Here's How to Make the iOS 18 Photos App Better
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Based on what we've seen, there's a good chance you don't like the redesigned Photos app on iOS 18. While the old version isn’t coming back, here’s how to make it look more like the old version you loved.
With iOS 18, Apple took on the difficult task of redesigning the Photos app. While many people loved the app, it hadn’t changed in a long time, and Apple wanted to prepare it for the future.
The redesign wasn’t a smooth one. The decision to redesign was controversial, to say the least.
The new Photos app compared to the old one on the right
Even months after its launch, many users complain about the confusing design, lack of features, and general dislike of the app.
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The old version isn't coming back. However, there are some things you can do to restore your Photos experience closer to what you had.
How to Fix the Photos App in iOS 18
The new app has a unique interface that has no tabs. Scroll up to see the entire gallery and scroll down to see different collections of images and videos.
Customize the Gallery View to Show Recent
The first thing you can do is customize the Gallery View.
- Tap the up/down arrows in the bottom left corner
- Instead of sorting by “Date taken”, sort by “Recently added” to see all the new images first.
- We also recommend considering displaying screenshots in this gallery view.
This will allow you to see all your images as you add them, including screenshots. There are also other options there that you can explore that may make sense for you.
Hiding and reordering sections in the Photos app
The next option is to remove sections of the app that you don't need.
- Scroll to the bottom of the Photos app page.
- Click the big “Customize and reorder” button. Apple really wants to make sure you see this!
- Uncheck any sections you don't want to see in the Photos app.
- We'd recommend hiding Favorites, Recents, and Wallpapers to start.
- You can also change the order of sections by clicking, holding, and dragging the right side of each section in this edit view.
- Click Done.
One way we found to significantly improve usability was to use the Pinned Collections section. This is a new category that allows the user to decide what to show there.
Add collections to the pinned view
- Make sure pinned collections are enabled in the edit view described above
- Tap Edit on the right side of a section in the Photos app.
- Tap the “+” button on any collection you want to add, and the “-” button on any section you want to remove.
- Below the list of suggestions, you can tap + Any collection or album
- This gives you 100% control over everything you would like to add from the gallery of you, your partner and children, all your screenshots, your hidden photos and more.
Apple is listening to user feedback
Sometimes it's hard to believe, but Apple really does listen to user feedback, and we've seen that with the updated Photos app.
The old featured carousel has been removed ahead of release
During the initial beta phase of iOS 18, Apple took the drastic step of scrapping its ambitious design and removing features like the looping carousel at the top. This was all based on the feedback we received.
As we mentioned, iOS 18.2 also added more quality-of-life improvements and changes.
When browsing a collection, you can now swipe back to the main view instead of tapping the arrow in the upper-left corner.
And videos instantly play full screen, with a simple tap to dismiss the controls just like before.
Videos can once again be scrolled frame by frame. Plus, you can view the scrolling time down to the nanosecond level in the timeline.
Hide video previews
When browsing any collection, a preview of the movie will appear at the top. In iOS 18.2, this can be turned off to show the standard gallery view.
If you have any additional suggestions, you can also send feedback to Apple. Just visit feedback.apple.com and let them know.
The change was certainly drastic, and it takes a little time to improve, but it is getting better. You just have to give it a chance.
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