calls, or use multiple search criteria.

◉ If you want to see all calls from “so-and-so” in June, for example, you can type “so-and-so” and when the name appears as a suggestion in the search results, you can click on it directly instead of continuing to type. This click adds the name as a specific search criterion, which means it adds this name as a search filter, and this allows you to filter the results more precisely. Next, you can add other search criteria, such as date or call type, allowing you to perform a detailed and customized search of your call history more efficiently.

◉ You can add additional criteria such as date or call type, allowing you to perform a detailed and customized search in your call history more efficiently.

◉ There are options to “See All” for calls and voicemail when performing a search to display more results.


Swap SIM cards

If you have two SIM cards on your iPhone, you can switch between them using a toggle switch in Control Center. In previous versions of iOS, you had to change numbers using Settings.

To switch numbers, open Control Center, go to Call controls, and tap and hold Mobile data.


Contact suggestions

From iPhoneIslam.com, the iPhone displays its own dial pad with the numbers 0 to 9 and additional buttons for star, hashtag and call. With iOS 18, the contact name "Jenny" and the number "867-5309" appear at the top of the screen, displaying new features.

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

Type the first or second number of the number and then click on the “More” icon to see all the numbers and contacts, and you can click on one to call.


Communication using T9 technology

From iPhoneIslam.com, the smartphone screen shows a dial interface with the number "374-2" and "Eric Silva" entered at the top. The background is light green, showcasing the features of the mobile app on the latest version of iOS 18.

T9 Dialing Technology is a predictive typing system originally developed for older mobile phones with numeric keypads. In iOS 18, this feature has been newly reintroduced. Here's how it works:

◉ On a traditional telephone keypad, each number also represents a group of letters. For example, the number 2 represents the letters A, B, C.

◉With T9 technology, you can type a contact's name using the numbers corresponding to the letters in their name.
Example: To type “ERIC”, you would press the following numbers:

◎ 3 (for the letter E)

◎ 7 (for the letter R)

◎ 4 (for the letter I)

◎ 2 (for letter C)

The system will understand that you are searching for “ERIC” and will display its matching contact. The iPhone does not support calling using T9 yet.


Mobile app version information

Recording calls and transcribing them into written text is one of the features of the iOS 18 update that will be available to everyone, but the function will not be added to iPhones until the iOS 18.1 update. As for text summarization, it is a feature of Apple Intelligence that will be limited to the iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and later, in addition to iPad and Mac devices that operate with M1 processors and later.

What do you think of the new phone app features in the iOS 18 update? Tell us in the comments.

Source:

macrumors

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